When transfer Colby Richardson showed up in workouts with LSU, a few things were evident for the former McNeese State cornerback.
The top-end speed was clear to see. So was the fact that at 167 pounds, he was nowhere near the size he needed to be to compete in the Southeastern Conference.
A few months of hard work and plus-26 pounds later, that second part has changed for the better.
“He certainly has now developed himself into a guy that’s going to play football for us,” head coach Brian Kelly said after his team's most recent scrimmage.
Richardson, now up close to 190 pounds, will be in the rotation at a cornerback position that suddenly appears to be more of a strength than a question mark, Kelly said.
Sevyn Banks is working back from injury, and he'll likely have a significant role in short yardage.
Jarrick Bernard-Converse and Mekhi Gardner were among the players in consideration at outside corner, but in all there are six defensive backs who could be in the rotation when the team faces Florida State on Sept. 4 at the Superdome.
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MORE FROM BRIAN KELLY
WHAT'S SET ON THE OL?
Not much, at least not yet, Kelly said. There are still opportunities to be had, though Garrett Dellinger appears to be the man at center. As are Cameron Wire, Marcus Dumervil, Charles Turner and Emory Jones. Freshman Will Campbell has already been touted as a player to watch. Wire will likely be kicking out to tackle to see what he has there, while Anthony Bradford will be headed inside.
“There’s still some moving around on that offensive line to see who the best five guys are,” Kelly said.
HOW HAVE THE QUARTERBACKS BEEN FARING?
With Myles Brennan officially out of the equation, the QB competition appears to be pared down to Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels and sophomore Garrett Nussmeier. Kelly won't use the word "managing" in the analysis of either player, but he noted positives for both as the offense begins to really hone in on the finer points of the new scheme.
“I thought what they did well was distribute the football timely, protected themselves," Kelly said. "I thought yesterday we made some untimely errors. We threw some interceptions in the red zone, which you just can’t turn the ball over. I thought they were very good with the football today.”
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“They were smart with the football today. They made plays and I thought did a really good job of operating. I thought in particular, I thought the ball came out of Daniel’s hand really well today, especially off the RPOs. It was accurate. I thought Nuss made some really good reads off of zone-read action, which is one of the things we’ve been working on.
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A MESSAGE TO JARAY
Leadership is important, particularly on a roster trying to mess under a first-year head coach. That's why leadership from veteran players, such as WR Jaray Jenkins, will be vital. He displayed that leadership in this week's scrimmage, and Kelly made it clear that has to continue in a message he wanted to make sure his players heard.
“We need that leadership and it comes from consistency. Will he hear that, too? … That’s what we’re looking for, what we saw today," Kelly said. "Consistency every single day, being the same guy. He’s a great kid. We just need that every single day. If we can get that from him every day, that room’s gonna be in really good shape.”
WHO'S AHEAD IN THE PLACEKICKER BATTLE?
In short, nobody. At least nobody the head coach is willing to name.
Kelly noted Damian Ramos and Nathan Dibert as being talented kickers, as well as Trey Finison, who has the most experience among the group. Ezekeal Mata is also in the conversation, a race that will be determined over the next few weeks.
“We’re not ready to name a guy yet, but I feel a whole lot better that we’ve got some options there that kick hit the ball deep based upon our hit chart in practice relative to kickoffs, and I think we’re going to be consistent in field goals," Kelly said. "We’re not ready to name somebody yet, but I think we’ve got some depth there that I feel good about.”
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ON INTENSITY OF THE COACHING STAFF
“Well we’re demanding; we’re never demeaning. You can hear it by the way we talk to our guys. There’s no cursing and we’re never going to be demeaning to our players, but we’re demanding," Kelly said. "This is about graduating all of our players and winning a national championship, and you can’t do that if you’re just sitting on your hands out there. We’re gonna challenge our players. That’s why they’re here at LSU. They want to win a championship, too. So we’re gonna be demanding, do it the right way and do it within the right positive coaching environment and make sure they know we still love them, but we’re going to push them to be their very best.”