Spring Game Blog

White Team 24 - Purple Team 9 (Tigers improve running game, avoid major injuries)

By BEN LOVE
Tiger Rag Acting Editor

It’s a beautiful sunny, slightly windy day in Baton Rouge as LSU sets to kickoff its National L Club Spring Football Game at 3 p.m.

The White Team will go up against the Purple Team in front of a national audience, with ESPN2 set to air the live broadcast.

As coach Les Miles said Thursday post-practice, the day will begin with the Big Cat drill before the Tigers go through a normal first-half and ultimately finish with a second half in which LSU may put certain units into specific situations to cover those areas in-game.

For a look at the projected starting line-ups and analysis on how those groups match up, read my report from earlier today.

The only update I’ve noticed so far: Much like the last few days in practice, Terrence Toliver is sporting No. 80, not No. 8, like I included in the post prior.

Since we’re on the subject of football, I wanted to pass along a recent message from Tiger Rag associate editor Carl Dubois who’s live blogging the LSU-Tennessee baseball game in Knoxville. Carl tells me from his vantage point at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, he can see the Vols getting put through the paces of spring practice at their outdoor facility. He tried to snap a few pictures, but unfortunately gates were shut and our man Carl was shut out.

C’mon, Derek Dooley. That’s weak sauce.

End of the First Quarter
White Team 7 - Purple Team 3

So far, so good for both offenses.

Each sustained lengthy drives on their opening touch and moved the ball swiftly down the field.

The White Team, after a 14-yard kickoff return from Patrick Peterson (lining up alongside Morris Claiborne deep), rode the sturdy legs of Stevan Ridley to a touchdown. Ridley carried seven times in the initial drive, including the final play, a four-yard TD plunge off right end.

The O-Line was stellar on that drive and it’s a unit which showcases four of the projected five starters on the 2010 line (Barksdale, Dworaczyk, Lonergan and Hurst).

Also on that drive: LSU drew two penalties, a false start on C P.J. Lonergan and an illegal motion call on RB Stevan Ridley … QB Jordan Jefferson was decisive, except for the second overall play in which Sam Montgomery sacked him as he tried to negotiate the pocket … Jefferson and Shepard connected on a nice corner route to the right as Jefferson rolled that way … They scored on the heels of a 10-play, 80-yard drive spanning 4:36 of game clock.

The Purple Team almost returned the favor, eventually settling for a field goal after driving down to the White 4-yard line.

To get there, the team with Jarrett Lee at quarterback used a very diverse group of offenses, employing Russell Shepard at receiver, running back and at quarterback (both under center to run the option and out of the shotgun to run the mesh read with RB Michael Ford).

The memorable part of this drive is how frequently the Purple offense ran off the left side. Shepard and Ford found space there and the O-Line (mostly a back-up unit) was able to move the White Team’s defensive line (a group which included Lavar Edwards, Barkevious Mingo, Michael Brockers and Bennie Logan). The drive ended with a 21-yard field goal by Josh Jasper from the left hash.

Both offenses crapped out on their second drives and the score still stands at 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

General thoughts: After opening with a nice corner-route pass to Shepard, Jefferson has looked pretty mediocre throwing the ball. The protection is okay, but his rhythm with the receivers will have to continue to progress … The defenses tightened the screws after both teams’ opening drive … The secondaries, in particular, have looked good in the latter part of the first stanza.

Interesting Stats: Michael Ford has 50 yards on four carries. Russell Shepard has 47 yards on four carries.

The two QB’s are a combined 2-for-11 for 32 yards.

Brandon Taylor leads the Purple Team with 5 tackles. Patrick Peterson heads the White Team with 4 tackles.

The Purple Team has run 14 plays and gained 112 yards. For the White squad, they’ve gained 122 yards on 20 carries.

No turnovers so far. The only fumble, by FB Kellen Theriot on the second drive, was recovered by the player himself.

Halftime
White Team 17 - Purple Team 6

The offensive action has slowed in the second quarter with both defenses playing with a purpose.

Never was that more evident than when the White Team defense bowed up with a goal-line stand toward the end of the quarter.

The drive was the second straight for the Purple Team, with the previous one short-lived. On that possession, Jarrett Lee took the first snap and deposited it into the belly of S Craig Loston, who stepped in front of intended target Rueben Randle. The attempted wide receiver slip screen turned into a pick-six as Loston ran 22 yards untouched to pay dirt. It was an impressive play by Loston and gets my vote for play of the game to this point.

It also brought the game to 14-6, with the Purple Team’s second field goal tacked on by Josh Jasper at the 9:59 mark of the second quarter (it was a 47-yard three-pointer).

Back to that goal-line stand.

With the ball on the three-yard line (and the clock under 2:30 minutes) and the situation at 2nd and goal, the Purple Team turned and handed to RB Michael Ford three straight times, all out of the Tight I-formation (and with Richard Dugas at FB). The defense shut down the run all three times, refusing to let Ford in.

Each of the stops was a joint job. The first was combined on by DE Kiki Mingo and MLB Kevin Minter. The next attempt was turned back by OLB Tahj Jones and S Craig Loston. Finally on 4th-and-goal from the 1 yard line, DT Bennie Logan and CB Morris Claiborne said “no” emphatically.

Good sign from the defense. And it also proved timely.

The White offense took that cue and ran with it out toward midfield, on the heel of some decent two-minute drive play from Jefferson. Eventually, Jasper banged home an impressive 57-yarder as time expired. And here we are at 17-6.

UPDATE: DT Josh Downs exits field on crutches with an apparent right ankle injury. After the game, Miles called the injury an “ankle sprain,” declaring it was nothing series. According to Miles, no player sustained a major injury during the spring game.

Interesting Stats: Michael Ford leads all players in yards from scrimmage, totaling 107 rushing (17 carries) and 25 more receiving (on 2 catches). He leads the Purple Team in both categories.

Jarrett Lee is 7-for-15 for 71 yards, no TD’s and one pick-six interception. Jordan Jefferson is 4-for-15 for 57 yards. Each QB was sacked once.

Russell Shepard has 66 yards rushing on eight carries. He also has three catches for 38 yards. That includes stats from both teams.

MLB Kevin Minter had an impressive first half, totaling 12 tackles, double his nearest competitors (Peterson and Loston both have 6). All of those players are on the White Team.

That stat above reflects the fact that the Purple Team ran 12 more plays in the first half (42 for 234 yards to the White Team’s 30 plays for 175 yards). The pick-six by Loston/the goal-line stand is how we got to the score we’re at.

The Purple Team rushed for 163 yards and the White Team ran for 118 yards.

Third Quarter, 1:32 Remaining
White Team 24 - Purple Team 9

QB Chris Garrett led the Purple Team on the first drive of the second half. He looked pretty sharp. In particular, I remember a nice hook-up with Russell Shepard, running a 15-yard comeback route on the left side of the formation. The play gained 14 yards and helped spell a series of runs by Michael Ford, who helped carry the load on the long drive.

The drive resulted in a 42-yard field goal by Drew Alleman, drawing the score closer to 17-9.

From here, it was announced that the game would morph into a more situational feel. In other words, they’ve begun to spot the ball where they want it and to rotate in different players to test them in certain situations. Already on the this first “drive” of situational play, Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson have rotated frequently with the White Team.

The first drive into this situational set-up culminated in a Jarrett Lee-Chris Tolliver touchdown. It was a four-yard strike to end a nine play, 70-yard drive eating up 6:25 off a running-time clock.

General Thoughts: DeAngelo Peterson has looked like a dangerous target in the passing game, at times flexing out, but more times than not, lining up in-tight … The running game looked much more in-sync in this scrimmage than many probably remember it … DE Sam Mongtomery jogged off slowly late in the third quarter and looked a little hobbled (but there’s no news and it doesn’t appear too serious) … Chris Tolliver caught a 4-yard TD from Jarrett Lee in goal-line situational play. Lee’s looked okay aside from the awful pick-six to Loston.

*It was just announced that the fourth quarter will be a 10-minute running-time situation with time outs only taken for media and TV breaks.

End of Regulation
White Team 24 - Purple Team 9

The fourth quarter really flew by in a hurry, with a bevy of second- and third-team guys getting some snaps, mixed in with situational reps for a number of starters as well.

True freshman QB Barrett Bailey saw a few plays, with no notable passes … Jefferson overthrew Randle on a deep fade to the left sideline, making him 0-for-something on throws over 20 yards. It wasn’t his best day throwing it, especially not deep … Mingo was credited with another sack, improving what’s been a good day for the West Monroe product who’s made the move from LB to fast-rushing DE … Jefferson has had better luck on this latest drive, completing short crossing routes to Chris Tolliver and Terrence Toliver and a quick swing pass to RB Richard Murphy … On the last play of the scrimmage, DE Sam Montgomery tipped a Jefferson pass that DT Pep Levingston eventually picked off.

It was announced that attendance for the game was 22,710. I’m not saying that figure’s wrong, but you can’t force me to say it’s right.

Of the awards given out to end spring practice, here were some of the notable honors given to the current crop of Tigers.

Most improved: CB/KR Ron Brooks, DT Michael Brockers and TE Chase Clement

Jimmy Taylor Award for Leadership: DT Drake Nevis

Jerry Stovall Special Teams Award: K Josh Jasper

Here were the final stats from today’s game.

Michael Ford (Purple Team) had 139 yards rushing on 19 carries to go along with 35 yards on 3 receptions.

Stevan Ridley (White Team) had 104 yards on 13 carries as well as 23 yards on 1 reception.

Neither QB threw for over 100 yards. Jarrett Lee (Purple Team) was 7-for-15 for 71 yards and the pick-six to Loston. Jordan Jefferson (White Team) was 7-for-20 with 84 yards and an interception by Pep Levingston to end the scrimmage.

The Purple Team had 307 yards on 60 plays while the White Team had 260 yards on 45 plays.

Returning kicks, Patrick Peterson (White Team) had 56 yards on 3 run-backs, with a long of 22 yards while his counterpart Ron Brooks (Purple Team) had 51 yards on 3 returns, with a long of 18 yards.

LB Kevin Minter (White Team) led all players with 14 tackles. The closest Tigers, DE Barkevious Mingo and DT Bennie Logan (both of the White Team), registered 7 stops apiece.

K Josh Jasper was 3-for-3 kicking field goals today, with makes from 21, 47 and 57 yards, respectively. The final boot - as the gun expired to signal halftime - had distance to spare!

No receiver on either team had more than 39 yards receiving Saturday.

The Purple Team was 7-for-13 converting third downs while the White Team was 3-for-7.

–

POSTGAME QUOTES

Coach Les Miles

On the offense’s mentality today
“We put a premium on running the football. I feel like we improved there.”

“(We ran) a vanilla style of offense and a vanilla style of defense.”

Concerning injuries
“We didn’t have Drake Nevis and we didn’t have Kelvin Sheppard.”

TR: Miles continued on, saying that both players were slightly “nicked” and could’ve gone, but were held out. He also said DT Josh Downs had only an “ankle sprain” and was nothing major. Nor was an apparent third-quarter injury to DE Sam Montgomery.

On Barkevious Mingo
“There were some plays made by Kiki I don’t know many guys (can) make.”

TR: Miles went on to accredit Mingo’s success to superior speed off the edge, and he again defended his defense’s ability to defend against the run, saying they’re not too thin in this effort to find more speed on that line.

On the team’s attitude
“They’re youthful in their approach. Even the veterans are striving to be better.”

On Alex Hurst
“I think Alex Hurst being a full-time player is going to make a big different for us.”

TR: Miles also called Hurst “mobile and tough” and loves the flexibility Hurst provides, being able to rotate to multiple positions.

WR Russell Shepard

On rotating through numerous positions
“I like it. It’s an opportunity to get the ball in my hands in open spaces, as well as an opportunity for me to learn different positions. Receiver is my main position, but then I’ll play some quarterback and running back. I’m liking it, and who doesn’t want the ball?”

TR: Shepard also told me that he expected to play this much quarterback today, and that the team has installed a goal-line offense which involves him playing QB under center and running the option. He ran it unsuccessfully today with RB Michael Ford and blamed himself, saying he “fumbled the snap.”

RB Stevan Ridley

On starting hot
“You can’t ask for any more from the offensive line. The first drive came out and made some gaping holes and all I had to do was what came naturally to me, which is run the ball. I can’t ask for anything more from my offensive line and fullback Dominique Allen. They’re working hard for us up front with the blocking.”

TR: Ridley raved about the FB play when I spoke to him after the game. He also talked about how exciting it was to watch Michael Ford “do his thing,” saying that he’d love nothing more than having a three-headed monster at RB with himself, Ridley and Richard Murphy.

CB Patrick Peterson

On young defenders improving
“Sam Montgomery is probably the most improved player I have seen since I have been here. He has been playing great, and now he is in the starting lineup. He is going to make a huge impact on the secondary because he is going to get the quarterback to throw the football a little bit faster.”