With the annual spring game on Saturday, here’s a recap of what LSU has looked like at practice the last two weeks based off my observations at practice.
As the sun sets on the final days of spring practice, LSU football finds itself poised for the culminating moment: the eagerly anticipated spring game this Saturday.
After weeks of rigorous training and strategic preparation, the Tigers stand ready to showcase their progress and potential. There has been a lot of players that were expected to have a good spring, but there have been some who have exceeded expectations.
Here’s a recap of everything that has happened in the last two weeks of practice.
The offense seems to be just about set in stone for the spring game
LSU is close to wrapping up the spring depth chart as the Tigers are less than a week away from its Spring game on April 13.
On offense, it has relatively been the whole spring.
Garrett Nussmerier is the quarterback of the first team and he is joined by running backs Josh Williams and Kaleb Jackson in the backfield.
Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan has praised Nussmeier’s acceptance of his new role as the starting quarterback and the work he’s put in over the spring.
“Obviously, anybody that has watched Garrett play, he’s got unbelievable arm talent and can deliver the ball in a number of different ways quickly,” Sloan said. “His biggest thing has been playing within the structure of the offense and when to take a challenging throw and when not to. That’s been the big emphasis. When Garrett has tight feet, he makes really good decisions and so really, it is a technique thing, which is in his control. I have been really pleased in the spring with him taking over the leadership role. The relationships he built over time and the work he put in, guys respect it. It’s been good to watch. His vocal leadership has grown, but I think he has been playing within himself. We got a lot of work between now and August, but a lot of good things so far.”
At wide receiver, the starting rotation at receiver has been Kyren Lacy, Aaron Anderson and Chris Hilton with Kyle Parker, CJ Daniels and Zavion Thomas rotating in.
At tight end, Mason Taylor is in his third year as the starter. Sophomore Mac Markway has been taking reps with the second team.
On the offensive line, it’s the usual suspects with Will Campbell and Emery Jones at left and right tackle, Garrett Dellinger and Miles Fraxier at left and right guard and DJ Chester at center.
Trey Holly Update
LSU came into the spring with two scholarship running backs as Jackson and Williams are currently splitting the first-team reps. With Caden Durham not coming in until fall camp, it looked like the Tigers were going to have to go into the portal to find one.
However, LSU got some good news on Friday.
Sophomore running back Trey Holly, who was arrested due to accused of second-degree murder in January, will not be charged as a Union Parish Grand Jury decided to reject his charge that was inflicted upon
Holly is still facing a charge of illegal use of a weapon, but his attorney, Mike Small, told WAFB the LSU running back will plead not guilty to the charge.
Following Saturday’s LSU practice, head coach Brian Kelly discussed his reaction when he heard about the news.
“The first I saw of it was it being released on social media, and we had a coaching clinic (Friday) and his high school head coach came up to me at the clinic and told me the serious charges were dropped,” Kelly said. “We were confident based on information that was shared to us, but you just don’t know. We do know Trey Holly. We’ve been with him. We advocated for him to continue his schooling and were happy he continued it as an online student so he maintained his eligibility by doing that.”
With one charge remaining, Kelly provided some additional insight into how – and when – Holly might return to the team. Following Friday’s news, Kelly stood firm behind the program’s support for the freshman running back.
“We are monitoring it, and they are talking about sometime in the middle of April, we could see a full resolution to this,” Kelly said. “At that time, we will begin the process of assisting him in reinstatement, and we will advocate for him on his behalf and welcome him back.”
Holly played in three games during his freshman season in 2023, closing out the year with 11 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown. He also caught one pass for five yards.
The Defense Looks Sharp Once Again
There is one word that can describe the defense throughout the spring: aggression. That is the way new defensive coordinator Blake Baker wants this LSU defense to play. Baker likes this philosophy not only because it represents how football should be played but also because it allows his players to play more freely.
“There are a lot of opportunities to make plays within the scheme,” Baker said. “We want to be a vertical one gap defense and creating havoc in the backfield. Keeping it simple for our guys and trying to make it complicated on the offense. It’s an attitude and a mindset in how we attack every single day. I have been pleased with our guys. They are enjoying it, but they have really taken to it as far as a culture standpoint.”
Although LSU is lacking depth on the interior defensive linemen right now, Baker feels confident about the group.
The group is being spearheaded by Jacobian Guillory who returns for his senior year after flirting with the idea of entering this year’s NFL draft. To kind of give you an idea of how scarce the defensive line room is right now, Kimo Makane’ole has been getting first-team reps on the defensive line after he was an offensive lineman for the last two years.
Along with Guillory and Makenoole, Jalen Lee, Shone Washington and De’Myrion Johnson join them on the field right. Five-star DOmicick McKinley won’t come into the fall and the Tigers landed Gio Paez out of the portal.
Although the depth is a concern, Baker is optimistic in coach Bo Davis’ shoes.
“I think they’re getting better every day. Coach Davis is doing a really nice job with them and we have some pieces to work with there, some guys who have played some football, some new faces. I would say it’s a work in progress but they have shown improvement. That’s where we’re at,” Baker said.
At linebacker, Harold Perkins and Greg Penn are the starting inside linebackers. Although Perkins will get most of the publicity for nothing but good reasons, Penn is one of the most underrated linebackers in the SEC and has improved year in and year out. Penn is one of the few senior leaders on a very young defense.
Baker, who coached Penn when he was a freshman, talked about his improvement to become the player he is right now.
“Number one is leadership,” Baker said. He has played a lot of football. I always knew that he had that in him, but it’s kind of hard to do that as a freshman. Number two is that he has played a lot of football. He played inside linebacker in high school and I thought he always had good instincts by the time he got here. He has improved as far as backfield recognition and has really improved on how an offense should attack you.”
The group that has turned a lot of eyeballs has been the secondary. More importantly, Baker has acknowledged that the unit that has been the most improved from the first day of spring camp.
“I’ve seen some ups and downs,” Baker said. “The one thing is that we have guys that attack the football. We have done a great job in the backend creating turnovers. Sage Ryan sticks out to me. He has made a couple of interceptions this spring. Major Burns has had a really good spring so far. The corners have grown more than any group from practice one to now. Those corners have gotten so much better as a unit. I have been pleased with them and we got to continue to grow. That is going to be the motto through summer workouts, but we have some good depth as well. I have been pleased with that group back there.”
The first-team cornerbacks have been sophomore Ashton Stamps and true freshman PJ Woodland.
Woodland, who prepped at Oak Grove High School in Mississippi less than five months ago, has quickly adjusted to college ball and has impressed Baker and cornerback coach Corey Raymond enough to get reps with the first team.
“PJ Woodland is a competitor,” Baker said. “He is feisty and will throw it in there. He is physical and he can run. For a freshman or really as a high school senior, we threw him out there against our top wide receivers and he competes. He has the physical tools and he can run. I have been very impressed with him. It wasn’t easy. The first three days, he was probably thinking what in the world did I do coming in early, but he has been very impressive the last couple of days.”
Jardin Gilbert and Sage Ryan are the first team safeties and Major Burns moved to the STAR position, which is a position that is closer to the line of scrimmage.
JK Johnson and Javien Toviano have taken the majority of the snaps at corner on the second. True freshman Dashawn McBryde has been getting a lot of reps as a member of the second team at safety and is someone you should watch out for during the spring game.