I’ll tell you what:  there are few more desirable, relaxing and pleasing places to be than on LSU’s campus in the springtime.  Couple that with the signature fall setting of an LSU football game, and you’re as close to paradise as you can be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

I had never before attended an LSU Spring Game before this year, even during my years as an LSU student.  I guess I was always too busy with exams, extracurriculars or intramurals.

(…yeah, you’re right, I’ll stop making excuses and just admit I was a fool, a damned fool, for not going…)

With seats on the 50 yard line (ten rows up!!!) behind the Purple Team, I was closer to the team than I’d ever been before, except when I wrote for The Daily Reveille and got to talk to the players and coaches one-on-one.  I’ll get into my take on the seats later, but I do want to let you know here that I got to shake Desmond Howard’s hand, and that is always cool.

White dominated Purple, winning 24-9, even though both teams shared some marquee players.  The score is obviously irrelevant:  the Spring Game exists to evaluate the Tigers’ progress throughout the spring practices.  Here are some of the things I noticed:

QUESTIONABLE QUARTERBACKING

The performances of LSU’s quarterbacking corps were largely unimpressive.  Jordan Jefferson showed little poise and awareness on the field, hurrying many of his throws and failing to get good arm behind them.  Most bounced in the air or fell short of targets.  Jarrett Lee was better, showing flashes of brilliance despite calling his signature Pick-Six play and failing to complete a handful of deep passes that would have made potentially big plays.  I have to be completely honest in saying that I was more impressed with Lee than with Jefferson—two QBs who have seemingly taken opposite paths to the present.  Jefferson started out strong but has failed to show development in skill and awareness on the field, while Lee struggled mightily under the pressure as a freshman QB but has endured and remained on the depth chart.  Don’t be surprised if you see Jarrett Lee under center this season.

FUN GAME, RUN GAME

Welcome back to Death Valley, LSU running game.  The rushing attack is alive and well if the Spring Game is any indication for the season’s success.  Both Stevan Ridley and Michael Ford rushed for more than 100 yards and showed one of two things:  either LSU’s defense is brittle to the touch, or the backs are impressively adept at breaking tackles.  Ford particularly showed poise and polished footwork as he penetrated deeper into the defense.  Ridley carried the bulk of the offense on the first drive of the game for his White Team.  These are good signs for a team that struggled on offense last season and with quarterbacks as green as their Spring Game jerseys.  If LSU can establish the run early and often this season, they will score points and might not have to worry as much about managing time at the end of ballgames…

Russell Shepard was also very involved in the running and passing games—hopefully a sign of things to come…

YOUNG DEFENDERS

The young Tigers defense crawled over the field like a pissed off bunch of fire ants.  While there were some issues with broken tackles, for the most part I was impressed with the defensive showing.  In particular, a couple of players stood out among the rest.  If you ever had a reason not to remember Barkevious Mingo’s name (he won the annual, nationwide Name of the Year tournament recently), memorize it.  The incoming freshman lineman was EVERYWHERE on Saturday, penetrating into the backfield and putting pressure on the quarterback with two sacks and a hurry.  He also broke up a pass play and about seven tackles while making his presence felt indirectly throughout the game.  For the most part, the pass rush seems to be improved from last year.  Craig Loston was also impressive in pass coverage, though pick-sixes of Jarrett Lee touchdowns are more common than not.

JASPER IS GOOD TO GO

For anyone who focused on the kicking game (there are few of you) and had concerns about Josh Jasper’s ability, fear not:  the player exceeded expectations and showed great range by hitting three field goals.  The most impressive moment of the game, in my opinion, came when Jasper lined up for a 57-yard field goal attempt and just pushed it through the uprights.    Showing capability of such distance adds flexibility for the Tigers offense when considering field position.

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Regardless of whether you agree with me or not, I think we’ll all agree that this is a defining season for LSU football for the coming years and for Les Miles himself, given the amount of talent available to him and the exposure of his game management weaknesses last season.  Things look good for the Tigers, with a manageable schedule and a home game against the defending champion Crimson Tide (road games against Florida and Auburn are winnable).  I feel a 10-win season would be satisfactory, but here’s hoping for better.

I’ll see you from the South Endzone corner!  This will be my sixth-consecutive LSU football season with season tickets and first outside the student section. (That’s right, got the hookup on a fifth season even though I wasn’t a student!)

I’d rather have my season tickets there than on the 50:  they offer a better view of the whole field and aren’t nearly as cramped as those “luxury” seats.  Of course, I’d rather be in the Student Section than anywhere else…