Battle for starting job continues

No surprise here.

LSU went through its first full-scale football scrimmage of August camp on Saturday and — guess what? — the big quarterback battle is still too close to call.

“I’m not gonna tip my hand,” head coach Ed Orgeron said of the scrimmage, which began in Tiger Stadium but had to moved into the indoor facility due to rain and lightning.

The scrimmage statistics that Orgeron provided from the closed workout left little hint which quarterback might have any edge.

“They rotated a bunch today and we had a lot of different scenarios,” Orgeron said in a statement released by the school. “I think each quarterback started each different period. They all played with the ones and they all played with the twos.

“It wasn’t like you could say one guy went with the ones more than another. We’re not pushing that. We’re going to let the process happen throughout camp. We haven’t gone through a lot of situations yet, so it’s still early.”

Overall, however, Orgeron said he wasn’t happy with the offense — or else he was pleased with a dominant performance by the defense.

That’s not unusual for camp’s first scrimmage.

But the defense definitely held the upper hand, he said, mostly with the pressure the front seven put on the offensive line.

“I thought the front seven was dominant today, like I expected them to be,” Orgeron said.

“On offense, we had way too many mistakes,” he added. “Way too many penalties, way too many false starts. Sometimes when we were executing we made some good plays, but we shot ourselves in the foot with too many penalties.

“It was the first preseason game and the guys are fired up and trying to do too much. We’ve got to settle down and stay focused.”

Other observations from Orgeron:

• The defense was led by all-American linebacker Devin White (two sacks, one other tackle for loss) and outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson, along with Michael Divinity.

• Starting cornerback Greedy Williams sat out the scrimmage with a minor injury, but Orgeron praised the play of cornerbacks Terrence Alexander and Kelvin Joseph along with Kary Vincent, Jontre Kirklin, Grant Delpit and Todd Harris. 

• The three top backs on the depth chart are Nick Brossette and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, along with incoming freshman Chris Curry.

“Nick ran the ball hard today,” Orgeron said. “Nick lowered his pads … ran with the most authority.”

• Stephen Sullivan, a 6-foot-6 wide receiver, is taking snaps at tight end, where the Tigers are thin. It’s also a chance to get him on the field.

• New kicker Cole Tracy, a graduate transfer from Division II Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, was perfect on his three field goal attempts, although only one was from more than 42 yards.

‘On offense, we had way too many mistakes. Way too many penalties, way too many false starts.’

Ed Orgeron

LSU head coach

Rushing — Chris Curry 16-43, Nick Brossette 10-36, Clyde Edwards-Helaire 9-17.

Passing — Lowell Narcisse 6-14—122, Joe Burrow 7-13—118 , Myles Brennan 5-10—94, Justin McMillan 8-13—83.

Receiving — Ja’Marr Chase 3-52, Derrick Dillon 3-41, Justin Jefferson 3-42, Jonathan Giles 2-58, Brossette 2-54, Terrace Marshall 2-41, Drake Davis 2-47.

Defense — OLB K’Lavon Chaisson (7 tackles, 1 TFL 2 sacks, 2 QB hurries), ILB Devin White (6 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 2 QB hurries).

LSU linebacker Devin White during an interview at NCAA college football Southeastern Conference media days in the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/John Amis)

John Amis