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Brian Kelly is prepared to put the Week 1 loss against Florida State behind him as this program looks at the bigger picture this season and it starts with LSU making its home debut against Grambling State this weekend.
There will be adjustments made by Kelly and Co. in several areas from Harold Perkins’ usage to the defensive front to the return game.
What will this team look like this weekend?
Kelly harped on a few key subjects on Tuesday during his weekly presser.
The Takeaways:
Harold Perkins’ Role
LSU linebacker Harold Perkins had a career-high 28 snaps in coverage while only rushing the passer seven times Sunday night against Florida State. It was a head scratching decision from defensive coordinator Matt House and his staff after limiting one of college football’s top pass rushers to one role.
For Kelly, it’s about utilizing Perkins in a way that will help both his player development for the next level as well as help the Tigers moving forward.
“There's a lot going on. And you can clearly look at Harold and what he's asked to do versus, lining them up off the edge. Player Development has to be thought about, where he goes at the next level has to be thought about and then impacting our team," Kelly said on Tuesday. "So I think that there is a happy medium there that we could probably strike and we've already begun to look at how we can be most effective for Harold and for LSU.”
A deeper dive into what Kelly said:
Will Aaron Anderson Continue Returning Kicks?
If there was one area that needed an immediate boost heading into the 2023 season it was on special teams. LSU went out and added Alabama transfer Aaron Anderson, an impactful player at both wide receiver and as a return specialist.
Ahead of the season opener against Florida State, Kelly stated that Anderson would serve as the Tigers’ return specialist on both kickoffs and as the primary punt returner. In Week 1, Anderson muffed his first punt in the purple and gold.
“Yes, he's going to stay back there. But he's got to catch the football, and with him it's the fundamentals, right? It’s high hands, elbows in, square platform," Kelly said. "It's the stuff that we talked about ad nauseam from day one, and he gets away from that a little bit.
“He goes back to these old beliefs of ‘I'm better than everybody and I can just do it’ and that just doesn't work. Especially when you get cats running down the field and they're on you before you know it and then you make a slight move and you're off centered a little bit and the ball can squirt out. So we just got to get him to be more disciplined. Keep working with him. He's a young player. We're not kicking him out of the club. We're gonna keep working with them. And then there's that natural progression of getting him back involved and more the offense.”
What Kelly Said:
The Return: Maason Smith
Maason Smith will play in his first game for the Tigers since Sept. 4, 2022 after going down with a torn ACL in last year’s season opener against Florida State. The comeback was pushed back a week after Smith was ruled ineligible for Week 1 due to a suspension administered by the NCAA.
Smith “received improper benefits” and was sidelined against the Seminoles on Sunday, but fast forward to this weekend against Grambling State, and Smith will return for the Tigers with Kelly “giddy” for him to be back.
“He obviously impacts our defense. He allows us to do different things, he's a guy that can play the five technique, the three, can play the one, the zero. His flexibility on our defense provides a new dimension that we're excited about giving him back.”
More must-reads:
- Javier Baez still being on the Tigers is an indictment against team owner
- Tiger Woods ruins strong first round with sloppy finish at PGA Championship
- The 'Most career 40-point playoff games' quiz
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