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LSU sophomore halfback Jeremy Hill was an easy choice for Player of the Week in the Tigers’ 45-13 thrashing of Kent State last Saturday in Death Valley.
The bruising halfback punished the Golden Flashes’ defense throughout the first half of the game, rushing for 117 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns.
But LSU coach Les Miles said Hill hasn’t fully returned to form following his summer-long suspension.
That may be bad news for SEC defenses.
Following Hill’s dynamite return to the Tigers’ starting lineup, Miles said that Hill’s performance was good, but not great. The coach added that the best days for the LSU halfback are yet to come.
“There were several cuts that Hill missed and there were some landmarks that we didn’t enjoy,” Miles said following the win. “He is not quite there it appeared to me. I am not saying he is not giving us great effort. … What I’m saying is he’s not quite there yet.
“But he’s coming.”
Hill’s big game was one of many for the entire LSU ground game.
The bruising halfback set the tone from the earliest whistle, taking a handoff from Zach Mettenberger in the game’s opening drive and pushing forward 58 yards into the end zone to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
After a Jarvis Landry receiving touchdown in the middle of the first quarter, Hill struck again in the final minutes of the opening period, grinding into the end zone from 12 yards out.
Hill was suspended in the Tigers’ season-opener against TCU. He played sporadically last week against UAB. The Kent State matchup was his first return to significant action.
“He picked up right where he left off,” Mettenberger said. “It was his first full game back. He hit the ground running, and I’m excited to see what he will do in the future.”
“I think it was a good weight lifted off my shoulders,” Hill added. “I got to get my first start. After that, it was just me getting back into the rhythm of things. They put me out there earlier tonight to knock the dust off and get the game speed back.”
With Hill setting the tone and gashing the Golden Flashes for yardage, the other backs in LSU’s stable made their mark, too.
LSU rushed for 307 yards on 37 carries against Kent State – easily their top rushing performance of the young season.
In addition to Hill’s big day, junior Terrence Magee sliced the Golden Flashes for 108 yards on nine carries with a touchdown.
Senior Alfred Blue also got into the act and pushed forward for 56 yards on 10 tries.
Receiver Odell Beckham said Magee’s performance was noteworthy.
The Franklinton native has risen from the bottom of the Tigers’ halfback depth chart since last season and has emerged as a star.
“His performance doesn’t surprise me,” Beckham said. “I told a few people that I just love Terrence Magee. … He is just a tenacious and vicious runner. He is going to be a great running back with Jeremy Hill. We have seen the things that he can do. He is only going to improve as well.”
With LSU running at ease, the LSU passing game was most efficient against Kent State.
Mettenberger completed 13-of-18 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The quarterback’s lofty stats, combined with the above-mentioned rushing attack were the cogs in a 571-yard night for LSU’s offense.
For the season, Mettenberger now has nine touchdowns without a turnover.
The senior signal caller had just 12 touchdowns passes all of last season.
“It’s about confidence,” Beckham said. “On our offense, we are distributing the ball to playmakers. There is a lot of chemistry on the offense, and we are clicking on all cylinders.”
But even with a 3-0 start and lofty statistics, Miles and the Tigers know their biggest challenges lie ahead.
LSU opens SEC play this Saturday against Auburn – a game that will kick off at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN.
The coach and players know work needs to be done to catapult the Tigers into the national championship picture in the coming weeks.
“I think we are on pace,” Miles said. “We are minus a couple SEC games of where we need to be. I think it will be a great test next week.”
“We got a lot of stuff to work on, but I feel like we are improving each and every game,” defensive lineman Ego Ferguson added. “We’re getting ready for SEC play.”
Against Auburn, LSU will be facing a worthy foe.
The SEC’s other Tigers are also undefeated this season and are 1-0 in league play after posting a victory against Mississippi State this past weekend.
LSU halfback Jeremy Hill barrels through UAB defenders during a game this season. Hill was LSU’s leading rusher in the Tigers’ gashing of Kent State this past Saturday. In his first start of the season, the sophomore halfback had more than 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
