You didn’t have to watch much LSU football last fall to gather that execution on special teams was a limiting factor.
Those issues reared their head early and often as the Tigers lost in Week 1 against Florida State as the result of a blocked extra point in the final seconds.
After a coaching change (coordinator [autotag]Bill Polian[/autotag] was replaced with [autotag]John Jancek[/autotag], though [autotag]Bob Diaco[/autotag] is currently filling the role), LSU hopes it has those issues fixed in 2023.
Kelly addressed the special teams on Tuesday, announcing that speedy Alabama transfer [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] will return kicks and punts. True freshman running back [autotag]Kaleb Jackson[/autotag] will be the off-ball returner.
Coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said avoiding miscues will be key for the returners this fall.
“They’ve got to field the ball, they’ve got to be able to do the little things the right way,” Kelly said Monday.
Kelly had positive things to say about the unit in general. Placekicker [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] has apparently had a good camp and seems likely to hold on to his starting spot again. Punter [autotag]Jay Bramblett[/autotag], who was named to the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, also received praise.
“We think special teams should and can be a positive for us and influence games,” Kelly said.
If that ultimately proves to be the case, it would be a major boon for an LSU team that was held back by shoddy special teams play in an overall good campaign last fall.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1389]
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno