BATON ROUGE – Fans will get an early glimpse of the 2024 LSU football team on Saturday when the Tigers host the National L Club Spring Game at Tiger Stadium.
Gates to Tiger Stadium open at 11:30 a.m. and admission is free. All seats on the west side of Tiger Stadium are general admission, with fans admitted through Gates 1-6. The offense vs. defense scrimmage will begin at 1:15 p.m., with the first half consisting of two 15-minute quarters and the second half a shortened quarter. The scrimmage ends at 2:30.
Fans will note that due to the upgrades currently taking place at Tiger Stadium for the 2024 season, there will be no video boards or replays and only one scoreboard, located on a ribbon board in the southeast corner of Tiger Stadium. Please remember that. Additionally, the game uses an auxiliary sound system.
The scrimmage will be streamed on SEC Network+ and broadcast on KLSU Radio (91.1 FM).
“(Saturday) is about giving certain players in key positions an opportunity to play,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “We want to see some of our frontline guys go out and compete and play, but they're not the most important players there. We look at our two running backs. We need to, and we need to look at offensive linemen who are going to play a key role.
“There are key players in this game that we're focusing on that we need to do a lot of work on. We're going to see a lot of them as the game unfolds and we're going to see them really audition that particular player.” You can tell he's doing it. There's going to be other guys that are going to get the hook right away and you can see that they have a pretty good understanding of where he is.”
Kelly listed the No. 2 quarterback spot as one of the positions with redshirt freshman Ricky Collins and junior transfer AJ Swan vying for the backup spot behind Garrett Nussmeier.
“There's a competition right now for the No. 2 quarterback spot,” Kelly said. “AJ and Ricky are fighting about it right now. They're going to play a lot Saturday.”
Kelly, who has held 14 spring practices thus far, said he and the coaching staff have a good idea about the team as he enters his third season with the Tigers.
“We have a better understanding than last year of the areas we need to improve on and the players who will be expected to play a more prominent role,” Kelly said. “We came away obviously feeling good about our football team and the areas that we really need to strengthen going into the offseason.”
“The team itself is more balanced offensively and defensively. We have a lot more continuity on defense, and we certainly lost some guys on offense, but the offensive line, tight ends, quarterback, And obviously with a deep receiving corps, you're going to have some success offensively.”
Saturday's spring game is unique in that defenses are awarded points for turnovers (seven points) or fourth-down stops (seven points), missed field goals (five points), pass breakups (two points), and sacks. It features a scoring format. Or a tackle for loss (1 point). Fumbles or interceptions returned for a touchdown or safety receive regular scoring. Regular scores are used for offense and special teams.
Scoring format
– Offense normal score
– Regular scores for special teams
– Defense normal score for touchdown or safety interception or fumble return
– Other defensive scoring opportunities:
7 points for turnover or force down stop
5 points for missed field goal
2 points on pass breakup
2 points 2 points for failed conversion
2 points if you miss the extra point
1 point for a sack or tackle for loss
LSU National L Club Spring Game – Featured Times
11am L Club Tailgate (South Pad – PMAC)
11:05am Team departs from soccer game
11:20am Team arrives at Tiger Stadium
11:30 a.m. Tiger Stadium gates open
• Fans will enter through Gates 1-6 on the west side.
• Seating is general admission on the west side.
Band leaves music school at noon
12:15pm Band arrives at Tiger Stadium
12:20pm Pre-game band performance (from the stands)
12:30 p.m. LSU takes the field
1:15 p.m. Scrimmage begins
2:30pm scrimmage ends
