Lane Kiffin Praises Harlem Berry After He 'Seized The Opportunity' vs. Texas A&M

Harlem Berry finally got an extended opportunity in LSU’s backfield Saturday night, and the former five-star running back made the most of it.

Berry entered the season after a productive freshman campaign in which he rushed for 491 yards and two touchdowns, but he had fallen behind Dilin Jones and Stacy Gage in the running back rotation.

Through LSU’s first three games, Berry had just five carries for 13 yards.

That changed in the Tigers’ 35-6 win over Texas A&M, as Berry worked as LSU’s No. 2 running back and rushed seven times for 58 yards, providing some explosive runs off the bench.

On Monday, Lane Kiffin was asked what Berry needs to do to earn an even bigger role moving forward.

quote:

---

“The competition’s always open,” Kiffin said. “I told them today, look at Jackson Harris. He was the offensive player of the game. He didn’t start the first game of the year. So you can pout and be on second team and feel sorry for yourself, or you can work really hard and prove us wrong.

“And so that’s what we’re hoping with Harlem. He did good things. He’s got to block better. The game’s not just about carrying the ball, just like at receiver it’s not just about catching the ball. There’s a lot going into it.

“So I’m really proud of how far Harlem came last week and how he seized the opportunity, and excited about how far he can come.”

---

Berry and some of the other running backs will likely get a bigger opportunity this weekend when the Tigers face McNeese State at Tiger Stadium on Saturday.