LSU football spring practice: What stood out at Tigers' practice

BATON ROUGE – LSU football hit the halfway point of spring practice Saturday.

The Tigers hit the outdoor practice fields at Charles McClendon Practice Facility for 2-and-a-half hours of work for practice No. 7 on the spring as media were able to view the entire session.

LSU mostly worked with positional drills but did navigate "45 of competitive work," repping good-on-good as well as some 11-on-11 periods.

"The identity is starting to kind of show itself," head coach Brian Kelly said after the team's practice. "This is going to more the sum is going to be greater than any one of the parts of this team, which is great. I think there'll be a lot of players that will play and take an important role.

"But we're going to need everybody."

Under new defensive coordinator Blake Baker, he's redefined the "Star" position on the backend of the defense. Senior Major Burns has been taking plenty of reps for the Tigers at the position. A three-year player, Burns brings versatility to the Star spot, Kelly said, a guy "rugged enough" to play man coverage, blitz off the edge and also hold his own against an opposing team's tight end if needed. Burns was also seen during practice hyping up the defense during a period where the offense was getting the better of it.

Former Lafayette Christian four-star recruit junior Sage Ryan has moved over to the free safety position. During Saturday's practice, Ryan had a banner day, picking off three total passes, including one he returned for a touchdown.

"He's a guy we've moved around a lot, trying to find a spot for him. He adds that experience we were lacking at that position," Kelly said.

In other personnel shifts, freshman Tyree Adams continues to work at right tackle with the first team offensive line while Emory Jones Jr. has been limited in practice.

Senior running back Josh Williams lined up at the front of the line followed by sophomore Kaleb Jackson and both looked solid with each breaking off a sizeable run.

Kelly talked after the practice about how having Jones and star left tackle Will Campbell as three-year starters really dictates what LSU is looking to do on offense this season. And guys like Williams and Jackson benefit as the Tigers have worked in more personnel packages that feature a pair of tight ends on the field, or "12" packages with new co-offensive coordinators Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton calling plays in 2024.

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"We want to take advantage of their ability in the schemes. You saw us moving (Campbell and Jones) a lot more, pulling them, getting them involved in our offensive structure a lot more. There's been a lot more pin-and-pull, more outside zone and that's to feature both of those guys in particular," Kelly said.

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.