LSU football played 2 hours of a spring game, then the clock stopped with 6:29 remaining. That was more than enough time under the sun in Baton Rouge for Brian Kelly's new squad to show where it's at.
LSU's head coach said the offense started with the wrong mentality, which changed at halftime. The offense asserted itself and won, officially, 59-31 through a modified scoring system that pitted the offense against the defense.
Below are some of the top observations from a busy spring day at Tiger Stadium.
THE QUARTERBACKS HAD THEIR STRUGGLES
Whatever way you slice it, things were rough for the quarterbacks and particularly early on. Both Jayden Daniels and Myles Brennan went 3-and-out on their first two drives, and while both led scoring drives later in the day, it's unlikely that either did a ton to separate themselves as the potential Week 1 starter for next season.
What Daniels did show was elite athleticism, scrambling multiple times for what would have been big gains -- but with the caveat that the defense wasn't allowed to hit him. He also laid out a ball perfectly to Brian Thomas Jr. in the second quarter, who made a spectacular grab just short of the goal line. Daniels scooted into the end zone two plays later to finish off the drive. Accuracy was a struggle on Saturday, but he bounced back well to lead a 75-play scoring drive capped off by a 20-yard touchdown to Jack Bech in the third quarter. He finished the game 3-of-9 for 68 yards and a TD, while also running 7 times for 21 yards and another score. The athleticism alone will make him a guy that you want to have on the field, with a big play waiting on every snap. But the ball placement on Saturday overall was simply not where it needs to be.
Brennan was in familiar confines for this one, and his return was notable on its own. Saturday's action was the closest the veteran QB has been to live game action since last year's spring game due to a broken arm suffered shortly before the team reported to camp ahead of the 2021 season. He struggled early, but found his stride in the second quarter along with the rest of the offense, finishing 11-of-17 for 99 yards and a touchdown. He also showed some great touch in the second half, lofting balls into the end zone and giving his talented receivers chances to make plays. One of those came to Malik Nabers with an assist from safety Sage Ryan.
Garrett Nussmeier was easily the most effective of the three passers on the day, and he could be making a serious case to push for the starting job ahead of the two veterans. He had a pair of big throws that receivers were unable to come down with -- yet probably should've -- in the first half. But his biggest play of the day came to Josh Williams, who broke free on a wheel route and was found by Nussmeier for a big gain down to the 1-yard line. He finished 9-of-16 for 136 yards and a TD.
Freshman Walker Howard played one series in the first half and went 2-for-2 for 4 yards. He got his run of the show in the fourth quarter and had his struggles, going 3 and out before hitting Corren Norman on 4th down for 55 yards and a score. It was the second time the Tigers defense got burned on a wheel route on the day, and a pretty good indicator of what will likely be a teaching point. It was such a high point, the Tigers called the game immediately after.
It's probably a three-horse race for the starting job, and the question was NOT resolved this spring.
“We didn’t clear up the quarterback competition today," Kelly said. "We probably made it more difficult.”
But one thing LSU’s new coach made clear is that his preference would be to play one quarterback, despite what he's done in the past at Notre Dame with dual-QB systems.
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WHO'S LEADING THE BACKFIELD?
John Emery Jr. is finally set to return to the field after a year of being academically ineligible, and he showed good burst on his carries despite entering the game dinged up. He chose to play, his coach said, because he wanted to experience what it's like playing through injuries, and he did just that to the tune of 24 yards on 4 carries. Still, there's no guarantee he slots in as the lead dog in Kelly's backfield.
Emery likely has the inside track. But Armoni Goodwin also stood out, showing a combination of burst and power that would've likely served the Tigers well in 2021 if not for injuries limiting his season. His 10-yard speed sweep to the pylon got the scoring started early in the game.
Josh Williams also flashed on a handful of big plays including the wheel route noted above, and cashed in on a pair of short TD runs. Tre Bradford also showed well and contributed a handful of long runs to key scoring drives in the second half. It's a talented group and could end up being one of the offseason's most intriguing position battles, considering it's a group of holdovers from the Ed Orgeron era. A not insignificant element in that equation: Can the OL block better in the run game than what we saw a season ago? At least for one day, things looked good in that regard.
Kelly identified the run game and particularly run blocking as a specific point that needed to be addressed to compete for an SEC title. His group, led by Tre Bradford's 86 yards on 9 carries, rolled up a whopping 214 yards on the day.
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THE KNOWN COMMODITIES
Not much to say about Jack Bech and Malik Nabers other than, both will have high expectations and for good reason heading into Year 2. Bech logged 6 catches for 56 yards and two TDs, Nabers had 2 catches for 41 yards and a juggling TD of his own.
That duo, along with Kayshon Boutte -- who sat out but is expected to be healthy for the 2022 season -- will be yet another formidable group at the disposal of whomever lands the starting QB job.
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A DISRUPTIVE DEFENSE
The early QB struggles listed above come with a caveat: The defense gets some credit for that, and LSU fans should be rooting for that group, too.
Maason Smith, wearing No. 0, was particularly disruptive early on, logging a pair of "sacks" -- you can't actually hit the QB in the spring game -- on the first drive to force 3-and-out. In all LSU had six sacks in the first half to go with a recovered fumble, though that was due to a poor snap by the offense.
That group wore down throughout the day, likely more due to the offense vs defense setup than anything else, and began to get gashed on the ground. But the early returns offered a lot to like for a group that will be seeking much greater consistency than was shown in the 2021 season.
What happened in the second half was less pretty, but that was due to a handful of circumstances. One element was fatigue, with the offense vs defense setup meaning at least one platoon of defense was always cycling on and off the field. The other was the simplified defensive coverage. How simple? There was only ONE coverage played.
As Kelly pointed out, you'd better start moving against that look if you're staring at it for an entire game, and the Tigers did.
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THE BURROW STILL PLAYS
On a beautiful day in Baton Rouge, one of the louder cheers of the day came for the man whose misspelled jersey is still the most popular at virtually any LSU event. Joe Burrow came strolling in during the second quarter to a roar from the crowed, and he was accompanied by fellow LSU title winners Justin Jefferson, Thad Moss and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
But they weren't the only former Tigers stars in attendance. Safety Tyrann Mathieu was in the building, as he has been for much of the offseason, in his No. 7 LSU baseball jersey.
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LAGNIAPPE ... LSU has been in the lap of luxury the last three seasons with the leg of Cade York expanding the kicking game far beyond the range of an ordinary college kicker. But he's headed for the NFL, so how does this team fare in that regard going forward? Early indications were solid, with Ezekeal Mata knocking through his only attempt of the day from 48 yards.