Rivals: EVERYTHING you need to know about Saturday's LSU spring football game

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There certainly won’t be anything magical revealed Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium during the National L Club Spring game that concludes LSU’s first spring under new head football coach Brian Kelly.

It won’t even be a true game because the Tigers don’t have enough players to split into a two-team intrasquad spring game. So, it will be more of a glorified scrimmage with offense vs. defense.

The format, however, will not dampen the enthusiasm and how Kelly views the Tigers’ 14th and final spring opportunity that kicks off just after 1 p.m.

“The adrenaline will be going and we're treating it like a game,” Kelly said at his Thursday night press conference, “from the walk (down Victory Hill) to the pregame to being in the stadium. It's going to be on the SEC Network.”

Kelly certainly wants his players to view the day more than just the last practice of spring.

“We're still in that process of learning how to go from practice to competition,” Kelly said. “There's a rise in your emotional level and your focus and your attention to detail and all those things.

"What you do in practice, you can't be thinking about it in a game. I want guys to play fast and physical. This is really about watching guys play at a higher level.

“There's a number of guys that have to use this game as an opportunity to take another step forward. There are competitive battles for positions that are really crucial. Obviously, the one that we all want to talk about and we should is the quarterback position. It is a hotly contested position that requires this kind of game so those guys can sort out and know where they are.”

Kelly said he hopes to get his four QBs – sixth-year senior Myles Brennan, Arizona State junior transfer Jayden Daniels, redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier and true freshman Walker Howard – an equal number of snaps which has been the case all spring.

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Offense vs. defense. The first half will be played game-like with the exception of special teams. The second half will consist of a running clock for two 15-minute quarters.

Scoring system for defense:

• 3 points for a turnover/sudden change or stop

• 3 points for 3-and-out

• 2 points for a Color Zone Field Goal

• 2 points for a 3rd or 4th down stop

• 1 point for a sack or TFL or rush of -2 yards or more

• Normal scoring for interception, fumble returned for TD or safety

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Quarterbacks

Sixth-year senior Myles Brennan and junior Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels, possessing different skill sets, will get the first snaps followed by freshman redshirt Garrett Nussmeier and true freshman Walker Howard.

The 6-4, 235-pound Brennan, who has played just three games in the last two seasons because of injuries, has been on-point all spring as a pocket passer with his quick decisions and smart reads.

“Extending plays, being healthy, making the reads and just going to the right place with the football,” Brennan said of what he has emphasized this spring. “I know I can throw it. I have a great arm. I have great arm talent. It’s about getting the ball in our playmakers hands as quickly as possible.”

New head coach Brian Kelly is glad he persuaded Brennan to take his name out of the NCAA transfer portal and return to the team.

“He's a smart, experienced quarterback that plays to his strengths,” Kelly said of Brennan. “He throws the ball extremely well down the field, pushes the ball vertically. He’s always going to get us in the right play, protect himself and protect the ball.”

Daniels, a hot and cold passer, is light for an SEC caliber QB at 6-3, 185 pounds. But is the fastest of the four Tigers' QBs and is a huge RPO threat. In 29 games at Arizona State, he threw for 6,025 yards, 32 TDs and 13 interceptions and rushed for 1,258 yards and 13 TDs.

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It’s rare when a true freshman offensive lineman draws rave reviews in his first three months in a college football program.

But five-start signee Will Campbell of Monroe’s Neville High has wowed his new LSU teammates as the Tigers’ likely starting left offensive tackle.

“I've told everybody that he is the best (high school) player in the country last year,” LSU freshman QB Walker Howard said of his new roommate Campbell. “There's no doubt he's a stud. I knew coming in he was going to start from day one. He's one of the most athletic people I've ever seen at his size (6-6, 317 pounds).”

Campbell said the secret of his development is being coachable and playing violent.

“I just kind of took the coaching points from my high school coaches,” he said. “And when I would come up here to (LSU summer), I would listen to all the small things people (coaches) would tell me.

“I feel like this whole (offensive line) unit has a chip on our shoulders because it hasn't really had a lot of credit in the last couple of years. We're definitely hoping to change that.”

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