By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
After No. 10 LSU (2-1, 0-1 SEC) opened the season with an emphatic rushing attack against Clemson, it looked like the Tigers’ offensive line woes could be behind them, but struggles in the trenches against Louisiana Tech (1-2) raised questions of the offensive front. Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0) asked those questions again, answered them and exposed them to the rest of the Southeastern Conference.
Coach Lane Kiffin was asked about possible strategy or personnel changes on the offensive line during a Zoom call with media members on Sunday.
“Yeah, we’re going to look at some different things this week up front,” he said. “Because we need to play better and more consistent up there.”
Quarterback Sam Leavitt was under constant duress throughout the first half of the 32-24 loss on Saturday, and the run game did not fare much better. LSU entered the locker room at halftime with just 66 rushing yards on 19 attempts for a 3.5-yard average per carry. Running backs Dilin Jones and Stacy Gage combined for 45 yards on 11 carries.
“We’ve got to play better around him,” Kiffin said.. “We’ve got to protect him better.”
The Tigers finished the game with 172 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 43 attempts as the run game found more success in the second half. The LSU offensive line, though, did not fix all of its concerns. There was not a single lineman to receiver a Pro Football Focus run blocking grade higher than 60.
The best of the bunch was Baylor transfer right tackle Sean Thompkins Jr., who played just three snaps in relief for sophomore Weston Davis and earned a 60.0 grade. He was followed closely by Maryland transfer right guard Aliou Bah with a 59.2 run blocking grade and fifth-year senior center Braelin Moore with a 59.1. Fifth-year senior left guard Bo Bordelon was next with a 55.8, and Colorado transfer left tackle was another step down with a 52.9. Davis’s 51.1 grade was the worst of any player on the team.
While the pass blocking grades for some of the starters were slightly better, the stats and the eye test tell a different story. Leavitt was pressured on 45.7% of his drop backs. He was sacked three times, hurried nine times and pressured 12 times.
Seaton, the top-rated tackle in the transfer portal this offseason, led the way with an 83.0 grade despite allowing a hurry and a pressure in 35 opportunities. Moore was next with a 70.0 grade and identical stats. Davis doubled both metrics and was given a 57.6 grade.
Kiffin was unhappy with the guard play after LSU’s win over Clemson. Ole Miss showed why. Bah scored just a 47.4 from PFF after allowing one sack, two hurries and two pressures. Bordelon rounded out the group with an abysmal 12.6 pass blocking grade. He gave up a sack on three hurries and four pressures.
Bordelon did often receive the unfortunate challenge of trying to stop All-SEC defensive tackle Will Echoles. Echoles finished the game with seven total pressures, six hurries, half a sack and 3 ½ tackles for loss. Echoles is one of the most talented interior linemen in all of college football, but with eight more SEC games awaiting LSU, the offensive line will have to shape up quickly.
The Tigers welcome No. 23 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-1) to Tiger Stadium on Saturday (6:30 p.m.). The Aggies gave up 156 rushing yards to Kentucky in a 31-21 loss over the weekend. They hurried quarterback Kenny Minchey just once, sacked him twice and totaled three tackles for loss in the game, but the Wildcats’ offense controlled the trenches for much of the contest.
The Texas A&M defensive front is not as imposing as it was last season since losing three of its four starters in the trenches to the NFL Draft, but it still presents a similar test to the one the Tigers failed in Oxford, Mississippi.
If Kiffin does look to change up the personnel in the trenches, Bordelon and Davis are the most obvious candidates to leave the starting lineup. Bordelon won an offseason position battle over Ole Miss transfer Devin Harper, but his struggles through the first three games could spur the coaching staff to re-evaluate that spot. Redshirt junior North Carolina Central transfer Ja’Quan Sprinkle has been Bordelon’s immediate backup at the left guard while Harper fills the right guard spot on the second team. Each could be candidates for a promotion, and Bah’s job is not totally secured either.
Davis was benched once last season for Ory Williams, who has since transferred to Tennessee, before retaking the starting job after Williams suffered an ankle injury against Western Kentucky. He and the coaching staff believed he had taken a step forward after his true freshman experience, but Kiffin may turn to Thompkins against the Aggies.
Overall Pro Football Focus Grades
C Braelin Moore – 62.0
RG Aliou Bah – 58.5
LT Jordan Seaton – 53.5
LG Bo Bordelon – 49.1
RT Weston Davis 49.0
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