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LSU emerged from a tough September 3-1 with a trouncing of Texas A&M on Saturday night.
Clemson doesn’t appear to be very good, and the Aggies are ticketed for more losses. Ole Miss was rolled by Florida on Saturday, but that’s still a tough month for a new coaching staff and team loaded with imports.
The road gets tougher, especially in November, but LSU is in position to do some good things.
The LSU offense got rolling on the ground and through the air in the middle of the game, and Blake Baker’s defense finally botted up Marcel Reed like most other teams in the conference have done the last two years.
Pro Football Focus’s grades praised the passing game and the second level of LSU’s defense. On the flip side, the reserves who saw significant action graded lowest on the roster.
Here’s how it looked.
HIGHEST GRADE
- Jackson Harris, WR – 92.0
- Sam Leavitt, QB – 91.1
- Tamarcus Cooley, S – 87.8
- Harlem Berry, RB – 79.0
- Davhon Keys, LB – 75.8
LSU had to have someone aside from Winnie Watkins step up as a pass catcher. Trey’Dez Green’s role is not fillable. The target and production do have to come from somewhere, though. Jackson Harris stepped up. He made a great adjustment to the ball on the touchdown before the half, and the 4th and 1 deep shot was a beautiful design the Harris executed well selling the block and breaking free.
Leavitt tweaked a hamstring in the second quarter and spent the second half in the pocket. He completed 9-of-11 after halftime including a pair of big plays to Harris. His legs will be there when the hamstring heals, but LSU needs his arm to be accurate to win the big games moving forward. He certainly was on Saturday night. He was credited with three “big time throws” and zero “turnover worthy plays” even though his tipped pass was picked off in the second half.
Cooley was all over the place. He had a sack and an interception. PFF graded him an 88.8 in coverage and an 80.2 tackling.
Kiffin praised Harlem Berry and said he earned the second running back spot this week. Berry played 15 snaps and got seven carries which he turned into 58 yards including a long of 18. Stacy Gage only played one snap.
Davhon Keys is going to be a starter for LSU moving forward. Sources have indicated to LouisianaSports.net that Whit Weeks is going to miss some time. He played 23 snaps, made six tackles, had a hurry and didn’t miss a tackle. He graded 78.1 against the run, 79.1 tackling.
LOWEST GRADES
- Jayce Brown, WR – 45.9
- Brysten Martinez, T – 48.9
- Malik Elzy, WR – 50.3
- Sean Thompkins, T – 51.3
- William Satterwhite, G – 52.3
It’s generally a good thing when the five lowest grades are all reserves. William Satterwhite started the game at left guard on Saturday, but Bo Bordelon also played significant snaps. Satterwhite played 42 snaps at left guard and 17 at center. Bordelon played those 17 at left guard.
Satterwhite graded a 52.7 in run blocking and 46.7 pass blocking. Bordelon struggled again in pass protection at 45.7.
Martinez played 17 snaps at left tackle. Five of hose were passing calls, and he allowed a hurry. PFF Graded him a 0.0 in pass protection. That’s not a typo on my end.
Sean Thompkins played right tackle. His overall grades of 51.3 was comprised of a 52.7 run blocking mark and a 46.7 pass blocking mark. LSU’s offensive line has options behind the original five, but the weekly grades suggest there’s not a backup option ready to fortify things.
Jayce Brown and Malik Elzy were fighting for playing time in the spring and fall camp. They’ve been passed by Watkins, Harris and Eugene Wilson.
