Well the first Spring Practice has come and gone and me and Billy went take a look at some of the new faces.
Basically, this first look of practice was to get familiar with the new coaches and get the first looks of players after off-season training. This first update won't have too much info, but just a breakdown of some changes and updates from Coach Miles.
First things first, some players have changed their numbers and positions. Here is the list of players that have changed their number and the newcomer numbers.
Kevin Toliver II - #2
Justin McMillan - #12
Caleb Lewis - #14
Tiger Scheyd - #17
Avery Peterson - #21 (was #2)
John Battle - #26 (was #30)
Alex Kjellsten - #29
Clifton Garrett - #30 (was #3)
Ronald Brown - #38
David Ducre - #41
John Ballis - #61
Jabrail Abdul-Aziz - #62
Hanner Shipley - #84
Devin Voorhies - OLB (was S)
Tony Upchurch - FB (was TE)
Let me know if i missed any, but I believe I got everyone.
A big thing missing (no pun intended) from practice was defensive tackle Travonte Valentine. Les Miles said Valentine's non-eligibility is all LSU's call and that they have asked him to take care of his academics and he has not been able to take care of it. Miles said, "he is not a guy we will count on right now..."
In terms of players that impressed us with their looks, a couple guys stood out. David Ducre looks like a monster. The kid is at least 240 pounds and has a great burst so I would love to see him get some touches as the spring continues. Another player that caught our eye was Sione Teuhema. He looks like he bulked up a bit and could really see some quality time at end.
Les Miles also mentioned the offensive line and a couple new faces that could crack the starting lineup. Will Clapp, Garrett Brumfield, and KJ Malone were the few new names mentioned. Miles said he thinks he could see Malone become an eventual starter on the line at either guard spot or right tackle. He also mentioned that Brumfield and Clapp are guys that look "ready to play."
The quarterbacks looked good as well. Not a lot of looks of them throwing or any of that, but we did get to see Justin McMillan for the first time. He reminded me a lot of Brandon Harris during his first practice last season, a bit skinny with a live arm. Coach Miles said he "thinks Jennings and Harris will compete, but [he] really likes Justin McMillan." In the media segment, Cameron had the quarterbacks working on some quick screen throws -- quickness was a theme. Several of the quarterbacks were shuffling their feet a bit too much after taking the shotgun snap, whereas Cam wanted them to just turn and fire. "Think of it like a shortstop throwing to first."
Coach Orgeron was just what you would expect. He was fiery and full of energy the whole time we were allowed to be there. In the words of Billy himself, Coach Steele sounds eerily almost exactly like Chavis. Steele was working with the LB's when we were there and looked to be having a good sessions with them. Coach Ball, the most recent signing, was getting in work with the WR's and working on route running.
Other than that there wasn't too much to dive into at this practice. I took a good amount of pictures, but I wasn't happy with the way they turned out.I do not want to give you guys a bad product so I will get you guys some quality pictures as we make our way through the Spring.
Also, a fun thing happened to me during practice and I let you guys down by missing it. The DB's were coming off the field and entering the indoor facility, which is where i was standing, and were heading right at me. I was standing behind a pillar and had my camera resting on top of it. Jamal Adams came right at me and asked if the camera was on and I was like yeah, because technically the camera was in fact on. Adams then shouted, "DBU!" into my camera and I giggled and smiled. I then realized that my camera was on picture mode instead of video and i cried little baby tears right there on the field. Okay I didn't really cry but i totally did on the inside.
Anyways, I will not let you guys down again and I am excited to bring you coverage on practice this spring. I want to make this pretty interactive as well so let me know what position groups you want to see and what players you would like to see more of.