Saturday Scrimmage Report

Wright pulls down three touchdowns, one from each QB

By RICHARD FISCHER
Tiger Rag Assistant Editor

It was a “pretty good go” for the LSU football team as they held a scrimmage closed to the public inside Tiger Stadium Saturday morning.

Les Miles and Co. ran about 110 plays, mostly in red zone situations, and the coach said the defense won the battle today after giving the offense the nod in LSU’s first scrimmage last week.

“The defense came up with bigger plays at times, and I think that’s how spring goes,” said the coach. “I think one day the defense stands out, and I think the next day it’s the offense.”

The coach mentioned Craig Loston, Barkevious Mingo and Anthony Johnson as defenders who caught his eye.

He added that Tyrann Mathieu made an interception, but he did not say which quarterback threw the pick.

James Wright stole the show offensively with three receiving touchdowns, one from Jordan Jefferson, Jarrett Lee and Zach Mettenberger, each.

“[Wright] is becoming much more consistent,” said Miles. “He always had some talent, certainly, but a little more consistent.”

Metterberger made another touchdown pass to Jarrett Fobbs, according to Miles.

“I think the two veterans [Jefferson and Lee] are still having an advantage with the understanding of the offense,” said Miles. “I think over time Zach will compete with his advantages, but right now the experience of the veterans is showing.”

That statement would imply that Metterberger remains behind Jefferson and Lee in the battle for the starting job, but there’s still plenty of time for any of the three to win it.

Another position where Miles isn’t ready to name a starter is running back, where redshirt freshman Jakhari Gore could be throwing his hat into the ring.

“I liked Gore today. I think Gore made a point today to establish a, ‘Hey you better look at me, cause I’m getting better,’” said Miles. “He made some really nice runs, wide [and] tight. I want to see some more of that.”

On the injury front, Lavar Edwards remained out of the lineup, but Lamin Barrow returned to full contact after taking it easy earlier this week with a concussion.

Barrow and Karnell Hatcher have been getting reps with Kevin Minter in a battle for the starting mike linebacker.

The coach talked about how impressed he’s been with Hatcher since moving him to linebacker full time.

“He’s got great feet, and he gets to balls with speed. So many times when you move a guy from the back end up to the front end they don’t get to the line of scrimmage quickly…but that’s never been the case with Hatch,” said the coach.

Finally, true freshman running back Kenny Hilliard missed today’s scrimmage because of a “personal issue that needed attention,” according to Miles.

The Tigers are two weeks away from their Spring Game.