LSU Offensive Line 'Coming Together' Midway Through Spring Practice
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LSU's offensive line and the depth at every position has been one of the major question marks this spring has tried to solve. And according to coach Brian Kelly, the line is starting to "come together" due to a variety of moves.
The big piece that LSU has decided to do along that offensive line is moving freshman Will Campbell to left tackle and that decision alone has had a trickle down effect on the rest of the o-line depth chart. Some of the strongest buzz out of camp is how mature and more importantly, consistent, the true freshman offensive lineman has been the first few weeks of spring ball.
Campbell has been one of the standouts and even from a physicality perspective is holding his own with some of the more veteran players along the defense which has really impressed this staff. Having that early experience of going against guys like BJ Ojulari and Ali Gaye has been a positive experience for Campbell as he adjusts to his role as a key contributor for this offense in the spring.
"Emotional maturity. Generally you come in as a freshman and you don't know where their maturity level is," Kelly said. "He moves on to the next play and I just think it's his emotional maturity he carries as a freshman that's made him a guy we can plug in as such a young player. You don't know until you do it. We wanted to make sure he had that maturity and we saw it over three or four practices and we said 'Ok it's time, let's get him in there.'"
But again what this move has done more so than anything else is shed a little more clarity on the best positions for other players on the depth chart. Marcus Dumervil and Cam Wire have tagged team that right tackle spot and with Garrett Dellinger coming back, it allows this group to have a little more flexibility to move him inside to guard or tackle.
Meanwhile veteran Charles Turner has handled a good chunk of the first team reps at center while Kardell Thomas and Tre'Mond Shorts have also spent time at guard. As for transfer Freshman All-American Miles Frazier, he's been all over the place, taking reps at tackle and guard with both the first and second team as LSU finds the perfect place for his talents.
"I think some pieces are starting to come together there," Kelly said. "That offensive line is starting to show a little bit of consistency in terms of the guys we're rolling out there. It's early but we are seeing some consistency and I think it started when we decided to put the young guy at left tackle."
Turner at center has also been a role that offensive line coach Brad Davis admitted he wanted to try at most six guys at the position but it's been the veteran swiss army knife Turner who's taken over that spot so far. Kelly said it's the athleticism and high football IQ that comes with needing to play the center spot that has stood out about Turner so far.
It's still an open spot as Kelly did say there are areas Turner will need to improve on as the offseason progresses. As for Turner, his past experiences at playing all over the offensive line has helped him prepare for this opportunity and why he hasn't been shaken by the revolving door of rotations at the guard and tackle spots around him.
"It's a big deal for me and right now it's an open spot," Turner said. "I think I've got the mental aspect part down but physically there are still some things I need to work on. We use the depth chart as organization. Somebody could be playing different one day and playing with me different the next day. We all have to prepare like we're starters because in the SEC one man could go down, next man up."
One of the specialities of offensive line coach Brad Davis is being able to train multiple players at multiple positions, something that Turner and this o-line really appreciate. Being versatile as an offensive lineman will only help in their cases to one day make it to the NFL and that kind of work and preparation starts at the college level.
"The NFL, they're not looking for guys who can just play center or just play tackle," Turner said. "With coach Davis doing that, it helps our brains learn what everybody's doing, not just one spot."
