Tidbits From Brian Kelly's Press Conference After Practice On Tuesday, Aug 5

LSU head coach Brian Kelly spoke with reporters after practice on Tuesday and provided the following updates:

On the OL development and competition in practice:

"I'm much more interested in the 'evaluation' than the 'congratulations.' We have some young players pushed to their limit for the first time from a mental standpoint. Today was a great evaluation day."

On TE Bauer Sharp:

"We are really pleased with him. He's a great leader, and he's accountable. But he's not perfect. He came here knowing he's not done developing, and that's what we appreciate the most."

On players working behind Harold Perkins at the STAR position:

-Charles Ross
-CJ Jimcoily
-Austin Ausberry
-Jardin Gilbert

On defensive back PJ Woodland:

"He's a very smart player, so we can move him around. He's put on 12-15 pounds in the offseason that he needed for tackling. He can play that outside position as an SEC corner. That's a pretty good trait to have."

On the defensive line so far:

"A lot of the pressures are inside out, not outside in. And that's a great thing. We're getting our best success 'inside-out.' Add that with the four guys we have coming off the edge, we can be very dynamic."

On Garrett Nussmeier running more:

"He's learned from last season. He had opportunities last year and didn't take advantage of them. He's smart, he knows he's not going to run 10-15 times a game, but if he can give us 5-6 carries when we need them, it's going to make him more effective."

On new edge rusher Patrick Payton:

"This is a big workload for him. One that he's not quite familiar with, but he's rounding into shape. He's done everything we've asked of him. He's learning every day. We spend a lot of time with him on developing his technique."

On 5-star freshman RB Harlem Berry:

"He's very smooth, elite speed, catches the ball well, but there is a transition from HS to college. He's getting used to it. It's a process, but we like him. We think he's going to have to play for us this year."

On the offensive line depth:

"We are trying to develop depth on the offensive line, not just the starters. My focus is on the drill, and the next guy in. I keep an eye on the depth and the guys we are going to need in case of injuries."