Once again ESPN came through this weekend with some Spring Football! Last week it was the Texas Longhorns and this week it was the LSU Tigers. While I believe the Texas fans most likely came away disappointed last week I think the LSU fans came away thinking they got about what they expected. All eyes were on the QB position for this game and I got exactly what I was expecting from each of the three LSU QBs battling for playing time. Returning starter Jordan Jefferson looked very good early as he took his team down the field early for a touchdown. However, he was very inconsistent the rest of the game and finished with an unimpressive 4 of 14 for 102 yds and 1 INT. The second string QB Jarrett Lee had his moments but ultimately he was marred by turnovers. He threw a pick in the red zone and also fumbled later in the game. He finished 9 of 16 with 1 interception. If I was the coach he would be moving down the depth chart as I just don’t think he’s as good as the other two QBs battling for playing time. That being said, if Jarrett Lee was at Texas I think he would be their starting QB this year. The last QB to see playing time was exiled former Bulldog Zach Mettenberger who was sporting a new look having cut off his grizzly facial hair. Mettenberger finished 5 of 8 for 86 yards and a 60 yard TD bomb to Kadron Boone to kick off the third quarter. Mettenberger showed that he has the best gun of the LSU QBs, I also think he has the highest upside. While I wouldn’t be ready to kick Jefferson to curb quite yet for him I think that by the time fall practice ends he will probably be the best choice for the Tigers if they want to keep up with the likes of the Oregon Ducks and the West Virginia Mountaineers on the score board early in the season next year.
The two guys I came away most impressed by in this game was Safety Eric Reid and RB Spencer Ware. Eric Reid made himself known very early in the game by making the first two tackles of the game. He also picked off Jarrett Lee in the red zone. Spencer Ware took advantage of Michael Ford and Kenny Hilliard’s absence by totalling 94 yards on 13 carries. Oh, did I mention that he also found the end-zone twice? And yes, Kenny Hilliard is related to Dalton Hilliard. Overall, I don’t think LSU has to worry about the RB position as Alfred Blue and Jakhari Gore also looked pretty decent. LSU has a plethora of guys this year that can tote the rock for them.
It should also be noted that the defense was handicapped in this game because they were not allowed to blitz (although John Chavis did slip one in). Last week after the Texas game I said that their performance did change my opinion of them a little because of their absolute lack of QB play. After this game I feel that I have pretty much the same opinion of LSU that I came in with. When we sat down and came up with our Pre-Spring Top 10 I had LSU at #5 (although the average of blog votes brought them to #4 in our official poll). I’m not sure they will be my #5 team when I do my final pre-season Top 25 but I thought they looked pretty good today and the game’s first half was very enjoyable to watch as a fan with no dog (or tiger) in the fight.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
