3/8/2023 football Edit

LSU opens spring football practice Thursday morning

Jayden Daniels, seen here in winter conditioning drills, was an unknown commodity at last year's LSU spring practice after transferring from Arizona State. He enters the start of spring practice Thursday firmly entrenched as the Tigers' starting quarterback. (Photo courtesy of LSU Athletics)

Ron Higgins • Death Valley Insider

Columnist

LSU opens spring football Thursday morning with the first of 15 practices under second-year head coach Brian Kelly.

The Tigers, who last season won the SEC’s Western Division and capped a 10-4 year by blasting Purdue 63-7 in the Citrus Bowl, return 26 players who started at least one game in 2022.

Returning starting QB Jayden Daniels leads an offense returning players who accounted for 94 percent of its rushing yards last season, all but seven of its 3,770 passing yards and three of its top four receivers including 1,000-yard receiver Malik Nabers.

LSU also returns four of its five starters on the offensive line including freshman All-America Will Campbell and freshman All-SEC Emery Jones.

On Tuesday the Tigers added Maryland offensive lineman Mason Lunsford who started 23 games the past two seasons.

Sophomore linebacker Harold Perkins leads the defensive returnees. As a freshman All-American last season, he led LSU in sacks (7½) and tackles for loss (13) and was third in tackles with 72.

Defensive tackle Maason Smith, who started vs. Florida State in last year’s season-opener and suffered a season-ending knee injury on the game’s first series, will be limited in the spring, according to Kelly.

Smith is expected to be given the green light for non-contact drills as is freshman edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack (shoulder surgery).

All of LSU’s 2022 specialists return including punter Jay Bramblett, placekicker Damian Ramos and kickoff specialist Nathan Dibert.

Seven Tigers will miss the entire spring healing from surgeries. They are sophomore tight end Mason Taylor (shoulder), junior running back Armoni Goodwin (knee), redshirt senior center Charles Turner (various injuries), junior defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo (shoulder/core muscle), Syracuse transfer cornerback Duce Chestnut (not reported) West Virginia transfer defensive lineman Jordan Jefferson (knee) and Alabama transfer receiver Aaron Anderson (knee, thumb).

The Tigers practice Thursday and Friday, then are off next week on spring break.

They return to practice March 21, followed by practices on the 23, 25, 30 and April 1, 4, 6, 11, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22.

Pro Day is March 29 and the high school coaches’ clinic is April 13-15.

Details and the format of LSU’s final spring practice on April 22 haven’t be determined.