Link Gumbo: 3-13-18

Football is back as the Tigers have begun spring practice. One of the first-day highlights was Coach O raving about one of the newest Tigers Damien Lewis. Lewis has cemented himself firmly in the mix for a starting spot, possibly at center, where the Tigers need to replace All-American Will Clapp. Coach O also said that he would not name a starting QB this spring. To see all of Coach O’s post-practice comments from Sunday, click here.

Over the weekend, Ross Dellenger shed some light on exactly who Jonathan Giles is. LSU’s new number 7 isn’t the most well-known player yet. He hasn’t even played a snap for LSU. A lot has been made of LSU’s lack of experience on offense, Jon Giles should help that as he has already been a 1,000-yard receiver in a power 5 conference.

LSU corner Kristan Fulton is halfway through a two-year suspension handed down by the NCAA last year. Fulton was suspended for using a fraudulent testing sample. We knew Fulton did not play last year but we never knew why as Coach O just referred to him as questionable as the season went on. Fulton is fighting the suspension with lawyer Don Jackson out of Alabama. If Fulton wins, he would get his eligibility back in 2018, something the Tigers desperately need at corner. That may come from graduate transfer Terrence Alexander, out of Stanford.

In other football news, the Tigers have added former NFL defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle to the defensive analyst staff. Coyle had served as the Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive backs coach last season.

On Sunday, LSU learned that they would be a three seed in the NIT and face UL-Lafayette. The game will tip off tomorrow at 6 p.m., CT. LSU will happily settle for an NIT bid this year but would like to aim higher in years to come. Will Wade did a marvelous job with the Tigers this year as he took a program that went 10-21 last year, and was picked to finish last in the SEC, to a postseason tournament. LSU will set their expectations much higher next year as they will add a lot of talent to the roster while bringing back star point guard Tremont Waters.

ULL Basketball coach Bob Marlin, for his part, thinks the Tigers want no part of his squad.

LSU closed the series out strong against Hawaii to take two out of three after losing the opener on Friday. LSU is still shuffling with the lineup while waiting for the return of SS Josh Smith. It appears LSU might have found their Sunday starter with Ma’Khail Hilliard. AJ Labas will be the midweek starter for the foreseeable future. With conference play starting this weekend, LSU hopes that most of the growing pains are over. LSU will host South Alabama tomorrow night before they welcome Missouri this weekend for a three-game set.

It was a big weekend on the softball field as LSU swept 10th ranked Auburn. LSU won in dramatic fashion Friday and Saturday with walk-offs. Carley Hoover shut it down for the sweep yesterday as LSU won 1-0.

The LSU women found out yesterday that they would be a 6 seed and head to Ohio to face 11th seeded Central Michigan. LSU will look to regain momentum after they were one and done in the SEC Tournament. Tip-off vs CMU will be at 10 AM CT on Saturday.