By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
In its 51-10 win over Clemson last week, the LSU offensive line looked like a completely different unit than the front that allowed 29 sacks and ranked last in the Southeastern Conference and 124th nationally among 134 upper level programs in rushing with 104 yards a game.
That is because it largely is completely different. Two starters return from last year’s group — center Braelin Moore and right tackle Weston Davis. The other three spots on the line are filled by Colorado transfer Jordan Seaton at left tackle, fifth-year Tiger Bo Bordelon, who made his second career start on Saturday, at left guard and Maryland transfer Aliou Bah at right guard.
The line paved the way for 309 rushing yards and gave up zero sacks against a Clemson pass rush headlined by defensive end Will Heldt, who tallied 7.5 sacks last season. In his weekly press conference, though, coach Lane Kiffin said those stats can be deceiving. He said the athleticism of quarterback Sam Leavitt and running back Dilin Jones helped hide any issues in the o-line.
“You got to be careful with that stat and thinking, ‘Oh, we played great up there,’” Kiffin said. “We did some really good things, but we’ve got to improve. We’ve got to play better at the guard spot, if we’re going to continue to improve and play really consistent.”
Leavitt and Jones each posted 113 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Many of Leavitt’s eight carries came on scrambles when protection broke down or receivers did not get open.
Jones averaged 4.9 yards a carry over his 23 rushes but forced 10 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Of his 113 yards, 99 came after contact.
“It was a good start, and I love when my running back can make moves on the second level and the third level and make it to the second level untouched,” Seaton said after practice Tuesday. “I think that’s the biggest goal that we’re trying to do is make sure he can get to the second level untouched.”
Seaton also liked his quarterback’s moves.
“That dude is electric,” he said. “He is an electric quarterback, and we need to do everything in our power to keep him clean. The healthier he is, the farther we go.”
Even without Leavitt and Jones, though, the Tigers still totaled 89 yards on 23 carries. While that mark would not jump out of the box score, it is still greater than LSU’s rushing totals in five games last season, and the 3.9-yard average was better than the 3.6 from a season ago. The 309-yard night nearly doubled the best rushing performance from a season ago, which was 166 versus South Carolina.
But Seaton is far from satisfied.
“As a whole group, there’s a lot that we got to work on,” he said. “So, I don’t really single out, ‘This is the guard’s fault. This is the center’s fault. This is the tackle’s fault.’ I feel like as a unit, if one person messes up, we all mess up.”
Seaton feels the line has already bonded.
“I think that comes from summer workouts, the grinding, the getting to know your guys,” he said. “We weren’t big on going like bowling and stuff, but we put in real work, real pain here. That’s what I like to describe it as, and that brought us closer. Just being with my guys every single day and getting to know who they are, that’s what jelled us together so quick being from different spots.”
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