I know several people have posted their thoughts, and I've enjoyed reading all of them. Just wanted to add mine if there are any of you still out there wanting more Spring Game analysis.
QB
Max Johnson was the big winner at QB for me in this game, but I don't think he was perfect or even close. On his first drive of the game he led the team right down the field in impressive fashion, but he couldn't finish the drive once we got inside the 10. He really didn't do much else in the first half after that drive. However, he really shined in the second half leading two touchdown scoring drives. He showed his mobility on multiple occasions, and he avoided making any mistakes (aka turnovers) which is always huge. There are two negatives that stuck out to me, one that can be improved while the other I'm not so sure about. On his deep touchdown pass to Kirklin he really underthrew that pass and just got lucky that Kirklin was still able to gather it in for the score. Johnson's arm strength is not a deal breaker, but its certainly lacking compared to some of the others and I am not sure he can improve this much at this point. The other thing I noticed was that he throws the ball to his left A LOT. At the end of the game he made some nice throws to the right side of the field, but for most of the game he kept looking left. If I noticed this, then surely defensive coordinators can pick up on this and cheat to that side of the field with their defensive formations.
Myles Brennan had a decent game, but I was not as impressed with him as much as others and certainly didn't think he won the day. His one touchdown pass came on a fake spike on the last play of the first half. While it was a good play, I did not see anything out of him that showed the ability to consistently move the ball down the field, and he had a couple of possessions where he started in plus territory and was only able to get a field goal out of it. Again, I don't think he was bad in this game, and I know this was his first "game" action in quite a while, but I think he is a step behind Johnson and considering he's 4 years older I don't see him being the right choice for us this year unless Johnson comes down with an injury.
TJ Finley has unequaled arm strength, but he just does not read defenses well. I was also surprised that at his size he had a pass batted down at the line on a crucial play at one point in the game. When he first got the starting job in Tiger Stadium last year I thought he showed great moxy and leadership. However, since then I think things have gone all downhill for him, and I believe his confidence is shaken and his time as a Tiger is coming to an end. I would prefer he stay around and provide nice depth for us because you never know what might happen, but I have a hard time not seeing him in the transfer portal, probably sooner rather than later.
Garrett Nussmeier had some of the most exciting plays in the game, and I really enjoyed watching him play. However, he also made several mistakes with the 3 interceptions. He is going to be exciting to watch going forward, but he is definitely in need of a redshirt year and needs to watch the older quarterbacks and learn how read defenses and settle down in the pocket and take what the defense gives instead of trying to force things. He did throw the ball away a couple of times which was good to see out of a young QB, but too often he missed seeing defenders who had stepped in front of receivers. I am still a big believer in him and I think with a redshirt year he could even seriously compete for the starting job next year, but his time is not here yet.
RB
Tyrion Davis-Price hit the hole hard on several runs and had a nice game toting the rock, but his fumble inside the five yard line could have been a killer. That absolutely cannot happen at a pivotal moment of a big game, and if he wants to win the trust of the coaches he absolutely cannot make mistakes like that. I hoped to see him catch some more passes out of the backfield, but it did not seem like the QBs were looking for him very much on passing plays.
WR
Kayshon Boutte is an absolute star, and he is another in a long line of great LSU wide receivers. He will be our go to guy all season, and I can't wait to watch him. Jontre Kirklin was the big surprise in the Spring Game with his production. He has never seemed to put it together in actual games, but I am hopeful after watching him this weekend that he will be a dependable option for us this Fall. One receiver who made little impact but who I was impressed with was Koy Moore. I watched several plays where he ran outstanding routes and was wide open. Unfortunately it appears he has little chemistry with the QBs, and they do not look his way very often. I'm not sure what the deal is here, but hopefully when they go back and look at the film they will realize he creates good separation and should be targeted more. DeVonta Lee had a couple of nice catches, but nobody else really made much of an impact. I was hoping to see Deion Smith make some plays as the highly touted true freshman has supposedly been very impressive this Spring, but I don't remember him doing anything.
TE
I recall one nice first down reception by Nick Storz on a quick out, but I don't believe Kole Taylor had any receptions in the game. This is one of the weakest positions on the team right now, and we will see if this changes depending on what happens with Arik Gilbert.
OL
I saw that Jimmy was impressed with the OL, but I absolutely was not, at least on pass protection. With only 4 guys rushing the passer the entire game I could not believe we gave up 8 sacks. Granted 1 or 2 of those sacks probably wouldn't have happened as the QB could have escaped most likely, but still there was way too much pressure on the QBs given no blitzes were taking place. I will give the OL credit for the run game as I thought they blocked well on most runs and provided huge holes in some instances for TDP to run through and make it to the second level. I think there is some major improvement still needed though if we are going to be throwing the ball as much as we would like or our QBs are going to be running for their lives.
QB
Max Johnson was the big winner at QB for me in this game, but I don't think he was perfect or even close. On his first drive of the game he led the team right down the field in impressive fashion, but he couldn't finish the drive once we got inside the 10. He really didn't do much else in the first half after that drive. However, he really shined in the second half leading two touchdown scoring drives. He showed his mobility on multiple occasions, and he avoided making any mistakes (aka turnovers) which is always huge. There are two negatives that stuck out to me, one that can be improved while the other I'm not so sure about. On his deep touchdown pass to Kirklin he really underthrew that pass and just got lucky that Kirklin was still able to gather it in for the score. Johnson's arm strength is not a deal breaker, but its certainly lacking compared to some of the others and I am not sure he can improve this much at this point. The other thing I noticed was that he throws the ball to his left A LOT. At the end of the game he made some nice throws to the right side of the field, but for most of the game he kept looking left. If I noticed this, then surely defensive coordinators can pick up on this and cheat to that side of the field with their defensive formations.
Myles Brennan had a decent game, but I was not as impressed with him as much as others and certainly didn't think he won the day. His one touchdown pass came on a fake spike on the last play of the first half. While it was a good play, I did not see anything out of him that showed the ability to consistently move the ball down the field, and he had a couple of possessions where he started in plus territory and was only able to get a field goal out of it. Again, I don't think he was bad in this game, and I know this was his first "game" action in quite a while, but I think he is a step behind Johnson and considering he's 4 years older I don't see him being the right choice for us this year unless Johnson comes down with an injury.
TJ Finley has unequaled arm strength, but he just does not read defenses well. I was also surprised that at his size he had a pass batted down at the line on a crucial play at one point in the game. When he first got the starting job in Tiger Stadium last year I thought he showed great moxy and leadership. However, since then I think things have gone all downhill for him, and I believe his confidence is shaken and his time as a Tiger is coming to an end. I would prefer he stay around and provide nice depth for us because you never know what might happen, but I have a hard time not seeing him in the transfer portal, probably sooner rather than later.
Garrett Nussmeier had some of the most exciting plays in the game, and I really enjoyed watching him play. However, he also made several mistakes with the 3 interceptions. He is going to be exciting to watch going forward, but he is definitely in need of a redshirt year and needs to watch the older quarterbacks and learn how read defenses and settle down in the pocket and take what the defense gives instead of trying to force things. He did throw the ball away a couple of times which was good to see out of a young QB, but too often he missed seeing defenders who had stepped in front of receivers. I am still a big believer in him and I think with a redshirt year he could even seriously compete for the starting job next year, but his time is not here yet.
RB
Tyrion Davis-Price hit the hole hard on several runs and had a nice game toting the rock, but his fumble inside the five yard line could have been a killer. That absolutely cannot happen at a pivotal moment of a big game, and if he wants to win the trust of the coaches he absolutely cannot make mistakes like that. I hoped to see him catch some more passes out of the backfield, but it did not seem like the QBs were looking for him very much on passing plays.
WR
Kayshon Boutte is an absolute star, and he is another in a long line of great LSU wide receivers. He will be our go to guy all season, and I can't wait to watch him. Jontre Kirklin was the big surprise in the Spring Game with his production. He has never seemed to put it together in actual games, but I am hopeful after watching him this weekend that he will be a dependable option for us this Fall. One receiver who made little impact but who I was impressed with was Koy Moore. I watched several plays where he ran outstanding routes and was wide open. Unfortunately it appears he has little chemistry with the QBs, and they do not look his way very often. I'm not sure what the deal is here, but hopefully when they go back and look at the film they will realize he creates good separation and should be targeted more. DeVonta Lee had a couple of nice catches, but nobody else really made much of an impact. I was hoping to see Deion Smith make some plays as the highly touted true freshman has supposedly been very impressive this Spring, but I don't remember him doing anything.
TE
I recall one nice first down reception by Nick Storz on a quick out, but I don't believe Kole Taylor had any receptions in the game. This is one of the weakest positions on the team right now, and we will see if this changes depending on what happens with Arik Gilbert.
OL
I saw that Jimmy was impressed with the OL, but I absolutely was not, at least on pass protection. With only 4 guys rushing the passer the entire game I could not believe we gave up 8 sacks. Granted 1 or 2 of those sacks probably wouldn't have happened as the QB could have escaped most likely, but still there was way too much pressure on the QBs given no blitzes were taking place. I will give the OL credit for the run game as I thought they blocked well on most runs and provided huge holes in some instances for TDP to run through and make it to the second level. I think there is some major improvement still needed though if we are going to be throwing the ball as much as we would like or our QBs are going to be running for their lives.
