LSU preseason camp highlights
CONDITIONS
THURSDAY’S WEATHER: 87 degrees at morning practice, partly cloudy. Afternoon practice was indoors.
FRIDAY’S FORECAST: 83 degrees and sunny at 9 a.m., no chance of rain; 90 degrees and partly cloudy at 4 p.m., 20 percent chance of rain.
COMING UP
LSU plans to practice outdoors at 9:25 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Friday. Practices are closed to the public.
IN FOCUS
Zach Mettenberger
NO.: 8
POSITION: QB
HEIGHT: 6-5
WEIGHT: 222
CLASS: Jr.
WHAT HE’S DONE: As a backup to seniors Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee last year, Mettenberger completed just 8 of 11 passes for 92 yards and one TD against Northwestern State. He saw action in four other games but didn’t throw.
AT HIS BEST: Mettenberger gives LSU the kind of pocket presence the Tigers haven’t seen since at least Matt Flynn in 2007.
CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Lack of experience against real mean SEC defenses. But the biggest worry is what will LSU do if he gets hurt.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 LSU’s preseason ranking in the USA Today
coaches’ poll released Tuesday, the Tigers’ first
preseason No. 1 ranking since the 1959 AP poll.
17 LSU’s returning linebackers have a combined 17 college starts, 14 of those by MLB Kevin Minter. Lamin Barrow has two starts, Tahj Jones one.
733 Total number of wins in LSU football history, ranking 11th all time.
WORTH REPEATING
“Everybody realizes we won the (SEC) West and won the conference, and that’s a championship year any way you cut it. But that last championship is a big one. We wanted to achieve in that (BCS) game and we didn’t — and our guys know it.”
—Les Miles
GREEN MEANS GO
Defensive end Barkevious Mingo wore a green (non-contact) jersey, as did LSU’s quarterbacks per usual. Mettenberger also wore a brace on his left knee, but it appeared to be merely a preventative measure.
SEC WATCH
Georgia coach Mark Richt said Thursday that offensive tackle Kolton Houston is still ineligible because he continues to test positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance he was given for a shoulder surgery more than two years ago. Houston was Georgia’s No. 1 right tackle at the end of spring practice.
DIGITAL FOOTBALL
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