LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly addressed glaring issue that could impact critical SEC rivalry game against Alabama
Brian Kelly has made his focus clear this week throughout multiple meetings with the media. Every single presser, one key aspect that the team must fix moving forward has come up, and it will again throughout the next week heading into LSU's critical SEC rivalry game against Alabama. LSU must be able to execute when […]
Brian Kelly has made his focus clear this week throughout multiple meetings with the media. Every single presser, one key aspect that the team must fix moving forward has come up, and it will again throughout the next week heading into LSU's critical SEC rivalry game against Alabama. LSU must be able to execute when it comes to stopping the quarterback run if they want to have any hope in defeating Alabama's Jalen Milroe.
When asked about the colossal failures in stopping Texas A&M's mobile quarterback Marcel Reed when he came into the game, Brian Kelly had this to say:
"Well, it's the execution. We've got a pretty smart group here. It's not like they've never seen a running quarterback. We have a scheme in place that will stop a running quarterback. We've seen running quarterbacks. Blake [Baker, the defensive coordinator] understands how to stop them. We have a very solid fundamental scheme."
Brian Kelly and Blake Baker have definitely done a good job fixing many things this year on defense. The pass rush pressure has improved. The defensive backs are better on the back end. But one area where they have struggled all year long is against the mobile quarterback.
LSU might have a scheme that "hopes" to stop running quarterbacks, but certainly not one that has shown it can work. And not just against Texas A&M either. Fans likely haven't forgotten how easy it was for LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina to run wild in early September (especially his 75-yard touchdown).
Kelly at least recognized that he and his staff likely didn't do enough to have the right answers in place for LSU players to stop the running quarterback this past week:
"We certainly could have done a better job as coaches, preparing our guys that if, in fact, we knocked out Connor…Here are the things that we've got to be ready for. I think moving forward again. Let me reiterate, as coaches, I think we will spend even more time talking about the running quarterback and what are the things that we have to be ready for, just in case. But at the end of the day, we had a scheme put in, and we didn't execute it. And so this is about coaching, and this is about players executing at the same time."
It's not all on Brian Kelly. And it's not all on the players. When you watch back some of the big plays that flipped the script of the game it was just incredible execution on the part of Texas A&M's offense too. Just look how late Marcel Reed pulls the football on this read option play for a touchdown in the post below.
That kind of perfect execution on offense is just hard to defend for anyone. Coach Kelly admitted LSU certainly didn't expect Marcel Reed to be "the guy" this past week, let alone for Texas A&M to switch to him mid-game. They were prepared for Conner Weigman, the more immobile quarterback:
"You don't run a defense expecting the number two quarterback to come in. We've prepared for that kind of offense. Everybody runs what [Texas A&M] ran. They ran zone read and they ran bash. We saw that last week. We've seen it every week. Those are things we just didn't execute as well. We prepared for Conner [Weigman] to play, and so a lot of the reps were focused on the offense that Conner is a part of. But throughout camp, throughout spring ball, throughout the course of the season we have a defense and a structure that stops quarterback runs, that stops read option, because you have to. We just didn't execute, and that's the fact of the matter."
This next week there won't be any confusion as to which quarterback LSU has to prepare for. Blake Baker's defense just has to figure out a way to stop Jalen Milroe and his dual-threat ability. Milroe has been less consistent as a passer lately, committing too many turnovers, but even when his arm isn't working that well his special athleticism allows him to be able to score from anywhere as a runner. There aren't many players in all of college football who can outrun the entire Georgia defense like he does on this highlight post below, but Milroe can.
The LSU secondary likely still shows to be a much better unit moving forward. The pass rush still quite likely will get after Alabama on every single down. But if the Tigers can't stop Milroe and his legs they're going to completely blow this opportunity to reinsert themselves into the College Football Playoff next week against Alabama.
We'll be back with more LSU Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports all season long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
