How LSU is Approaching Spring Ball With Depth Concerns At Cornerback

LSU's cornerback room is in a constant state of fluidity as the Tigers approach the final week of practices before the spring game. 

An injury to transfer Jarrick Bernard-Converse that will keep him out the rest of spring has only flashed a light on depth concerns at the position even more. It's why the Tigers are in pursuit of an additional cornerback in the transfer portal and the reasoning behind a number of players being moved around in the secondary.

What the injury to Bernard-Converse and freshman Laterrance Welch not yet on campus has done more than anything is give other players on the depth chart a chance to start building some confidence. Transfer outside corner Mekhi Garner and Greg Brooks in the slot have been some of the most impressive players regardless of position this spring.

Additionally, it's allowed defensive coordinator Matt House to move around a number of pieces in the secondary to gather as much information as possible. 

"I think Mekhi Garner has improved immensely, even from last week to this week," House said. "We've challenged him and he's gotten better. It's given opportunity. Jordan Toles is a guy who hasn't played much at corner and his name's called and he's answered well. I hate it but at the same time it's created opportunities for other guys which is great."

House and the defense would obviously prefer to have a deep cornerback room but it has also been important for this coaching staff to learn about its weaknesses and highlighting them in the spring will give the staff that much more time to address them this offseason. 

The other great aspect about not having great depth at that cornerback spot at the moment is having a dedicated and smart teacher of the position like Robert Steeples. Steeples has taken an untraditionally fast rise up the coaching hierarchy and has really impressed this coaching staff early in his tenure in Baton Rouge. 

House knows him well back from his recruiting days as Kentucky's defensive coordinator and recruiting a number of players on Steeples' De Smet team. Even back then, it was easy for House to see how great of a teacher and motivator Steeples was to the players around him and built a relationship with him. The two stayed in touch and Steeples was one of the first hires made by Brian Kelly after House was announced as defensive coordinator.

"That's the one great thing about Steeps, you put a guy in front of him, you could roll out there and he'll coach you up," House said. "He loves to coach, loves to teach. It doesn't matter who's out there as long as you have a helmet and uniform he's going to get you ready to practice and play."

The other half of the secondary, the safety unit, is in a very different spot than the cornerbacks. Safeties coach Kerry Cooks has been rotating players in and out trying to find the right spots for this group. Transfer Joe Foucha and returning players like Jay Ward, Sage Ryan, Derrick Davis, Matthew Langlois and Todd Harris are all in line to see reps at safety while Major Burns is the only injured player of the group and Toles is also splitting time between corner and safety.

"Coach Cooks has done a good job with those guys, we've got good competition in that room," House said. "Those guys are pushing each other, getting better and as we progress I've seen those guys play things tighter, cleaner."