BY ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, TIGER RAG STAFF Reporter
Another day is tallied off as practice number six of LSU fall camp is officially done. The Tiger defense seized the day. Defensively, LSU found ways to be chaotic within pass coverage while also being disruptive on the defensive line.
LSU’s defensive line stood out the most during practice number six. Several players disrupted plays, including Bernard Gooden, Dominick McKinley, and Jack Pyburn. Gooden and McKinley lined up as the two starting defensive tackles while Gabriel Reliford and Jack Pyburn ran with the first-team edge rushers.
McKinley and Gooden make a great team as the two were in the backfield often when stopping the LSU run in the 11-on-11 periods. Both tackles have been physical disruptions and hard to contain for the offensive line. McKinley also totaled a sack on the day after getting past right-guard Josh Thompson.
Florida transfer defensive end Jack Pyburn also had an impressive day during the 11-on-11 outside periods. Pyburn’s best play came towards the end of practice when he met up with running back Caden Durham in the backfield for a three-yard tackle-for-loss on an outside stretch. Pyburn also impressed when he wrapped up Caden Durham after the running back bounced off of a few defenders. Pyburn prevented a big gain with the tackle.
With the defensive line causing disruption today, head coach Brian Kelly is most impressed with how the pressure to the quarterback came from the inside tackles instead of just the edge rushers.
“A lot of the pressures were from inside out, not outside-in and that’s a great thing. We have a pretty dynamic pass-rush,” Kelly said.
Sticking with the LSU defense, cornerback PJ Woodland was able to make some very nice plays on the ball during both the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods. Woodland is being used as both a nickel cornerback and an outside cornerback, which can be extremely difficult to handle. Kelly says Woodland brings a special versatility to the corner position.
“He’s a very smart player. He can play the outside position as an SEC corner, so that’s a pretty good trait to have,” Kelly said.
Woodland added to the impressive fall camp resume he is already putting together as he made some stand-out plays. Woodland’s best play of the day came in the 7-on-7 period when he broke up a pass when defending Zavion Thomas in man coverage.
Offensively, LSU was limited to chunk plays in practice six, but a few of those chunk plays came from tight-end Bauer Sharp. He was most successful during the 7-on-7 periods getting open mostly in the middle of the field but also hauled in a touchdown catch over two defenders. Sharp is looking to be yet another weapon for quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and the LSU offense. Kelly says that the staff is seeing great progress with the Oklahoma transfer right-end, but there is still room for growth.
“He’s been a great leader and he’s accountable, we’re really pleased with him. He came here knowing he was not done developing,” Kelly said.
The Tigers will practice on Wednesday without media viewing and take Thursday off as a recovery day.
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