LSU safety Ty Benefield didn’t spend much time looking backward this week.
With Saturday’s SEC matchup against Texas A&M set for Tiger Stadium, Benefield made it clear the Tigers have moved on from last week’s loss to Ole Miss and are locked in on the Aggies. His message was direct: the locker room is ready, and the response has to come on the field.
“The locker room is ready to go. Put that in the past, did what we had to do, and we're ready to go for A&M.”
Benefield also turned his attention to Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, stressing discipline and patience on defense as LSU prepares for a player who can extend plays and force mistakes.
“Just have to plaster drill. When he gets out of the pocket, keep him in the pocket as much as we can.
Stay disciplined in coverage. Don't be too greedy.
But he's gonna test your rules. He's good at what he does.”
The safety said he was encouraged by what he saw from Jhase Thomas against Ole Miss, along with Cooley stepping in on short notice. Benefield said Thomas communicated well and gave the room a strong start, while also noting the absence of Dashawn Spears.
“Yeah, I mean, it was great to see Jhase get in, and very impressed with how Cooley filled in, you know, on late notice like that. But Jhase did his thing, and he communicated at a high level.
Obviously, there's going to be things to work on, but great starting ground for him. I'm very proud of him, and I'm excited to see how we get this whole room going, unfortunately with Dashawn (Spears) being out, but leaning on everybody.”
Benefield also expanded on the edge that has defined his approach since arriving at LSU. For him, “I want all the smoke” is about seeking the toughest challenges and welcoming the best competition in the country.
“I mean, smoke essentially just means, like, I want all parts of any fight. I want to go against the best competition.
I don't care who's in front of me. I want everything.
I want the hard road, and that's how it's gonna be for the rest of my life. That's why I came to LSU.
I wanted the smoke, going from Boise to the SEC, the best conference in the nation, the baby NFL. Like, I want the smoke.
I don't care who we line up against, who I line up against. So yeah, that's what it means.”
He said LSU has also shown him something about himself: no matter how the first half goes, he believes he can compete with anyone, and he trusts the people around him to do their part.
“Yeah. No matter the adversity that, you know, happens in the first half of a game, the slow start, you know, you come out-I come out, and I can compete with anybody.
I have tremendous faith in my teammates to do their job so that they can allow me to make the plays, because without my teammates doing their job, I couldn't have made those plays in the game. So, tremendous faith in my teammates, and I don't care what happens on the play before.
Next-play mentality, always.”
And when asked what he wants people to know about LSU heading into Texas A&M, especially with injuries and the Ole Miss loss in the rearview, Benefield kept it simple.
“The best answer is gonna be what happens on Saturday. That's all I'm gonna say. Actions speak louder than words.”
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