LSU got its first real look at itself in a Saturday scrimmage at Tiger Stadium, and the defense made the opening statement.
Coach Lane Kiffin said Monday that the first-team defense set the tone by forcing pressure and blanketing receivers, making life hard for quarterback Sam Leavitt and the offense. The workout was closed to reporters, but Kiffin’s assessment left little doubt about which side won the early rounds.
“I thought the first team defense played extremely well, gave the offense a lot of pressure and really good coverage. That was great to see,” Kiffin said Monday.
He added that scrimmages rarely produce clean football on either side, but LSU’s offense settled in as the day went on.
“Obviously, any time in scrimmages, both sides are never going to look really good,” Kiffin continued. “The first offense struggled for a while, then came back and played well later, which is what we hope for.”
Leavitt, a redshirt junior transfer from Arizona State, had been putting together a strong run during recent non-contact portions of practice, completing a high percentage of his throws. In the scrimmage, though, he had to deal with live pressure, and Kiffin said the quarterback moved well and looked fully past the foot injury from last season that required surgery.
“The quarterback being out there every day and being fully healthy has made a big difference,” he said. “He’s moved great.
We knew what kind of athlete he was, especially two years ago on film. He moves around great.
Got out of a lot of trouble with some great pass rush (in the scrimmage) that came at him and some that come free on Saturday.”
LSU ran 170 plays in the scrimmage, giving the staff plenty to sift through.
“There were a lot of good things to evaluate,” Kiffin said. “We played for a long time. That was really good to see to get a lot of information on our guys, and half of it being tackling helped us on some evaluations, too.”
Kiffin circled back to the defense again, pointing to the way the unit has started to come together.
“I think the defensive mentality of the individual players has come together,” he said. “You have a lot of alphas over there that have come from other places and from here and them meshing together.”
LSU returned to practice Monday morning after Sunday off, and a few players were missing from the session: running back Harlem Berry, defensive tackle Malik Blocton and edge Jordan Ross.
“They should be fine,” Kiffin said.
Transfer wide receiver Roman Mothershed also showed up in a different role, working at tight end while No. 1 tight end Trey’Dez Green remained out of contact work.
“We held Trey’Dez today - just normal type of decisions,” Kiffin sadi. “Roman’s doing well outside. He’s been playing well for us, making big plays.
Defensive assistant coach Ed Orgeron was also away from practice.
“He wasn’t feeling real well. We sent him home,” Kiffin said.
“We expect him back soon. You can imagine what that conversation was like.”
Kiffin also declined to provide an update on redshirt freshman defensive end Damian Shanklin, who has not practiced at all this month.
“I do not have an upate on that, and I cannot comment on that,” Kiffin said.
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