BY ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
LSU coach Brian Kelly recalls all too well how his defense fared against running quarterbacks in losses at Texas A&M and to Alabama last season.
That has been a point of emphasis as the No. 9 Tigers prepare to open the season at No. 4 Clemson on Saturday (6:30 p.m., ABC) against dual-threat senior quarterback Cade Klubnik, who rushed for 463 yards last season on 119 carries with seven touchdowns.
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“He is I would say central to their run game,” Kelly said at his weekly press conference on Monday. “Look, I mean, you can go back to last year’s Texas A&M game. We didn’t handle ourselves very well.”
Freshman quarterback Marcel Reed took over the game in the second half off the bench, rambling for 62 yards on nine carries with three touchdown runs in a 38-23 win.
“Or the Alabama game,” Kelly said.
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Alabama junior quarterback Jalen Milroe rushed for a career-high 185 yards on just 12 carries with four touchdowns from 72, 39, 19 and 10 yards away in a 42-13 win two weeks later.
“South Carolina,” Kelly added.
South Carolina freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers rushed for 88 yards on 10 carries with a 75-yard touchdown in a 36-33 loss to LSU.
“I could keep going,” Kelly said. “I’d like to stop right there. We didn’t do a good job against running quarterbacks. So, it’s important that we contain them within the run game. He (Klubnik) is going to do things outside the realm. That’s what he does. He’s really good at that. We’ve got to keep him inside the pocket and make him operate from the pocket.”
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Klubnik was one of the top passing quarterbacks in the country last season and is a Heisman Trophy candidate this year along with LSU senior Garrett Nussmeier. Klubnik finished third in the nation with 36 touchdown passes last year and was 28th in passing efficiency at 148.2 on 308-of-486 passing for 3,639 yards and six touchdowns.
“You want to play fast. You want to play physical. You want to make sure that you don’t give up the big shots,” Kelly said. “And then you have to stop the quarterback from really hurting you running the ball.”
Kelly does have several better players on defense this season via the portal, such as defensive end Jack Pyburn, defensive tackle Bernard Gooden, cornerback Mansoor Delane and safeties Tamarcus Cooley and AJ Haulcy.
“I just think there’s a lot of confidence back there,” he said. “It’s just the way they handle themselves and play. They believe in themselves. There’s a trust factor that they’re going to go make a play.”
The LSU defense is the deepest it has been in recent years, especially on the defensive line. Kelly was hesitant to name any set starters but hinted at the chance to see many different faces.
“You don’t always need a static 22,” he said. “You don’t want everybody in a position, to where you’re rotating every single play. But there’ll be a couple positions where we’ll have some rotation. I think it makes us better. They have to play with great competitiveness. Each and every play is going to be important for us.”
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