BATON ROUGE — Brian Kelly says the LSU football defense could roll out more three-linebacker sets moving forward, starting with its matchup at South Carolina on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, ABC).
Obviously, that base scheme the No. 16 Tigers (1-1) use each week will be dependent on what formations and personnel groupings opposing offenses use but for LSU, it’s equally imperative that it finds ways to get its best players on the field.
The linebacker corps is where fans will notice the more changes. Star junior linebacker Harold Perkins and senior Greg Penn III have been the starting duo in the middle of the defense. But Kelly has lauded the way sophomore Whit Weeks has performed through two games this season, going as far as Wednesday during his SEC teleconference appearance saying he doesn’t “need to be in a platoon situation, meaning he needs to be on the field for the majority of plays.
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“They all have to play,” Kelly said Thursday after the team’s practice. “We have to be creative with our defensive structure. (Defensive coordinator Blake Baker) understands that and that’s a good thing for us. I think we understand that we have some position flexibility. Whit’s played some Mike linebacker, Harold’s played Will, played some Sam. So we’ve got great flexibility with both of those guys.
“We feel like it’s important that the guy that’s playing their best get on the field.”
Perkins led the defense in tackles in the season-opening loss to USC in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. But he only had four stops against Nicholls last Saturday.
Through the first two weeks, Weeks is tied for the team lead in tackles with Perkins…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/could-harold-perkins-whit-weeks-233533168.html
Author : The Daily Advertiser
Publish date : 2024-09-12 23:35:33
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