LSU passing game shows progress in spring

Both Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris entered fall camp on the same plain last season, because neither played well in the LSU football spring game.

This year, it will be the exact opposite.

Jennings and Harris still are about the same on the depth chart. But it’s because the duo were both throwing darts to cap off the spring.

The two LSU signal callers were fearsome on Saturday afternoon at the Tigers’ annual spring football game, throwing for a combined 400-plus yards and four touchdowns on the afternoon.

Jennings was 13-of-20 for 242 yards and two scores. Harris was 11-of-17 for 178 yards and also had two scores.

The afternoon pleased Tigers’ coach Les Miles, who said the battle to be the starter will live on into the fall.

“We threw the football much more in spring ball, and we did the same in the spring game,” Miles said. “I felt that both quarterbacks really executed their throws at a very high level. They still were not perfect, but I think both moved forward and both played great.”

Both Jennings and Harris split reps on both the ‘White’ and ‘Purple’ teams, getting the lion’s share of the reps under center on the afternoon.

When playing with the other starters (on the ‘White’ team), both guys had dominant moments. White beat Purple 45-6 on the afternoon.

On the first drive of the game for White, Jennings hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Malachi Dupre on a 37-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring for the day, giving White a 7-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, Harris showed that he could do it, too, connecting with Dupre on a 35-yard score for White to go up 14-0.

On the next drive for White, Harris did it again, connecting with junior receiver Travin Dural on a 41-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-0 with 12 minutes left in the second quarter.

That one-two punch of Dural and Dupre were huge playmakers on the afternoon, catching a combined eight balls for 239 yards and four combined touchdowns.

Miles said all of the focus is on the Tigers’ quarterbacks, but improved play at receiver shouldn’t go overlooked, either.

Dupre said he is ready to shine.

“I know what I have to do to dominate and make plays to help with the run game and the passing game,” Dupre said. “The coaches that we have and the quarterbacks that we have and the improvement that they’ve made, I feel like they are going to be very dominant in the passing game and so will the other receivers.”

The always-stable LSU defense did a nice job in their first live action under new coordinator Kevin Steele.

The White Team defense absolutely dominated the game from start to finish, letting up just 91 total yards on 40 snaps. Defensive lineman Maquedius Bain was the name called the most for White, recording three sacks on the afternoon.

“It was pretty good for the one’s,” senior defensive back Jalen Mills said. “The two’s had it a little rough, but of course, they were going up against our No. 1 offense. We had a lot of guys making plays over there.”

But no matter how dominant the LSU defense was, the story was 100 percent about the quarterback competition on Saturday afternoon.

The focus on the quarterbacks was so heavy that no one paid much attention to the always-potent Tigers’ running game, which accumulated 100-plus yards on the afternoon combined between both teams.

Sophomore starter Leonard Fournette led rushers with eight carries for 42 yards. Fellow sophomore back Darrel Williams played for both White and Purple and had 40 combined yards for both.

But all the tailbacks wanted to talk about was the improved quarterback play and the showcase that Jennings and Harris put on with the two teams.

“Both quarterbacks, we can depend on,” Fournette said. “They are in control of the game, and we are just following their steps.”

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