2023 LSU Fall practice notes: Day 8
The Tigers were back out on the practice field on Saturday afternoon in one of the hottest days of camp to date. Here are the main takeaways of everything we saw in camp.
Who’s in, Who’s out
Defensive back Greg Brooks once again was held out for practice. He had participated in practice earlier this week, but did not even have a helmet on today. Once again, there was no sign of wide receiver Kyle Parker.
Maason Smith went down and stayed down during the final 11-on-11 period. The medical staff came out to check on him and he stayed down for a few minutes before being helped to his feet and walking off the field. He did not leave practice, instead walking back to the sidelines after with a slight limp. It looked like his right leg was bothering him.
Players I didn’t see today, but may have missed: Ka’Morreun Pimpton, Jalen Brown, Mason Lunsford, Matthew Langlois, Kylin Jackson.
Passing game excels
Chris Hilton had two 40-yard touchdowns in 7-on-7, torching Ashton Stamps and then Duce Chestnut, one from each quarterback. After having strong days to open camp, the secondary was not as sharp on Saturday as Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier both found open receivers routinely. Daniels still completed a lot of checkdowns to the running backs and tight ends, but when he took his shots, he was mostly successful. In the redzone, Daniels and Nussmeier especially excelled, carving up the defense.
Daniels had one interception on a pass that went off the hands of a wide-open Kaleb Jackson and five feet into the air before Sage Ryan came down with it. Not his fault there.
Malik Nabers is having the best camp of anyone on the team right now and it’s not particularly close. Every day he’s dominating his opponent and catching everything. He has great energy, passion, and is a touchdown machine in camp. Today he had a handful of scores, with the exclamation mark being a corner fade over Sage Ryan. Looks like one of the best receivers in the country.
*** Duce Chestnut had a nice PBU vs. Brian Thomas Jr on third down.
*** Shelton Sampson continues to get good reps with the second team.
*** Rickie Collins really struggled today in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11. Not sure he completed a pass. Denver Harris had a nice PBU on one of his throws.
One-on-one notes
Didn’t watch as much offensive line 1-on-1s, instead watching the 7-on-7 portion, but what I did see on the line of scrimmage was Harold Perkins vs Will Campbell. Perkins used the speed duck-in move that was incredibly successful last year to get around Campbell. Campbell did a good job of making Perkins extend pretty wide, but Perkins got around him eventually. Good rep to see between two elite players.
Other reps: Womack beat Adams – Wingo beat Bordelon – Wiggins beat Dellinger – Frazier won vs Smith – Oghoufo beat Heard – Wiggins beat Makaneole.
The defensive line also worked on their twists with two players and the offensive line had to pick it up, which had its ups and downs. Frazier, Dellinger, and Campbell had strong outings in this portion.
Running game questions
*** Freshman running back Kaleb Jackson had the aforementioned dropped pass that went for an interception, then had a really nice run, running over a second-team player, then had a fumble recovered by the defense in 11-on-11. Brian Kelly said he was incredibly raw and we saw those inconsistencies today.
In 11-on-11, the run game was very limited. None of the backs were able to find a crease for a significant gain as everything felt less than three or four yards. Tight end Mac Markway continues to get a lot of reps, but I didn’t see Connor Gilbreath much.
Starters stay the same
There’s nothing new to report on the depth chart. The same starters on offense and defense from what I saw.
Offense: Daniels, Cain, Nabers, Thomas, Lacy, Taylor, Campbell, Dellinger, Turner, Frazier, Jones
Defense: Chestnut, Alexander, Sam, Burns, Ryan, Perkins, Speights, Oghoufo, Jones, Wingo, Smith
Ashton Stamps is currently the No.3 cornerback on this team behind Alexander and Chestnut. Laterrance Welch and Denver Harris both worked with the second and third team. Jordan Allen and Javien Toviano are still the second team safeties.
Brian Kelly said that there wouldn’t be much movement early in camp, but we’ll see how much this changes going forward in camp.
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