By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – LSU true freshman running back Caden Durham is on fire.
In his last three games, he has 370 yards on 30 touches (24 rushes for 240 yards, 6 pass receptions for 130 yards) and 5 TDs (3 rush, 2 receiving).
That’s 12.3 yards per play and a TD every sixth touch.
So, the question during the 13th-ranked Tigers’ (4-1 overall, 1-0 SEC) open date week as they await an Oct. 12 showdown vs. No. 12 Ole Miss (4-1, 0-1 SEC with a game this Saturday at South Carolina) at 6:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium: why isn’t Durham a lock to start every game the rest of the year.
The nation’s No. 8 running back as a high school senior for back-to-back Class 6A state champ Duncanville (Texas) High, Durham lit the Tigers’ fuse in his first college start last Saturday in a 42-10 win over South Alabama.
He became the first Tiger since Dalton Hilliard in 1982 to score on the game’s first play from scrimmage when he roared for a 71-yard TD on a perfectly executed swing pass from Garrett Nussmeier.
Then on LSU’s first snap of the Tigers’ second possession, he ran 86 yards to the 1-yard line, setting up Nussmeier for a TD QB sneak.
Durham’s first two snaps covering 157 yards started his 217-yard (128 rushing, 89 receiving), 2-TD performance limited to the first half after a Tigers’ offensive lineman fell on one of Durham’s ankles on his 8-yard TD run late in the first quarter.
Kelly said in a Tuesday afternoon press conference that Durham “is doing great” when asked if Durham would be healthy and ready to play vs. Ole Miss.
But does that mean he’ll start? Not necessarily.
“It’s a freshman that’s working through that transition of understanding the playbook, the nuances of playing the game, and just feeling more comfortable in everything that we do,” Kelly said of Durham. “He is competent at pass protection, but he has to think about it so sometimes he’s a click behind as he’s processing.
“We want it to be kind of an unconscious competence, which means he doesn’t have to think about it. He would just naturally do it, kind of like a (sixth-year senior) Josh Williams. He (Durham) is working towards that next level.”
Why did Durham start against South Alabama and not Williams? Was it something Kelly and his offensive coaches discussed beforehand?
“I’m much more about the player matching the kinds of plays that we want to run,” Kelly said. “And the play that we ran on the first play was a swing pass that required great speed. You don’t want to swing that back out to the back out to the field and not have the kind of speed. That was a play that was designed for a guy like him (Durham).
“On the second play, he read the counter (play) very well. He stepped inside the pulling guard and made that happen on his own.”
Kelly also praised LSU’s improved special teams featuring a returner ranked 1st in the SEC in kickoff returns and 5th in punt returns, a kickoff specialist with 24 touchbacks in 25 kickoffs, a placekicker who’s 5 of 6 in field goals and 21 of 21 extra points, two punters who’ve combined to have 6 of 14 punts downed inside the 20.
“We haven’t hit the big one (on kickoff or punt returns),” Kelly said, “but (Mississippi State transfer) Zavion Thomas is a steady guy back there who is a playmaker. Regarding kickoffs, (true freshman) Aeron Burrell (of Bossier City Parkway) has made a huge difference, we’ve hit virtually every ball out of the end zone.
“(Placekicker) Damien Ramos is money, that guy is solid like last year. In terms of punts (from Peyton Todd and Blake Ochsendorf), we’re doing really well in knocking down punts inside the 10 and in positionally punting.”
Kelly addressed his sideline explosion vs. South Alabama after Nussmeier’s second interception of the game. When Nussmeier came to the sideline, he was met by a screaming, raging Kelly
“For me, you have to be able to talk to a lot of guys at different levels,” Kelly said. “I’ve got a great relationship (with Nussmeier) where you know he responds well if he’s leaned on in some instances. You can’t lean on him like that all the time, but there are times you need to lean on him.”
On the LSU’s next offensive series after Nussmeier was the subject of Kelly’s rath, he guided the Tigers on a 99-yard TD drive on which he completed 6 of 7 passes for 98 yards and four first downs.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com