The Tigers were back on the field today, and we were allowed in for our standard 10–12 minutes of viewing time. Today, I spent the majority of that time viewing the defense before finishing the final two minutes with the running backs.
There was a bit of a shift along the interior defensive line, as Dom McKinley was getting his first public reps with the first unit. From what I could see, his pad level was still very high, but he was overall more engaged in the workout. Deuce Geralds was next to him, and it’s safe to assume that at this stage of camp, Geralds will be the first interior defensive lineman to take snaps against Clemson. If I had to choose his running mate, it would be Richard Anderson.
The defense was focused on a turnover return drill. In this drill, a defender would catch an interception, and the rest of the team would find someone to block to help ensure the defense could turn the takeaway into a score.
After this, they broke off into individual sessions. I watched the safeties work on ball-tracking drills, attacking the ball in flight at different speeds and angles. It’s redundant to keep saying this, but Ty Benefield is just special. The physical ability he’s able to showcase is unlike any of the other safeties in the group. Even on the balls he missed, he was still able to get a hand on them when even that seemed unlikely.
Temarcus Cooley was the next one up, and he looked great during his reps as well. There have been a few players rotating next to Benefield, but the fact remains that all of them are very talented. I’m comfortable saying that regardless of who becomes the other starting safety, the defense will be fine. This just goes to show the quality of depth LSU now has within this group.
After viewing the safeties, I spent the final few minutes watching the running backs work on picking up blitzes from interior pass rushers.
Kevin Smith’s approach to coaching needs to be mentioned again. He’s very detail-oriented, and hearing him correct things like foot placement and false steps—and explain how those mistakes can result in poor blocking and eventually disastrous plays—was great to hear.
In this drill, Dilin Jones physically looked great. Jones is already believed to be the best blocker of the three running backs viewed as the lead group, but Raycine Guillory also had a fantastic rep during the drill, nearly forcing the GA to jump over a garbage can.
Today was a good, clean day, and you can see that the Tigers are starting to progress beyond the basic installation phase and move toward more advanced stages of preparation.
There will be a closed scrimmage tomorrow, and the Tigers will take Sunday off. They will report back on Monday, when the media will once again have access, with a press conference from Head Coach Lane Kiffin to follow.
How do you feel about where things are heading as we get closer to Game 1 of the Lane Kiffin era? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.