There certainly won’t be anything magical revealed Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium during the National L Club Spring game that concludes LSU’s first spring under new head football coach Brian Kelly.
It won’t even be a true game because the Tigers don’t have enough players to split into a two-team intrasquad spring battle. So, it will be more of a glorified scrimmage with offense vs. defense.
The format, however, will not dampen the enthusiasm and how Kelly views the Tigers’ 14th and final spring opportunity that kicks off just after 1 p.m.
“The adrenaline will be going and we're treating it like a game,” Kelly said at his Thursday night press conference, “from the walk (down Victory Hill) to the pregame to being in the stadium. It's going to be on the SEC Network.”
Kelly certainly wants his players to view the day more than just the last practice of spring.
“We're still in that process of learning how to go from practice to competition,” Kelly said. “There's a rise in your emotional level and your focus and your attention to detail and all those things.
"What you do in practice, you can't be thinking about it in a game. I want guys to play fast and physical. This is really about watching guys play at a higher level.
“There's a number of guys that have to use this game as an opportunity to take another step forward. There are competitive battles for positions that are really crucial. Obviously, the one that we all want to talk about and we should is the quarterback position. It is a hotly contested position that requires this kind of game so those guys can sort out and know where they are.”
Kelly said he hopes to get his four QBs – sixth-year senior Myles Brennan, Arizona State junior transfer Jayden Daniels, redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier and true freshman Walker Howard – an equal number of snaps which has been the case all spring.
One thing Kelly is already guaranteed to enjoy Saturday is a sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s with winds about 14 miles per hour.
“I went 32 years of having a big jacket and gloves and snow,” said Kelly of spring games in his previous coaching stops at Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Central Michigan and Grand Valley State. “I can live with this for – what’s the length of my contract. . .10 years – I can do it for 10."
When, where
1 p.m, Tiger Stadium
Admission
Free of charge and all seating will be general admission on the west sidelines. Fans will enter the stadium through gates 1-6 on the west side. A free 2022 National L Club Spring Game poster and roster card will be distributed to fans when entering the stadium.
TV, radio
The game will be streamed on the SEC Network+ and will be broadcast in the Baton Rouge area on 104.5/104.9 FM and LSUsports.net/live.
Key times
• 7 a.m. – Parking lots on campus open
• 10:45 a.m. – LSU players and coaches walk down Victory Hill
• 12 noon – Gates to Tiger Stadium open (Gates 1-6 on west side); and the annual LSU SportShop Spring Sale (featuring game-worn helmets, jerseys, cleats and other merchandise) starts at the Tiger Stadium store on the west side of the stadium.
• 1:02 – Kickoff
Game format
Offense vs. defense. The first half will be played game-like with the exception of special teams. The second half will consist of a running clock for two 15-minute quarters.
Scoring system for defense:
• 3 points for a turnover/sudden change or stop
• 3 points for 3-and-out
• 2 points for a Color Zone Field Goal
• 2 points for a 3rd or 4th down stop
• 1 point for a sack or TFL or rush of -2 yards or more
• Normal scoring for interception, fumble returned for TD or safety
Other rules:
• QBs will be in red jerseys and won’t be live
• There will be kickoffs but no returns
• All punts and kickoffs will be fair caught
• No rush permitted on punts, PATs and FGs
• No fakes on punts, PATs and FGs
WHO TO WATCH
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks
Sixth-year senior Myles Brennan and junior Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels, possessing different skill sets, will get the first snaps followed by freshman redshirt Garrett Nussmeier and true freshman Walker Howard.
The 6-4, 235-pound Brennan, who has played just three games in the last two seasons because of injuries, has been on-point all spring as a pocket passer with his quick decisions and smart reads.
“Extending plays, being healthy, making the reads and just going to the right place with the football,” Brennan said of what he has emphasized this spring. “I know I can throw it. I have a great arm. I have great arm talent. It’s about getting the ball in our playmakers hands as quickly as possible.”
New head coach Brian Kelly is glad he persuaded Brennan to take his name out of the NCAA transfer portal and return to the team.
“He's a smart, experienced quarterback that plays to his strengths,” Kelly said of Brennan. “He throws the ball extremely well down the field, pushes the ball vertically. He’s always going to get us in the right play, protect himself and protect the ball.”
Daniels, a hot and cold passer, is light for an SEC-caliber QB at 6-3, 185 pounds. But he's the fastest of the four Tigers' QBs and is a huge RPO threat. In 29 games at Arizona State, he threw for 6,025 yards, 32 TDs and 13 interceptions and rushed for 1,258 yards and 13 TDs.
“I feel I’ve done well so far,” Daniels said, “coming in and learning the playbook on the fly. In the quarterback room, we bounce everything off each other. It's a healthy competition. I ask Myles questions. He asks me questions. We’re building that relationship. (Quarterbacks) Coach Joe (Sloan) has done a great job of creating that environment where it's not envying the next guy.”
The 6-1, 190-pound Nussmeier, who played in the NCAA max four games last season to retain his redshirt freshman season, is vastly improved over the gun-slinging thrower he was a year ago when he completed 50 percent of his passes for 329 yards, two TDs and two interceptions.
“Getting to play some last year, especially in two SEC games, you learn a lot,” Nussmeier said. “The biggest thing was just kind of being a more of a manager of an offense. For some reason, I got this like `gunslinger’ label everybody says, but I’m trying to just block that out and get rid of that stupid title. Yeah, I can take some shots. But I can't do that every play. I've learned just manage the offense, move the sticks.”
Howard, a 6-0, 185-pound four-star recruit from Lafayette St. Thomas More and the son of former starting LSU QB Jamie Howard, has been all eyes and ears in his first spring as a collegiate player.
“The other quarterbacks have all helped me out so much," Howard said. "After every play, they tell me what I could have done better or just tell me `good job' They're always in my head. There's always so much encouragement from those three guys and I'm very thankful for them.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said spring practice has been just the beginning for the starting quarterback battle.
“Those guys (the four QBs) understand that this competition is probably gonna spill over into the fall as we all kind of suspect it probably will,” Denbrock said. “And they're all going to be given an opportunity to win the job and it's important for them to step up and seize that opportunity.”
Denbrock, who has previously worked 14 years (seven years each at Grand Valley State and Notre Dame) under Kelly, said he’d like to have a clear-cut starting QB when the Tigers open the 2022 season vs. Florida State on Sept. 4 in New Orleans.
“But over the years we've had to play more than one guy in certain situations,” Denbrock said. “So, I know he (Kelly) is going to make the decision that he feels best for the football team."
Offensive tackle Will Campbell
It’s rare when a true freshman offensive lineman draws rave reviews in his first three months in a college football program.
But five-start signee Will Campbell of Monroe’s Neville High has wowed his new LSU teammates as the Tigers’ likely starting left offensive tackle.
“I've told everybody that he was the best (high school) player in the country last year,” LSU freshman QB Walker Howard said of his new roommate Campbell. “There's no doubt he's a stud. I knew coming in he was going to start from day one. He's one of the most athletic people I've ever seen at his size (6-6, 317 pounds).”
Campbell said the secret of his development is being coachable and playing violent.
“I just kind of took the coaching points from my high school coaches,” he said. “And when I would come up here to (LSU summer), I would listen to all the small things people (coaches) would tell me.
“I feel like this whole (offensive line) unit has a chip on our shoulders because it hasn't really had a lot of credit in the last couple of years. We're definitely hoping to change that.”
Running back John Emery Jr.
Despite the fact he’s recovering from an ankle injury, no LSU player is looking forward to playing in the spring game more than senior running back John Emery Jr.
Emery, a former five-star recruit from Destrehan High, played in 19 games in his first two LSU seasons in 2019 and 2020 rushing for 566 yards and seven TDs on 114 carries. His 103 rushing yards and three TDs on 12 carries in a 2020 win at Vanderbilt provided hints of his potential.
Last season, he was poised for a breakout year when he was unexpectedly ruled academically ineligible for the entire season just before last year’s opener. An appeal to the NCAA failed.
“That is probably the worst thing I've ever dealt with in my life,” Emery said. “It hurt that I couldn't be out there with my teammates. I just felt it was embarrassing. The anger built up just because I was healthy. I could have been in games and played. That was the most frustrating thing about it.”
But Emery weathered the storm with help from his parents, his teammates and the old coaching staff under former coach Ed Orgeron. It was also a blessing when Frank Wilson re-joined Brian Kelly's new Tigers’ staff in January as running backs coach.
“They helped me get through the process and helped me become the person I am today,” Emery said. “I'm just focused on becoming a better person every day and growing as an individual.”
Emery said he’s also matured as a player.
“I honestly feel that I’m a better student of the game and becoming a power back,” he said. “I used to be a shifty back and avoided a lot of contact. But now, I can do it all.”
New LSU defensive back Mekhi Garner, a transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette, can testify to the 6-0, 215-pound Emery’s newfound physicalness.
“He's physical,” Garner said of Emery. “I hate tackling backs like him. You really got to put your face on him, he’s not gonna go down trying to arm tackle him.”
Denbrock is high on Emery's talents.
“I like the direction that he's going,” Denbrock said. “He’s ultra-talented. His talent level is off the charts in all areas of playing the running back position. There's a huge contribution coming from him in the fall.”
Wide receivers
Junior Kayshon Boutte, LSU’s top receiver, underwent a second ankle surgery and has missed the entire spring. But it’s given the rest of the Tigers’ receiving corps a chance to sparkle.
Senior Jaray Jenkins, Louisiana-Lafayette junior transfer Kyren Lacy and sophomores Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas and Jack Bech all have had their moments.
“I believe we go as the offense goes,” Nabers said. “If we’re slacking, the offense is slacking. When the offense is having a good day, we’re having a good day because I feel we’re the main juice of the offense.”
Denbrock rates his receivers group as a strongpoint.
“I think they've been the most consistent position group so far, as far as how they've played in the big plays and the explosive plays that they've made,” Denbrock said. “Our attention to detail at that position is getting better. Our stamina is getting better.”
Defense
Defensive tackle Maason Smith
Last season as an LSU freshman, Maason Smith of Terrebonne High lived up to his high school hype as the nation’s best defensive tackle recruit in the Class of 2021
Despite missing the final month of the regular season with a leg injury, he finished with 19 tackles, five tackles for loss, four sacks and one quarterback hurry. He not only won All-SEC freshman team honors, but was named a Football Writers Association of America first-team freshman All-American.
But the 6-6, 292-pound sophomore feels the best is yet to come.
“As a freshman, I was just getting put in the system,” Smith said. “I was making some plays, but it wasn't who I truly am. From last year, I've grown up with technique and trusting my eyes and my power. I think this year will be a lot better.”
Linebacker Mike Jones Jr.
Mike Jones Jr. transferred to LSU last season from Clemson so he could make the switch from outside linebacker to inside linebacker. He started the last five games after seeing sporadic action and closed the season with 34 tackles including 2½ for loss.
Now, the 6-2, 234-pound junior is a middle linebacker in the Tigers 4-3 alignment and looks at home as the quarterback of the defense.
“I feel like last year, even when I got comfortable, I still had to think about things as much,” Jones said “It wasn't a natural. Now, I still think about the little things too, but I would say it's more just a reaction. I don't have to go into the mindset. I just play the game now."
Defensive backs Greg Brooks Jr. and Joe Foucha
Greg Brooks Jr. and Joe Foucha, both Louisiana natives from Harvey and New Orleans respectively, transferred from Arkansas where they both were starters.
The 5-11, 187-pound Brooks, a senior, started in 31 of 34 games he played with the Razorbacks. He had 112 career tackles, 12 pass breakups and four interceptions.
“It means a lot being back home putting on for the state of Louisiana,” Brooks said. “Everybody where I’m from is watching and they’re going to get on me if I do bad. It's just an extra motivation. It means something a little different when you’re home.”
The 5-10, 210-pound Foucha started in 33 of the 44 games he played for Arkansas. He had 231 career tackles (11½ for losses), 17 pass breakups and five interceptions.
Foucha said he has enjoyed learning from new LSU cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples.
“I love working with Coach because if I mess up on the field, he corrects it right there and then,” Foucha said. “He doesn’t wait until he looks at the (practice) film or until the end of practice to talk about it. He pulls you to the side and he gets it corrected. As a player, that's the type of coach you want to listen to, that's the type of coach you want to run through a wall for.”
Kelly loves the Arkansas transfer duo.
“They were leaders in our offseason program and then on the field they're exactly what we had hoped,” Kelly said. “They lead by example both on and off the field. They've been excellent in the classroom. They've been a great addition and it has helped raise the level of everybody.”
