WATCH: LSU football QBs during their team’s first preseason practice
LSU quarterbacks Garrett Nussmeier (13), Rickie Collins (10), AJ Swann (15) and Colin Hurley (16) work out during the first fall practice.
BATON ROUGE – Veteran defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory is making it clear to his fellow defensive linemen that it’s OK to miss a rep during practice.
Of course, every player on LSU’s defensive group wants to win every game, but with the influx of some freshmen, Guillory wants to calm his teammates down when they get beat in practice. That’s not an anomaly.
There are good reasons for this.
“Think of it this way: You’re battling tooth and nail against the best offense in the country, Saturday nights are going to be a lot easier,” Guillory said. “Keep your cool and just keep going. When you get knocked down, pull yourself together and run for the ball.”
“You won’t see anything better on a Saturday than during the week.”
REQUIRED READING This is what the LSU football team’s defensive line looks like before fall camp
REQUIRED READING This is what LSU’s offensive line looks like before fall camp
According to several national media outlets, LSU may have the best offensive line in college football. Stars Will Campbell at left tackle and Emery Jones Jr. at right tackle are among the NFL’s most promising talents at their respective positions this season. Miles Frazier and Garrett Dellinger at right and left guard, respectively, are strong interior linemen and have helped the group be as dominant as it was last season.
In total, the four outstanding linemen have 99 starts, and rookie DJ Chester in the middle has held his own more than well in the middle so far.
“I enjoy the challenge,” senior defensive end Sai’vion Jones said Friday after practice. “It’s exciting to know that it shouldn’t be that hard to challenge them early in the season.”
“That’s the biggest motivation for me. To beat them and challenge them like that, because once the season really starts, I can do my thing.”
Sai’vion Jones outperformed Emery Jones on a replay, and after practice the two discussed the play in detail, with the offensive player asking the defensive player why he had used a certain hand gesture on him.
The defensive player told his teammates that he timed the snap well and came out on top in the rep.
Sai’vion said these conversations often happen after training and that the two help each other understand approaches and steps for improvement.
“Being able to come back after practice and talk about what moves we made and why he did that just helps us get better,” Sai’vion Jones said.
“He’s the best right tackle and left tackle in the country. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
It’s certainly true that the younger, less experienced defensive line won far more than Campbell, Emery Jones and the rest of LSU’s vaunted offensive line. The reps throughout the week were the best teacher for LSU’s D-line.
And that’s why Guillory said she’s OK with losing reps.
“That motivates us,” Sai’vion Jones said. “Because we know that most of the offensive defeats we face are going to be a breeze if we can beat them or at least challenge them. I won’t say it’s a breeze, but it’s definitely not going to be anything new that we haven’t faced.”
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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Have questions about LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at[email protected].
