 Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes 4/18/2021 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports BATON ROUGE, LA: We would finally get a peek at the 2021 LSU Tigers as they would end their spring football camp with the annual National L Club spring game in Tiger Stadium, with the Purple team defeating the White team, 23-14. It was a typical spring football game with vanilla play calling on offense against a very basic defensive attack. With a shortage of healthy running backs available, the Tigers took to the air often which lead to a big game for both Kayshon Boutte and Jontre Kirklin. Boutte would have a monster first half catching seven balls for 131 yards and one touchdown. He would finish with 11 catches for 162 yards with one touchdown on the day. "We showed out today," Boutte said. "We could improve in some areas, but altogether we did good as a unit." Kirklin ended up playing for both teams. He quietly put together an outstanding day, finishing the game with 16 receptions for 209 yards with two touchdowns. The quarterback battle for this team is far from over, although both Myles Brennan and Max Johnson showed much more consistency then TJ Finley and Garrett Nussmeier. Johnson seemed to be the more efficient out of the group as he would finish the day going 11-17 for 180 yards, with two touchdowns passes. Brennan would go 12-20 for 116 yards, with one touchdown pass. Brennan just didn't seem to be as sharp as he was last season before the injury. He was off target a couple of times and his 39 yard touchdown pass was more of a jump ball, Hail-Mary type of throw that Boutte adjusted to making a great catch. At times Brennan would also hold the ball to long while receivers were breaking open. TJ Finley started the game with some nice throws, but would continue to show flashes on inconsistent play that plagued him at times last season. Poor decisions lead to turnovers. He would finish the game going 10-19, 84 yards, with two interceptions. Garrett Nussmeier is a talented young man, but has no shot at winning the starting job in 2021. He has a lot to learn. Orgeron wasted to many snaps with the young freshmen that could have been used to help decide the race between the other three quarterbacks. Nussmeier simply needs to take a redshirt this season. He has a future in the purple and gold. He would finish going 15-25 for 132 yards, with one touchdown pass and one interception. "I thought we gave the quarterbacks a very fair shot today." said Coach Orgeron. "Each one of them had a shot with the 1's. I think that when we come back to camp, we are going to have to designate a certain amount of reps for certain guys. We will give the first and second guy more reps. I think that is going to be a process during camp." The Running back position has been very thin all spring camp long due to nagging injuries keeping John Emery and others out. Only two backs suited up and played in the ball game. Ty Davis-Price played with the first team offense, while Nick Demas played the entire game for the Purple squad. Davis-Price has a very productive game as he finished with 81 yards on 15 carries, highlighted by a 28 yard burst on the first play of the 2nd quarter. Demas played hard all game long for the Purple, gaining 18 yards on 7 carries. Koy Moore lined up in the back field for a few plays late in the 4th quarter, carrying the ball twice for 15 yards. The starting offensive line unit had a strong showing in the contest. Their pass protection was stellar through most of the game even though they did give up three sacks. They did a great job of run blocking, opening up nice holes for Davis-Price, however they still struggled getting to get a push on short yardage. The 2nd unit gave up five sacks and needs to continue to improve before the season begins. On the 4th play of the game Max Johnson dropped back to throw and found a very wide open Kayshon Boutte in the secondary for a 45 yard completion. The play quickly brought back flashback memories of the nightmare breakdowns by the secondary last season. However, the secondary ended up being the surprise of the ball game. "Our secondary is probably the most improved area on our football team." Orgeron said. "Daronte Jones and Corey Raymond have done a tremendous job." Derek Stingley Jr, was Derek Stingley Jr., playing flawless coverage, finishing the game with three tackles, and one interception. Ray Jones made a great interception, returning it 39 yards. But it was Dwight McGlothern who stood out making play after play, taking advantage of Eli Ricks being inactive for the game. He finished with four tackles, one TFL, and four pass breakups. Jay Ward played very well at free safety as he ended up with 7 tackles, one interception, and broke up a pass. The linebackers were solid. Jared Small was everywhere, finishing the game with 14 tackles, 1.5 TFL, and had an interception that he returned for 34 yards. “I’m proud of Small, man,” said Damone Clark. “That’s a guy that comes to the building every day. He’s ready to work. He’s always waited for his time. And today was his day to show everybody what he can do. I couldn’t be more proud of Jared.” Damone Clark showed much improvement as he had a strong game totaling 12 tackles on the day. Clark has also stepped up to become a huge vocal leader on the team. Josh White had a good game as he showed off his speed on the field today finishing with five tackles, while Antoine Sampah finished with three tackles and an interception. The defensive front will be a force to be reckoned with. This unit is big, strong, experienced, and has depth. Jaquelin Roy finished the game with four tackles, three TFL, and lead the team with three sacks. Neil Farrell had two tackles and recorded one sack on the day. Glen Logan had two tackles and deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage. Jacob Guillory had a tackle along with one TFL... Eric Taylor finished with two tackles, one TFL, and one sack. BJ Ojulari picked up where he left off at last season finishing with three tackles, two TFL, two sacks, while constantly putting pressure on the quarterback. Maason Smith didn't play much due to a nagging injury. Special teams were solid. Cade York went 2-2 on field goal attempts, hitting from 50 and 47 yards out. Preston Stafford would go 1-2 on field goal attempts, hitting a 27 yarder, while missing one from 48 yards out. Both punters, Avery Atkins and Peyton Todd did a great job in the ball game. They both finished with high averages, putting nice hang time on their kicks, and downed four punts in the red zone combined. Both teams competed hard and played with intensity for the entire ball game. It was a successful spring game that added a confident ending to a productive camp. The biggest positive of the day was finishing the game with no injuries. Not all of the pieces to this puzzle have arrived yet. The Tigers have several talented freshmen coming in for the beginning of fall practice who will challenge for playing time and make this team better. Now we wait on the start of the 2021 football season... September 4th will be here before we know it... GEAUX TIGERS!! Head Coach Ed Orgeron WR - Kayshon Boutte
LB - Damone Clark OL - Austin Deculus Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes Photo Below By: David Chivatero  Photo By: LSU/SEC 4/14/2021 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports BATON ROUGE: Coach O meet with the media on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the end of spring football camp and answer questions about this weekend's annual spring game. Most are curious about the quarterback competition, hoping to hear who will lead the offense in 2021. That decision will not happen until the team returns in the fall, probably about two weeks before the season opener. Some were surprised that Max Johnson starting spring camp taking snaps with the first unit even though Myles Brennan had returned healthy from the injury that ended his 2020 season. “You know, the reason why Max is getting the first snap is, I told him, hey, he finishes the season 2-0. You know it was hard for Myles. I could’ve gave Myles the first snap too. It really didn’t matter. They’re all competing for a job. Who takes the first snaps, they’ll all take equal snaps and stuff. I think that’s more of a status deal. There is no starting quarterback. They’re all competing and all four of them are very talented. I think you’re really going to like Garrett Nussmeier. He’s very talented. He’s got to learn the offense. TJ’s had a good spring. All of them had a good spring, but you know what, we’re just getting started. We’re putting in a new offense and new plays every day. We can’t judge those guys yet. We’ve got to get them enough reps to where we can get into the game situations, have some preseason games and then give them a chance to compete for the starting job,” said Ed Orgeron. With the Tigers being short on running backs and in the secondary due to injury, Coach O was asked if the game might have a toned down format... “No, no we want them competing. This is another practice. We need this. That’s why we’re going first offense vs. first defense. Second offense vs. second defense." Orgeron said. Saturday will be an interesting game to watch and grade.. This team is very talented but has a lot of questions still to be answered since last season's disappointing 5-5 finish. Things to watch for during the practice..... How will the quarterback's share the snaps? How will the offense handle working on running plays with a shortage of healthy running backs? How will the second offensive line unit perform? The linebackers and secondary play a basic new scheme... (Simplified. No blitzing in the game.) The intensity and energy of the team... Watch how the tight ends will perform, both blocking and receiving.... Below is the video of Tuesday's press conference....  Photo By: WGNO TV 4/12/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Michael Bonnette BATON ROUGE – LSU will welcome fans back to Tiger Stadium for the National L Club Spring Game on Saturday, April 17. Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT on SEC Network+, with live radio broadcast on LSUsports.net/live and 104.5/104.9 FM in Baton Rouge. Admission to the game will be free of charge and seating will be general admission throughout the lower bowl of Tiger Stadium. Gates to Tiger Stadium will open at 11 a.m. that day and fans will be able to enter at the South and West gates. LSU will follow safety protocols currently in place for all of its outdoor athletic events and social distancing is encouraged throughout the lower bowl. In addition, masks will be required to enter Tiger Stadium. The LSU football team will walk down Victory Hill at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Fans are invited to cheer the Tigers down Victory Hill using social distancing. A free 2021 National L Club Spring Game poster and roster card will be distributed to fans when entering the stadium. Concession stands will be open throughout the south concourse of Tiger Stadium.  Photo By: LSU 4/8/2021 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports BATON ROUGE - Today a few LSU football players were able to meet with the media to answer some questions on how spring camp has been going as they prepare for the 2021 football season... Kayshon Boutte is excited about the changes that have been made to the offense so far. "We have added some stuff to the offense. Since coach Peetz came in he has moved me around a lot. Last year I mainly just played the 'X'. This year it's different. I like the way he has come in and changed the style. Coach DJ helps the receivers get better in everything that we do." Linebacker Demone Clark has spoken positives about the new defensive system the team will run this season. "This is a good defensive scheme for the players that we have. The coaches that we have are the best coaches..." Quarterbacks Max Johnson and TJ Finley are both excited about how the competition is going at the position. Johnson has mentioned how well all four quarterbacks have come together off of the field, spending a lot of time together. "We're all coming together." added Max. "Its been a really good spring so far. The receivers, running backs, and offensive line are working really well together. I'm looking forward to the spring game."\ "Last year I was blessed to be able to start five games as a true freshmen." TJ Finley stated. "It was a roller coaster experience. It started out good but didn't end the way I wanted it too. I've been working hard on improving my consistency." "The whole offensive line right now is doing very well." said Ed Ingram. Below are video clips from the press conference.... Enjoy... GEAUX TIGERS!! WR - Kayshon Boutte LB - Damone Clark QB - Max Johnson QB - TJ Finley OL - Ed Ingram  Photo By: David Chivatero 4/8/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Brandon Berrio BATON ROUGE – LSU All-America wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase is one of a handful of players that has been extended an invitation to attend the NFL Draft when the event takes place in Cleveland later this month. Widely considered a Top 5 overall draft pick and the No. 1 wide receiver in this year's draft, Chase capped his LSU career in 2019 as the winner of the Biletnikoff Award and a unanimous All-America. Chase did not play in 2020. Chase will become the 48th first round NFL Draft pick in LSU history when he's selected later this month. Last year, LSU set the school record with first round draft picks including the No. 1 overall pick in quarterback Joe Burrow. LSU tied the overall national mark with Miami for the most NFL Draft picks in a single draft with 14 last year. This year's NFL Draft will take place April 29-May 1 in locations throughout Cleveland including FirstEnergy Stadium (home of the Cleveland Browns), the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Science Center. Set against the backdrop of Lake Erie, the NFL Draft Main Stage will serve as the central hub for draft activities and will be the location where NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will make pick announcements. Currently, 10 players have been invited to the NFL Draft, six of which are from the SEC. The NFL is expected to announce more draft invitations in the coming weeks. The 2021 NFL Draft begins on April 29 with the first round taking place at 7 p.m. CT. Rounds two and three will be held on Friday, April 30 starting at 6 p.m. with the final four rounds starting at noon on Saturday, May 1. The NFL Draft will be televised in its entirety on ESPN and NFL Network. LSUsports.net will also provide complete coverage of each LSU player selected in the NFL Draft.  4/8/2021 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports BATON ROUGE - Spring football camp is rolling right along as the Tigers are staying focused and working hard to bounce back and compete for another SEC championship in 2021. Coach O, had his regular scheduled Tuesday press conference to answer questions from the media.. Below is a video of the press conference and a short video of Tuesday's practice... |