LSU running back Terrence Magee works out at WR
Sophomore gets out of backfield, spends time with wideouts
The view out of Terrence Magee’s window in the increasingly crowded neighborhood that is LSU’s backfield has prompted his move out to the suburbs.
Magee started working out with the Tigers’ wide receivers Thursday, two days before LSU’s first preseason scrimmage.
Though he insisted Monday the move isn’t permanent, the Tiger sophomore sounded like a man who is enjoying the room to roam.
“If I want to play right away and contribute to the team, I feel that’s the best move,” Magee said.
“It was fun,” playing receiver in the scrimmage, Magee said. “I didn’t really know a lot about what I was doing. But I feel I did a good job.”
Magee had 27 carries for 133 yards and a touchdown last season. Not bad numbers for a true freshman, but it does rank him well behind the Tigers’ top four rushers of 2011: Michael Ford (756 yards), Spencer Ware (707), Alfred Blue (543) and Kenny Hilliard (340), who made a late-season push for playing time in 2011.
Add former Redemptorist star and true freshman Jeremy Hill to the mix, and Magee’s test run to look better all the time.
“I feel like it was a good move for the team,” he said. “I just want to play, and I told (the coaches) I’d be happy to do anything they ask me.”
Reid: stick with the plan
Junior free safety Eric Reid said he doesn’t think it will be necessary for the Tigers to alter their defense in the wake of cornerback Tyrann Mathieu’s dismissal last week.
“I don’t think we have to change,” Reid said. “We just need someone to step up. We’re working to see who is going to get that spot.”
True freshman Jalen Mills and redshirt freshman Jalen Collins — who didn’t scrimmage Saturday because of an injury — are the heirs apparent to Mathieu’s starting spot.
Reid, who himself saw significant snaps in his very first game as a freshman against North Carolina in 2010, said he tries to coach up the younger players on knowing what to expect and how to react quickly.
“But I tell them at the same time that you learn by making mistakes,” Reid said.
Williford watches weight
Though he’s listed at 324 pounds in the LSU media guide, junior starting right guard Josh Williford said he’s closer to 330.
And that’s a slightly slimmed down 330 at that, Williford said, a target weight designed to help him become better adept at pass blocking this season.
“It’s helping me move faster,” said Williford, who at 6-foot-7 is still one of the larger man-planets on the team. “This is the best shape I’ve been in since I’ve been here.”
The camp grind
The wrap on defensive tackle Anthony Johnsone_SSRqs left hand was a good indication of how tough it is for the Tigers to stay away from injuries as they practice day after day after day in preparation for their Sept. 1 season opener against North Texas.
“It’s definitely a grind,” sophomore wide receiver Jarvis Landry said. “We’re just trying to stay healthy and get guys in and out of treatment as fast as possible.”
The Tigers, who went through two-a-days Monday, are slated to practice once Tuesday and once again Wednesday in preparation for Thursday’s scrimmage in Tiger Stadium, their second of this preseason.