Davhon Keys didn’t have a lot of time to think.
It was time to play.
Defensive captain Whit Weeks came hobbling off the field in the third quarter of Saturday’s game with Texas A&M and hurled his helmet. Having broken a bone last season, it’s likely Weeks had an idea what had happened.
Keys probably didn’t, but it was fourth-and-one, and his number was called.
“The first thing is you’re devastated for him because you never like to see anyone getting hurt,” Keys said. “But then, you know, you got to flip that mindset. You got to go in to play for him. He put his body on the line. You got to go put your body on the line, too. You got to show them that you’re willing to ride for him.”
Keys and LSU’s defense stonewalled A&M’s Carsyn Baker on fourth-and-one from the Aggies’ 35-yard line. Six plays later, it was 28-3 Tigers, and the route was on. Meanwhile, Weeks was being fitted for a walking boot and issued crutches on the sideline.
That’s nothing new. The same thing happened last September when Weeks broke his ankle at Ole Miss. This time, No. 7 had a broken fibula and won’t be on the field for an extended period.
Keys knows what that absence means for the defense.
“The juice has to come from the linebackers,” Keys said. “Stepping up for Whit, I have to start bringing the juice. I have to start getting guys going if we’re slacking a little bit. I have to be the one to make the corrections and speak up.”
Last year, Keys stepped into the starting role and finished the season second in the SEC in tackles. Ole Miss transfer TJ Dottery, is a linebacker now at his side, was the conference leader. It’s not often an injury results in having the two most productive defensive players in the confidence playing beside one another.
After a month, LSU ranks second in the county in rushing defense and first in tackles for loss. Weeks and Dottery have been a huge part of that. Keys showed on that first snap that he’s capable of stepping in and maintaining that level of play.
“Run defense is definitely a mentality,” Keys said. “To stop the run, you have to decide you’re going to stop the run. And collectively as a group, that’s what we’ve decided. We’ve decided that we’re going to fly to the ball. We’re going to do our 1/11. We’re going to play physical. We’re going to be violent at the point of attack.”
In this era, few players get to a third season in the same system. They either transfer or the coach leaves. Keys has the luxury of playing a third year in the system for defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s alongside Weeks.
That breeds a familiarity and a confidence not every player can lean on. The addition of Dottery meant Keys had real competition to get on the field.
“Going into the offseason, my main focus was to trust my instincts,” Keys said. “As a linebacker, instincts are the majority of the position, and if you’re second guessing or you’re hesitant, you’re not going to be a very good linebacker. So, really, it’s just been building that confidence, trusting what I’m seeing, and I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty good job of that.”
While the role in the defense is not new, this team is.
Keys and the Tigers finished 7-5 in the regular season last fall, and the loss to Texas A&M precipitated the fall off as the coaching staff saw defections and the losses piled up.
This time around, LSU’s Tiger Stadium emptied as the fourth quarter wound down, but it was the Aggies filing out despondent and the Tiger fans exiting with smiles.
The 50-plus new Tigers didn’t have a score to settle, but Baker and the returning defensive players sure did.
“It was definitely personal,” Keys said. “Last year, they came in and basically took over our stadium, and you never allow that to happen. So, this year, you know, we had to flip the tables. We were going hard, and I mean we didn’t let them take our stadium, but we took over our stadium, you know, kicked them out. We did what we had to do.”
Now, Keys has to do something else. He’s got to fill the shoes of No. 7, the captain, the heart and soul of the defense.
Keys’ No. 42 was called upon on fourth-and-one Saturday night. He answered. The calling just got louder. His coach, as despondent and he appears with the amount of long-term injuries, feels better about this one because of Keys’s presence.
“Dahvon played really well last week which was obviously great to see,” LSU head coach Lane Kiffin said. “(I) Really talked to him before he went in, you know, this is a really big opportunity. You got to play really physical, and he made the fourth and one play.
“If he gets knocked back at all, they’re going to make the first down,” Kiffin said. “We’re going to need him to play really well. Whit’s a huge loss in a lot of areas. He’s going to need to play really well for us not to have a drop off on defense.”
