LSU intensifies efforts in getting ready for season opener

By David Moorman  |   Friday, August 15, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

LSU Tigers
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As its Aug. 30 season opener draws closer, LSU has intensified preparations for Appalachian State. The Tigers conducted their first scrimmage of the summer this past Tuesday in getting ready for an even more strenuous scrimmage scheduled for Saturday at Tiger Stadium.

Running backs Charles Scott and Richard Murphy drew head coach Les Miles’ praise after the 75-play situational scrimmage, as did sophomore quarterback Andrew Hatch. That bodes well for the Tigers, who figure to rely more heavily on the run this season given their inexperience at quarterback.

Murphy had runs of 8, 10 and 15 yards, while Scott’s long scamper of 14 yards carried him to the 1 during the red-zone portion of the scrimmage.

Hatch threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Richard Dickson in making a strong case to become the Tigers’ starting quarterback. While access to practice is extremely limited, redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee appears to have lost valuable reps with what Miles described as a “soft tissue injury” to the passer's leg.

Hatch and Lee are battling to replace the departed Matt Flynn, and both Lee’s injury and Hatch’s familiarity with offensive coordinator Gary Crowton could work in Hatch’s favor. While in high school, Hatch attended two camps where Crowton was working as a college coach. Furthermore, while coaching Brigham Young, Crowton recruited Hatch -- who elected to enroll at Harvard and transferred to LSU when Crowton became the Tigers’ offensive coordinator last season.

In addition to his touchdown pass, Hatch also threw 15-yarders to wide receivers Brandon LaFell and Demetrius Byrd.

True freshman quarterback Jordan Jefferson displayed his athleticism with a 15-yard run on a broken play. While Jefferson has made progress during the summer and probably will see action this fall, it’s unlikely he can overtake the other two and become a starter this season.

It came as no surprise that the defense continued to excel. Junior tackle Ricky Jean-Francois had a pair of quarterback sacks and a QB hurry. That only served to heighten the expectations for him this season. Senior tackle Tyson Jackson had a sack and a hurry in furthering LSU’s reputation for its stout defensive line.

It didn’t help, though, that another senior tackle, Charles Alexander, sat out parts of two-a-day workouts, as did senior center Brett Helms. Alexander missed most of last season after knee surgery and is being counted on to make an impact this year. Even minus Alexander, the line enjoyed a robust performance, with junior tackle Al Woods and sophomore end Lazarius Levingston registering sacks.
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About David Moorman

Dave Moormann is an award-winning journalist, who has covered LSU athletics since 1980. He began his coverage with the Baton Rouge Advocate, where he was a writer and editor from 1980-98. In 1996, he authored a book on the history of LSU football entitled, "Fighting Tigers Handbook: Stories, Stats...
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