Last year, Brian Polian led all of the special teams’ drills during practice. He was the only LSU assistant coach actively involved during those times. As rock music played over speakers, Polian ran back and forth giving orders.
Fast forward and the other way LSU trains special teams was showcased Saturday morning during the fifth spring training session, which was open for 20 minutes.
Polian, now general manager, walked between the fields and watched the drills from a distance. He’s no longer a field coach and usually keeps a low profile when judging.
Instead, LSU uses what coach Brian Kelly called a “decentralized operation” to train specialty teams. As Kelly described, assistant coaches oversaw different sessions.
New special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach John Jancek directed the defensive players on the field goal block team, with defensive line coach Jamar Cain helping nearby. Elsewhere, Jamar Cain coached offensive linemen for extra point protection while offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock directed tight ends blocking on the edges.
During those drills, Redshirt student Damian Ramos scored extra points. Ramos is a returning starter, but LSU also has Nathan Dibert as a sophomore. Dibert turned kickoff specialist last season and was one of the top kickers in the country to graduate from high school.
Elsewhere, LSU’s offense went through an on-air drill with the entire group. While starting supervisor Miles Frazier was out for the third straight season, Kimo Makane’ole, redshirt sophomore, played as right guard. The Tigers only have six healthy offensive scholars, so the second team was mostly walk-ons.
Jayden Daniels took over as first-team quarterback reps, and senior Noah Cain played running back. The wide receivers were junior Malik Nabers, junior Brian Thomas and senior Kyren Lacy.
On the defensive side, newcomer Javi Toviano worked with the backups for the second straight training session. Toviano has also practiced at cornerback, but he’s shown the versatility of trying multiple spots.
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