This time last year, the term patchwork could've been used accurately to describe LSU football. A lot of key positions had a lot of big questions following spring practice.
Things are much different heading into Year 2, even with several key players missing the spring entirely -- including running backs John Emery Jr., Josh Williams and Armoni Goodwin.
But all that's meant is more and more responsibility for rising senior Noah Cain, and as Brian Kelly put it after the annual spring game, if there's any player being "slept on" this offseason, it's him.
Listen to the full interview with LSU head coach Brian Kelly in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
"I really like his progression in terms of his ability to get in and out of his breaks," Kelly told WWL this week, joining Mike Detillier and Charlie Long on SportTalk. "He’s a lot smoother. He’s lost some weight. He’s physically stronger."
It could all foretell a bigger role for Cain, who logged 76 carries for 409 yards and an impressive 10 TDs a year ago, though a majority of that action came in non-conference play. Cain's biggest performance was a three-TD day in a 41-10 drubbing of UAB, and he added another two TDs in the 63-7 beatdown of Purdue in the Citrus Bowl.
But it's the work that fans don't see that's probably having the biggest impact, Kelly said of the Baton Rouge native who began his career at Penn State before transferring back home prior to the 2022 season.
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"He’s really been a great leader for us," Kelly said. "The things that he’s doing behind the scenes that people can’t see, in terms of the day-to-day development of our football team. Noah’s been behind it in so many ways. He’s acting as one of our top leaders."
Cain joined sophomore Malachi Lane and freshman Trey Holly for the bulk of the action in LSU's spring game. Holly toted the ball 8 times for a game-high 26 yards, while Lane had 5 carries for 25 yards. Cain logged 8 yards on his 3 carries, while also catching 2 passes for 10 yards in the offense vs defense scrimmage. But don't let those numbers fool you. What's impressed coaches is his ability to do everything, and it could be a key to getting on the field this fall in a potentially crowded RB room.
"He can do all the jobs," Kelly said. "He can catch the ball coming out of the backfield, he’s excellent on third down and protections. And certainly runs the ball with low pads. Really pleased that he’s with us and the progress.”
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"I think that’s what you’re looking for going into Year 2," Kelly said. "Somebody that has a lot better understanding of the offense, is not reactive, much more anticipating getting the ball out of his hands before receivers are open, and just an understanding of where those receivers are before they get out breaks.
"So it looks cleaner, it’s much more efficient, it’s faster. And his physical stature is different. He’s put on weight, he’s physically stronger. And, look, that’s what you expect when you’re in a program that is a top program, that you’re going to put on the appropriate weight, and you’re also going to put on the appropriate knowledge in the offense, and he’s done a nice job.”
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“Well, we had to clean up a couple things with him," Kelly said. "He had a knee issue that was kind of bothering him when he was a at Alabama. We had to go back in there and clean up some of the work that had been done, and he’s feeling really stable on that knee. And then he had a thumb injury. So he’s had two, what I would call kind of clean-up surgeries that have put him in a really good position going into the summer.
"So a healthy Anderson is going to be, I think, dynamic for us in the slot receiver position, and he adds to our kicking game which, as we know, was below standard for us. So a big addition to us with, obviously, what you saw on Saturday from the receiving core. I thought both freshmen competed at a high level, and then we’re going to add some really good players with a local player in [Shelton] Sampson and Khai Prean, both guys from the state. That room is going to be really solid with a lot of depth.”
A TRANSFER PORTAL STRATEGY SHIFT AT DB
“This year was a little bit different than last year," Kelly said. "Last year was a bridge that we needed and we were in our first year of building our culture so it was really important that we were taking players that had a connection with LSU, that were from the state. And so we were very, very careful about what we were doing.
"This year, we wanted to make sure that the defensive backfield was not a turnover position, that they had at least two years of eligibility, that they were going to be in the program, that we could develop them in the program. And so, when we looked at the transfer portal, one and done was not something that we were interested in this year. We wanted somebody that was going to be here a few years, and that’s kind of how we put the roster together in the backfield a little bit different from last year.”
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