2023 LSU Fall Camp: Monday, Aug. 7 Recap

For the second time this fall camp, LSU let the media observe the team for the whole practice. Instead of being in just helmets like on Thursday, LSU wore shells today (helmets and shoulder pads), which meant they were allowed to “thud” today.

There were a lot of good things I saw today and only one “bad” thing today. Here are some of the things I observed at Monday’s practice, including the fight, brawl, scuffle, bru-ha-ha or whatever you want to call it. The only thing I know, LSU head coach Brian Kelly was not happy about it. However, overall it was a good practice.

Offense

Quarterback Jayden Daniels ran the first team once again. He seems to have more control of the offense and looks more confident in every snap of practice. Daniels also threw a nice tight-window pass to wide receiver Aaron Anderson in double coverage in the middle of the field

“Jayden is stepping up in the pocket and he’s more comfortable in the offense as he is delivering balls all over the place,” said LSU tight end Mason Taylor.

Although Garrett Nussmeier threw a pick off of a good play from safety Andre Sam, he looked impressive once again. He needs to cut down on the turnovers, but he has made good decisions for the most part and is throwing some pretty balls.

It was the same offensive line as last time (Will Campbell, Miles Frazier, Charles Turner Garrett Dellinger and Emery Jones). True freshman and former five-star offensive tackle Zalanace Heard is getting reps with the second team and has been impressive.

The running backs who got the most first-team reps were Logan Diggs and Josh Williams. True freshman running back and Baton Rouge native Kaleb Jackson got some first-team reps in hurry-up drills earlier in the practice. John Emery looked good catching balls out of the backfield.

For wide receivers, it was essentially the same lineup with Malik Nabers and Kyren Lacy. The only exception was Brian Thomas, who was nursing an injury. Chris Hilton, Jr. performed well in Thomas’ absence. Lacy had another good day of practice.

However, one of the more intriguing receivers has been Anderson as he has shown his playmaking ability time and time again as he shakes defenders out of their shoes.

True freshmen wide receivers Kyle Parker, Jalen Brown, and Shelton Sampson all looked impressive on Monday as they made some great catches. Sampson caught a deep ball in stride from Nussmeier during 11-on-11s. The future looks bright with this group of receivers.

Although we are very early in fall camp, it looks to me that LSU has one of, if not the best, tight-end rooms in the country.

Like the past two practices, Taylor took the snaps for the first team and lined up in various positions on the field. Taylor said after Monday’s practice that he gained 15-20 pounds of muscle during the offseason. True freshman Mac Markway and Ka’Morreun Pimpton took snaps with the second-team depending on what offensive set they were in. Markway is a very good blocking tight end and Pimpton is incredibly athletic with long arms and a large catch radius.

Pimpton had another great day of practice as he excelled in both one-on-ones and the offense vs. defense portion of practice. True freshman Jackson McGohan looked impressive as well as he can both catch and block at a high level.

According to Taylor, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will use the tight ends based on their attributes. With Taylor already seen as the No.1 tight end, I would expect Markway used in run-heavy sets while Pimpton will be used on passing plays due to his large catch radius and freakish athleticism.

Defense

Except for safety Greg Brooks who was left early on Monday due to a minor injury, the starting defense looked relatively the same.

In the front seven, Sai’vion Jones, Maason Smith, Mekhi Wingo and Bradyn Swinson started on the D-Line while All-American Harold Perkins, Greg Penn and Omar Speights got first-team reps.

The prime jewel of the 2023 signing class, defensive end Dashawn Womack, also looked impressive today as he was able to sack Nussmeier during the 11-on-11 portion of practice. Fellow freshman linebacker Whit Weeks performed well in Monday’s practice as well. Defensive end Quency Wiggins has made some noise as well.

In the defensive backfield, Major Burns and Andre Sam got first-team reps at safety while Sage Ryan was rotating in and out with true freshman Javien Toviano. Ryan had a great day at practice and has shown off some impressive breakdown speed during 11-on-11s. Sam also made a great read on a crossing pass route to pick off Nussmeier in the 11-on-11 portion of practice.

At cornerback, the two players that got the majority of the reps were Zy Alexander and Duce Chestnutt. Denver Harris and LaTerrance Welch got second-team reps as well. True freshman Ashton Stamps has performed well in the first two practices of camp getting some high-quality reps.

However, the first-team defense got decimated not due to injuries but by punishment. Burns, Harris and Perkins as well as some other defensive players got into with several of the offensive players that included wide receivers Kyren Lacy and Malik Nabers. Most players involved didn’t see another snap.

According to defensive end Sai’vion Jones, Brian Kelly addressed the team and was not happy about the situation. Jones also said the team has moved past it and it will be seen as a “stepping stone”.

Although it is newsworthy, that doesn’t mean it is a big deal because fights are commonplace during fall camp no matter the team. Hell, former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow started a fight with his teammate linebacker Patrick Queen during the 2019 fall camp. If you’re an LSU or a college football fan, you know the rest of the story.

Regardless of what people think about the fight, everyone will be out of people’s minds in 24-48 hours.

Special Teams

There was nothing new going on in the kicking battle between returning starter Damian Ramos and Nathan Dibert.

Backup punter Peyton Todd had a great day on Monday as he had a lot of booming punts. The West Monroe High School product was the former No.1 punter out of the Class of 2021.

The kick returners have been, for the most part, Aaron Anderson and Kyle Parker. Anderson will most likely be the one who returns punts this season. Jalen Brown, Noah Cain and Logan Diggs have been getting reps in the return game as well.