Kelly says he'll name LSU's starting quarterback by this weekend
It’s what you’d like your head football coach to say after a practice with the season opener just 12 days away.
“Today was our best day in terms of playing with speed, practicing with the purpose,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said after Tuesday’s practice with the Tigers’ Sept. 4 opener in the Superdome vs. Florida State fast approaching. “You got the sense today that they were getting ready to play a game. It was clean, it was efficient. . . it just didn't feel like a check-the-box camp day.
"We are who we are. There's nobody else coming through the doors. This is the team we have and I like their development. We're on schedule for the preparation part and moving towards focusing on Florida State here in the next couple of day. I expect us to be in a really good position.
By Friday, LSU should have just about all starting positions decided as it puts together a scout team to simulate Florida State offensive and defensive teams. And yes, that means naming a starting quarterback.
Kelly, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and quarterback coach Joe Sloan have enough of a preseason sample size from Arizona State junior transfer Jayden Daniels and freshman redshirt Garrett Nussmeier to pick a starter.
“We need to make a decision and start who we feel gives us the best chance to win,” Kelly said. “The two of them are outstanding quarterbacks, both can help us win. We feel really good about both of those. If you (the media) were voting as a group in here (on which QB would start), it (the vote) might split in this room. It's pretty close.”
Here's Kelly on other subjects:
On the improvement of likely starting slot receiver sophomore Malik Nabers
“From the spring to the summer workouts into now, he's obviously stronger physically and his maturity is the thing that stands out. And when I say maturity, he's the same guy every day. Comes to practice prepared. He practices hard. He comes with the right attitude. He thinks the right way. And that's maturity. I thought at times in the spring, he was a bit up and down.”
On how the return of previously injured Jack Bech and Chris Hilton rounds out the receiving corps
“We want to play fast. We want to play with some tempo, push the ball down the field. So those guys are going to have to stay fresh. We want to be able to attack defenses. Six, seven deep at that position is going to serve us well. I think having that kind of depth we're going to use it as a strength of ours by keeping those guys fresh and rotating into the game.”
On the progress of the offensive line
“We’re still moving bits and pieces around. The good part is Garrett Dellinger has really settled in at the center. Last week, I was vocal about the snaps. He's really settled in nicely since that day and has taken ownership in that position. He’s been extremely consistent, so we feel good there at the center position.
“We've been working (Anthony) Bradford at some guard but as you know he's played a lot of tackle. So, that's giving Cam Wire some opportunity there (at right tackle).
"What we're looking for some key backup situations. I think we've got a pretty good sense of the five, six guys and now it's about getting seventh, eighth guy. We feel comfortable knowing that we've got seven eight guys that's gonna be our rotation.”
On offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock
“He's always been a smart, intuitive play caller. I've been together with him for a long time. I just think he's intuitively smart. He knows football. He knows the offense that I like to run and what I like to do so that's obviously key because our conversations are on point. I don't have to explain a lot to him. He can go `I know what you're looking for there, let's go ahead and do that.’
"He likes to do what I like to do. We want to control the line of scrimmage. We want physicalness within the offensive structure. We're going to utilize the tight end and three wide receivers. And we want to push the ball down the field. We want big chunk plays and I think that's kind of stayed consistent with his philosophy.”
On starting sophomore defensive tackle Maason Smith
“Obviously, the physical tools are there. He brings that that physical presence at the defensive line position. He wants to get better. Every day there's definitely a desire to want to be the best. He sits in the front row, he’s taking notes. He's engaged. This isn't a guy that sleepy-eyed sitting in the back of a room, you know like `Hey, I've arrived.’ That to me stands out.
“And he knows he's got a lot to work on. He wants to be a better pass rusher. He plays with a lot of emotion. And I don't think he's even reached his ceiling.”
On naming a starting placeklcker and punter
“(Redshirt freshman) Damon Ramos is probably in the lead at that position (placekicker). We haven’t made a decision on kickoff right now, that's still a competitive situation. I’d say (Jay) Bramblett has probably won the punting job.”
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