LSU Football Will Shift Into New Phase of 2022 Spring Session
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The first few weeks of spring ball for LSU were all about establishing accountability and preparation. That extended not just across the roster but the coaching and support staff as well.
Since taking the job in December, a point that Brian Kelly has repeatedly hammered home in his press conferences is the importance of building strong habits on an everyday basis. As the coaching staff was constructing offensive and defensive schemes, the players were filling out wellness questionnaires and diligently focusing on offseason workouts and academics.
There's a process to everything Kelly wants this program to be and it all started with that buy in from everyone inside the building, something that was still being worked on as spring ball began. But now that players and coaches alike have an understanding and are starting to consistently fulfill those habits, Kelly is ready to move on to the next phase of what the spring session is about.
"For me it's more about how we prepare and how we practice," Kelly said. "Now as we get past the educational phase of how we want our team to prepare to practice, we gotta start looking at where are those guys positionally as we move into preseason camp? What's the roster start to look like?"
Building out depth charts and more importantly, putting players in the best position to have success is what these next seven practices will be about ahead of the spring game April 23. There's no doubt this team has plenty to figure out from a depth chart perspective. Quarterback, running back, wide receiver, offensive line, linebacker, cornerback and safety all have plenty of talent but not much in the way of a pecking order.
One example Kelly gave to the media is the quarterback position and being able to tailor the offense to whoever is behind center. The first half of spring was about installation and finding consistency in who was picking up the schemes while this next half will be a little more detailed in approach.
"For example at the quarterbacks, who's a little bit stronger at RPO? Who might be better at traditional, cross the field read?" Kelly said. "Tailoring it to the quarterbacks so that's what you're going to see more of.
"I think each guy can do things differently, we're gonna have to be putting the offense to highlight their skillsets. It's been fun, interesting to learn a little bit more about them. It'll be our job to get the best out of them and tailor the offense accordingly to what their skillset is."
Kelly schedules the practices himself and in the portions open to the media, is very involved in all aspects, moving around to different position groups during individual drills and other development periods. The goal is to gather as much information as possible ahead of the spring game and shift focus to what the team could additionally need via the transfer portal.
Offensive line, tight end and cornerback are the three positions that have been repeatedly relayed to the media as areas of concern. How these next few practices come together should shed more light on which ones are more dire in need.
"These next seven practices will be scripted a little bit differently relative to reps and who's gonna take what role within the offense and defensive structure," Kelly said. "We'll kind of shift gears leading into the spring game."
