LSU‘s fall camp is winding down. With two weeks to go until kickoff vs. USC, practice and preparation from this point will resemble something closer to a regular season schedule than training camp.
The first two weeks of camp provided us with a fresh look at LSU. There were a lot of unknowns about this team leaving 2023. LSU was replacing a Heisman Trophy winner at QB, both coordinators and two first-round wide receivers. Spring practice provided a few answers, some of which have been further solidified in camp.
It’s the first time we’ve gotten a true look at some new faces too, notably defensive tackles Gio Paez and [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag], who weren’t with LSU for spring ball.
Despite the offensive changes, there’s more certainty on that side of the ball. That’s led much of the recent fan focus to the defensive side, where LSU is hoping new DC [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] can turn it around in year one.
There’s still a lot to learn about this team but those answers will come when toe meets leather against USC. For now, we’ll look at six things we’ve learned about LSU in fall camp.
Cornerback is a position of interest for LSU entering 2024. The pass defense was not up to standard in 2023, but LSU didn’t hit the portal and opted to bank on the development of its young guys.
Ashton Stamps is in that group. The sophomore drew rave reviews when he first arrived on campus in 2023. He was forced into action as a true freshman with mixed results to show. Now, Stamps has emerged as LSU’s top corner.
Stamps said the secondary has taken strides and moved on from last year’s struggles.
“I just feel like we have less to think about,” Stamps said, “We don’t guess. We just go out there and play.”
Stamps made four starts last year and said that experience has allowed him to be more confident entering his sophomore campaign.
LSU needs a big year from Stamps if the defense is going to bounce back.
TE group is even stronger than we thought
LSU tight end Mason Taylor is expected to have a big junior year. He turned heads the moment he stepped on campus as a freshman and racked up 74 catches for 762 yards in his first two years in Baton Rouge.
With LSU having to replace a bunch of targets, Taylor assumes a more featured role. If he lives up to expectations, he has a chance to be one of the best tight ends in the SEC.
But it’s not just Taylor. LSU likes what it has in sophomore Ka’Morreun Pimpton and freshman Trey’Dez Green. LSU has flashed two and three tight end sets throughout fall camp, indicating Taylor, Pimpton, and Green will get their fair share of playing time this fall.
LSU is down a man after Mac Markway entered the portal near the beginning of camp, but it’s hard not to like where this room stands.
Gio Paez will start alongside Jacobian Guillory at DT
There’s no question that Jacobian Guillory is LSU’s DT1. He’s the only returner with legit starting experience at LSU.
LSU was forced to hit the transfer portal to fill out the interior defensive line, bringing in Gio Paez and Jay’Viar Suggs. So far, it’s Paez who’s stepped up and claimed a starting role.
When LSU sends the first defense out against USC, it’s looking like Guillory and Paez will man the defensive tackle spot. It’s a new position for Paez, playing in a three-technique rather than the nose and one-tech spots he played at Wisconsin.
Jumping to the SEC along with a small shift in positions makes it hard to project Paez entering 2023. He wasn’t a gamebreaker at Wisconsin, but he’s no stranger to power conference football. There’s still a lot of unknown here, but LSU seems to be growing confident in Paez’s chances of playing competent football.
LSU still figuring it out at punter
LSU will have a new punter in 2024 after losing senior Jay Bramblett. With Bramblett, LSU had one of the SEC’s most effective punters from 2022-23, though he barely touched the field last year.
LSU has a couple of options with Peyton Todd and Blake Ochsendorf, but Brian Kelly said neither has separated yet.
“At the punting position, I think we have two guys that in some ways complement each other and I think they both can help us, we just need to find out in what realm. They’re both extremely talented, they both have big legs,” Kelly said.
“I think the one that stands out to me right now is, we need to get consistency. We’ll see a couple of incredibly big kicks and then we’ll see one that is not effective enough. We’ll let those guys continue to challenge each other, but I think it’s going to sort itself out,” Kelly said.
I’m sure LSU fans haven’t spent much time thinking about the punting position this summer, but it’s a thing you don’t notice until something bad happens. LSU needs to avoid costly mistakes on special teams and finding a consistent punter will help that.
Harold Perkins Jr. looks good
With Blake Baker taking over the defense, LSU feels good about the direction Harold Perkins is going.
Perkins has the talent to be one of the SEC’s best linebackers. He was an elite pass rusher in 2022 and showed equally good coverage skills last year. He’ll look to put it all together this fall.
Baker said Perkins has made a ton of progress since spring ball. That means something coming from Baker given the work he did with LSU linebackers in 2021.
Perkins said Baker has found a way to simplify that defense that allows him to go out and play free and fast. That’s something we didn’t see last year.
LSU has a plan for Perkins now and it should lead to Perkins returning to an All-SEC level of play.
Defense still has a ways to go
There have been positive reports about the defensive performance, some of which we’ve already highlighted here, but consistency remains an issue.
Blake Baker said all the pieces are there, but LSU needs to get better at putting it together on a day-to-day basis, mentioning he wants to see player-led accountability.
The secondary should be better too, but that’s another area where Kelly wants to see a better level of consistency, especially from the young corners.
LSU has less than two weeks to clean it up before it faces a Lincoln Riley offense.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: 6 takeaways from LSU’s fall camp so far
