LSU Begins Texas Bowl Practice With Goal of Finishing 2021 Strong

Finals are over and LSU is back on the practice field gearing up for one last ride with the 2021 roster. The goal is two fold for interim coach Brad Davis and the Tigers.

One, this group wants to send its seniors out on a high note. Second, this is a team that needs to build momentum and continuity heading into the 2022 season under Brian Kelly and the only way to do that is to continue developing its young talent on the roster.

Throughout the 2021 season, LSU has lost a ton of talent via injury or the transfer portal but the hope is that a few of those players will be back from injury for the Texas Bowl. One is freshman defensive end Maason Smith, who was seen in the Tigers' hype video below practicing in a gold non-contact jersey.

When asked about any other potential players electing to sit out the bowl game, Davis said that there would be a plan in place to keep the players as safe and healthy as possible.

"As for player safety, I've been very, very thorough and intentional about how we play in practice," Davis said. "To number one get our players in elite shape to go and perform the number two keeping guys healthy, and given us our best opportunity to get our best players on the field on January 4th, so we're not going to have any excuses. We're going to go out and compete at a high level."

Moments of adversity become opportunities for leadership to show up pic.twitter.com/nf5z6NcNjV
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) December 16, 2021

This hasn't been an easy season for anyone involved with the program between all of the injuries, transfers and of course a coaching change announced at the midway mark. But for the seniors like Damone Clark, Neil Farrell, Ed Ingram, Austin Deculus and Liam Shanahan to all want to be a part of one more game, it points to the nucleus of this team and the obvious commitment and respect the remaining players have for one another.

"I wish you guys could have been there with super electric, just a ton of energy, guys just having fun, finals over with, it's been a long season, but we get an opportunity to finish it and put a bow on it," Davis said. "We respect the heck out of our opponent. We fully anticipate to compete in a very, very physical game. We're excited about the opportunity to go play in a great venue, in front of some of the best fans in college football, which is the LSU Tigers."