Da'Shawn Womack deserves more snaps after his performance against Arkansas

Freshman defensive lineman Da'Shawn Womack had quite the performance against Arkansas on Saturday. The four-star freshman from Baltimore, Maryland saw a very limited role in the Tigers SEC home opener, but he made every snap count.

On just five snaps, Womack recorded one sack, three pressures, two hurries and had a 66.67% pass rush win rate. With this performance, Womack was awarded with the second best pass rush grade of any LSU defender from PFF, trailing only Bradyn Swinson.

Brian Kelly said in his press conference on Monday that Womack still has a lot to learn before he can be a huge playmaker for the Tigers, but I think his performance should earn him some more snaps moving forward.

"He's young, he's learning. He couldn't even keep his helmet on when he was out on the field so we got to teach him to buckle his chin strap and do all that type of stuff. Look, it's a process, and I know everyone wants to make a superstar of all these guys, he's going to be a really good player. I don't want to take anything away from the young man, but there's a process and he's got to continue to do the little things the right way and he's making progress. As you could see, we're getting him on the field in our dime package and our nickel package cause he can rush the passer. I'm pretty confident you're going to see more of him, but let's just tap the breaks here a little bit. He's not ready for a starting role, but he's definitely going to help our defense."

Brian Kelly

Obviously, the stuff about the chin strap is a joke, but Kelly is right, there's a lot more to being a defensive end in the SEC than just rushing the passer.

There are a lot of talented defensive lineman in LSU's room, and most of them have had time to learn and grow into a well rounded pass rusher. They've been able to learn how to stop the run and contain the QB, which are two things Womack will have to improve on moving forward.

There's no doubt that Womack is as talented as it gets at rushing the passer and I fully expect we'll continue to see him more and more in obvious passing situations. He's quickly earning a bigger role in this defense, and I think we should see a lot more of him as the season progresses.