Louisiana Spring Practice Report - Day Four and Five
By Kelly-Anne Russo
LB BRANDON WILSON MAKES A TACKLE DURING LIVE 11 ON 11 DRILLS
A bit to unpack here as I get into my defensive notes from the past five days of spring practice. A number of players are working with different position groups and the multiple look scheme that Porter Davis and Brian Knorr are deploying makes things a bit murky as far as what positions players may be listed at.
Two moves that are pretty straightforward are that Brandon Wilson has moved from safety to linebacker and former linebacker Christian Dawson has moved up to defensive end.
“We're looking to replace some guys in that front seven and also to get some more speed on the field overall defensively.” Davis told me when asked about those moves.
Wilson has lined up as an outside linebacker when the team was in the base 4-3. He's played inside and outside in 3-4 looks and all over in the team's multitude of nickel and dime formations. He has bulked up and appears to be picking up the position change quickly. He looks to be the primary defensive play caller.
Dawson looks to be a ways down the DE depth chart as his reps in 11 on 11 have been limited.
The linebackers have been shuffled significantly and to try to put a position more specific than linebacker would be difficult at this time. Wilson, Jackson, Bailey and Collins seem to be taking most of the reps outside in the 4-3. Douglas, Adams and Lambreaux have been rotating inside. In other formations it has been a mix of several players in several different spots.
On the defensive line it has been a heavy dose of Daniel Fritz at tackle in both three and four man fronts. Jack, Bolden and Franklin have been rotating next to him in the four man fronts.
At defensive end it's been a mix of Miggins, Bolden, Reid and Paulsen primarily with Ridgeway and Symmons also getting some reps. There is good versatility at the position that allows them to use multiple fronts. This may be the deepest position on the team. Miggins has been a stand up outside linebacker in some of the three man fronts. He looks to have dropped a significant amount of weight and is quicker, faster and has looked difficult to pass block.
In the secondary there has been some changes as well. As a result of Wilson moving to linebacker it appears that Simeon Thomas will move into Wilson's former role where he is more likely to play closer to the line than deep. That being said they play with two deep safeties and man underneath a ton and Thomas is still dropping deep in that look. Thomas looks bigger and stronger but is still fast. Reginald McFadden has taken a number of reps at the position as well.
Tracy Walker has been taking most of the other safety reps with Palmer on the field as a third safety frequently. Walker was listed as a cornerback last season and was usually the third cornerback on the field. When Walker, Palmer and Thomas are all on the field it's typically Walker and Palmer deep with Thomas closer to the line. Walker has also played in man coverage with Palmer and Thomas over the top a bit too.
William Dailey has also appeared to move to safety.
At corner it's been Boudreaux and McCollum on the field in base defenses. Freshman Justice Barnett, Tracy Walker and Kelvin Greenwood have rotated in the nickel and dime looks. Boudreaux has bulked up a bit and looks a bit more willing to make tackles near the line of scrimmage.
I'll wrap this up with a few notes on special teams.
The team has three specialists in junior Jeffrey Yatkowski and freshmen Joey Christodoulou and Kobe Stephenson. Yatkowski has been the team's primary kicker and that doesn't seem to have changed. All three have been punting and it looks like Christodoulou and Stephenson are battling for that job.
I've counted at least twelve different players returning punts and kicks so I'll leave that alone for now.
The spring game is next week and I suspect I'll have much more to report after that.
If you have any questions about the pile of info I've put out this week or anything else post in the comments and I will answer them the best I can.
