Before South Carolina football hosts LSU in front of a national audience on Saturday afternoon, we caught up with Jefferson Powell from our LSU website on Rivals, DeathValleyInsider.
Here is how Jefferson answered five questions about the game and how he sees it shaking out from LSU's perspective:
Gamecock Scoop: 1. Through two games, what would you say the identity of this LSU team is right now?
Jefferson Powell: I'm not sure we've seen the true identity of this team. I know that LSU fans hope that's the case. They've struggled running the ball and have had average at best run blocking. Where they've been elite is in pass blocking and throwing the ball, so I guess if you had to pick one, that would be their identity after the first two weeks. A team that's struggled running the ball and has been forced to try and win games from the pocket.
GS: 2. LSU's defensive struggles last season were pretty well documented. Do you feel like this defense has taken a step forward in 2024, and if so, in what areas?
JP: To me, it's still a work in progress. But you can definitely see a difference in this team defensively and I think it's a unit that should get better and better each week. If I had to pick one area to me, that's made the biggest improvement... I'd have to say the back end of the defense. Last season, the DB's couldn't cover anyone. They still have work to do, but the difference is already night and day from what it was last season. Guys like Ashton Stamps and Zy Alexander are stepping up, true freshman PJ Woodland has impressed in some of his limited snaps.
GS: 3. Is LSU's offense going to be as one-dimensional as it appears to be on Saturday, or is there a chance it might be able to run the ball more than people are giving it credit for?
JP: The intent to run the ball is 100% there. Brian Kelly told us that they checked out of quite a few run plays last week and into passing plays because of a lot of the looks that Nicholls gave them defensively. This is a team that wants to run the ball and get those running backs involved. That just hasn't happened outside of some inspired running in week one from John Emery Jr. in limited snaps. Emery has since suffered another season ending injury, and they've shuffled one of their promising young freshman athletes from defensive back to running back to help fill the void, so now they have two true freshmen in their four-deep at RB. Will they try to run the ball? Yes. Will they be successful? We'll have to wait and see on that as it's been a major area of concern after the first two weeks of the season.
GS: 4. Besides the obvious ones like Garrett Nussmeier and Harold Perkins, who are some names South Carolina fans should be on the look out for this Saturday?
JP: If you had asked me this in the preseason, I'd probably tell you that the offensive line was the strength of this team and bookend tackles Will Campbell and Emery Jones might be the best tackle duo in the country, that just hasn't panned out through the first two weeks. Defensively, Ashton Stamps has been a rising star on defense and will see plenty of snaps at cornerback.
They've got a really good linebacking corps, you mentioned Harold Perkins already, but definitely keep an eye out for Greg Penn III who is wearing LSU's illustrious No.18 jersey this year. Sophomore Whit Weeks is another rising star on this defense who should see plenty of snaps and could be in line for some big plays on Saturday. Offensively, I've been waiting for Kaleb Jackson to break out, but the rushing struggles have kind of handicapped him and the rest of the running backs. They've got a pretty good group of tight ends led by Mason Taylor, with two athletic youngsters in sophomore Ka'Morreun Pimpton and high four-star freshman Trey'Dez Green. You'll see these guys lined up all over the field and they will try to get the ball in their hands.
GS: 5. If South Carolina is going to pull the upset on Saturday, it is going to be because ________ went wrong for LSU?
JP: If LSU loses this game, I'd say we'll probably be writing about a lackluster defensive effort from the Tigers, where South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers had a coming out party at LSU's expense.
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