How LSU football's quarterbacks fared on the first day of spring practices
BATON ROUGE - On the first day of LSU football's spring practices, the intensity was evident from the jump.
The players didn't jog, they ran. The coaches weren't modest, they were fiery and loud. There was a pace and strict organization to Thursday's whole affair.
"I love intensity through repetition," new coach Brian Kelly said. "I think it's the best way to learn. ... Look, everybody's got really good players. I think it's about preparation and this has been, for me, a way to prepare our football team for Saturday."
The intensity only raised the stakes of numerous positional battles, especially at quarterback.
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The Tigers have four scholarship quarterbacks this spring. Sixth-year senior Myles Brennan returned from the transfer portal. Senior Jayden Daniels transferred from Arizona State in February. Redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier and incoming freshman Walker Howard, both four-star recruits, are also competing for the job.
In the 20 minutes when the media was allowed to view practice, all four quarterbacks fully participated in the drills. That included Howard, who underwent surgery on the base of his thumb over the winter.
"We've got him ready, his arms great. But he's got this surgery on the fatty part of his thumb and our cadence is a clap," Kelly said. "Well, he's clapping and he's wincing every time. We weren't smart enough to think that maybe he should use a verbal cadence.
"We made that change today. He was verbal after he said 'Uh, coach, that really hurts.' "
Once the team broke from the huddle, the quarterbacks — including walk-on Tavion Faulk, who didn't take any reps but assisted in the drills — went through an up-tempo no-huddle drill with two sets of offenses. Brennan and Nussmeier took the first batch of reps, while Howard and Daniels worked with the second.
The four quarterbacks took an equal amount of throws, most of them check-downs and quick balls to the flat. But once that drill had concluded there was no time to hesitate. It was onto the next activity with quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan.
With Sloan, the four went through various drills throwing to assistants standing still 5-10 yards away. The first drill was a simple quick drop back and release exercise designed around the speed and precision of the quarterbacks' mechanics and accuracy. That was followed by a play-action/run-pass option activity and a dropback workout centered on hip rotation and quickness.
During all of it, Sloan was constantly giving instruction and making slight adjustments to his players. He was didactic and detail-oriented but firm with his delivery.
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"That position (quarterbacks coach) requires incredibly detailed communication because they are obviously running your offense, they've got the ball in their hand," Kelly said.
Determining any favorite for the starting job, or declaring a winner, after 20 minutes of practice would be premature. In his media availability Wednesday previewing spring practices, Kelly said that the starting job was open for any of the four to take.
"My job is to build competition at every position," Kelly said. "If you don't like competition then this isn't the place for you. I came down here because I love competition. So it starts worth me and it's going to run through every position."
Thursday was the first of 15 practices over the next five weeks, with the spring game not arriving until April 23. There's still a long way to go before a starter is named.
But if Thursday taught LSU fans anything, it's that the winner of the job will have earned it in a high-intensity and detail-oriented environment.
"This is a continuation of what we've been doing since January," Kelly said. "I loved the energy, the enthusiasm."
Koki Riley is a recruiting and high school sports reporter for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football quarterback performance after first spring practice
