The lessons from LSU Football's spring game

LSU wrapped up spring football on Saturday after the Bayou Bengals participated in their annual L-Club Spring Game at Tiger Stadium.

For Brian Kelly and his staff, this schedule provided a chance to see the growth they've made in recent weeks, along with the non-negotiable improvements that need to be critiqued before September's season opener against USC.

LSU will prepare for summer workouts before Fall Camp starts in August so this program can finalize rotations and schedules.

Saturday's Spring Game featured key insights from both sides of the ball, but Garrett Nussmeier's dominance with the new offense was certainly impressive.

Here are observations from Saturday's Spring Game:

Gabriel Reliford dominates

The most notable result from Saturday's spring game was the impressive performance of early enrollee defensive lineman Gabriel Reliford. The youngster shined on the second team, and while he didn't face LSU's first-team tackles in Will Campbell and Emery Jones, it was a big achievement for him.

Reliford finished the day with a pair of sacks and several quarterback hurries for the LSU defense and proved he can play a key role in this defense this fall as an EDGE. This season, Reliford has been a man who had questions about whether he would be a defensive piece, and it is now clear where he belongs: rushing the passer on the outside. The speed and nervousness spoke for themselves.

Rickie Collins is the QB2

Collins took the lead in the backup quarterback race on Saturday after beating Vanderbilt transfer AJ Swann with the second team. The redshirt freshman looked solid on Saturday and used his athleticism to his advantage.

Things were difficult for Swann. It was noticeable how bad his throws were and he didn't look as comfortable as Collins in the pocket. As a player still learning the scheme, he will use this offseason in a big way, but it's clear here that Collins took the lead for the backup spot behind Garrett Nussmeier.

Nussmeier Balled, CJ Daniels impresses

Redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier will handle QB1 duties this fall with a wealth of assets in his arsenal, including Liberty transfer wide receiver CJ Daniels. The freshman Tiger showed off his excellent playmaking skills, route running and more on Saturday. A player who played on the second team will be a starter next to Kyren Lacy by the fall.

Lacy looked good, Aaron Anderson showed his speed and Shelton Sampson Jr. was targeted at least a few times. Nussmeier will be able to choose who he wants on Saturday. It will be interesting to see what LSU does with Chris Hilton Jr. He had an eye-opening drop during the Spring Game and it will be of great intrigue to see if he plays with the 1's during Fall Camp in August.

Honorable mention: The defense needs work

From broken coverage to holes in the defensive line, it's clear there's work to be done on the defense and Brian Kelly is aware of that after giving his thoughts following the game.

On the defense… “I know the basics of the defense in terms of the credibility, the energy, the will, all those things will be there that are important as a foundation. Then we have to execute. We need some help at defensive tackles, whatever we will do, we'll deal with it and then figure out what our situation is going to be,” Kelly said. “I think we answer those two. I think this defense will be a solid defense.”

About the broken covers… “We can't let the ball go over our heads. We had coverage errors and they can't keep happening. One of them was cover two and we're in cover three and we're playing cover two. You We can't make mistakes like this, they're unacceptable and that costs you the opportunity to be on the field. Then we just went out for the football be over the top and get beat in those situations,” Kelly said.

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