LSU football looks to be one of the teams around the nation far exceeding the expectations placed on them during the offseason. A lot of changes went on behind the scenes and in the public eye in Baton Rouge. Not only did Ed Orgeron and his staff get replaced with Brian Kelly and Co., but a large section of the team was gutted, as well.
Despite a plethora of changes, the new regime has done an excellent job of accelerating a rebuild. The Tigers are now 4-1 overall (2-0 in Southeastern Conference play) after a come-from-behind win on the Plains. LSU put itself in a 17-0 hole before flipping the game on its head and beating Auburn 21-17 on Saturday. It was a performance that left a lot to be desired from the visitors. Nevertheless, the Bayou Bengals returned home with another victory.
LSU football: Which players earned their stripes at Auburn on Saturday?
Performances such as these take a lot of grit and determination, as Kelly noted immediately following the conclusion of the 2022 Tiger Bowl. Many individuals deserve to have their names on this list, though Death Valley Voice is only naming three to this week’s piece. Honorable mentions go out to Micah Baskerville, Greg Brooks, John Emery, BJ Ojulari and Mekhi Wingo for their valiant efforts in the victory over Auburn.
Here are three players who earned their stripes against Auburn:
1. Josh Williams
Josh Williams has one helluva story. The former walk-on often gets lost in the shuffle of an already crowded running back room. He doesn’t only compete with the likes of Noah Cain, Armoni Goodwin and Emery for carries but also recognition. Sometimes the two go hand-in-hand, as they have many times early throughout this season
Williams was expected to play a minimal part in the running game with Cain coming over from Penn State and Emery returning from a season-long academic suspension. The emergence of Goodwin into the picture against Southern didn’t help Williams either. When the latter went down with an injury before a trip to Auburn, Williams’ path forward looked a lot more promising.
Kelly turned to the junior to shoulder the load at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. The Houston native didn’t disappoint his head coach either. Williams went on to lead LSU in rushing with 17 carries for 68 yards. The running back who usually gets a majority of his touches in the red zone was let loose against a Tigers defense with its back against the wall.
In addition to leading the team in many rushing metrics, it was Williams who was on the field during the final drive. He was given back-to-back-to-back carries by Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock, who trusted him to close out the game by getting a first down. Williams dove forward on 3rd-and-3 as time continued to tick off the clock and picked up the game-clinching first down.
Williams played a big part in the offense as the ground game picked up the slack as Jayden Daniels struggled through the air. He’s earned himself a bigger role going forward, especially with Goodwin out for a couple of weeks. It’s hard not to root for the junior who plays with a tremendous amount of passion and pride every time he touches the ball.
2. Jaquelin Roy
If you’ve gotten this far in the article, one of the things you’ll undoubtedly have noticed is that the list of “honorable mentions” was quite long. Further, it included a pair of defensive linemen. Ojulari won the SEC’s Defensive Lineman of the Week honors for his performance on the Plains and Wingo earned a lot of praise for his efforts in Maason Smith’s absence.
Yet, it was Jaquelin Roy who played one of the most important roles in LSU’s win.
Auburn was having its way with the Bayou Bengals throughout the first half. Quarterback Robby Ashford was terrorizing the Tigers and the third-stringer helped his team jump out to a 17-0 lead. He was having a lot of success with his legs and getting safeties to bite, leaving holes in behind for receivers to run into. Furthermore, the threat of Tank Bigsby—Auburn’s most explosive offensive player—loomed large all night.
Roy helped contain the rushing attack of the hosts all night, especially in the first half. He was one of the few individuals on Matt House’s defense who had their way with Auburn, even before the defensive coordinator brought Baskerville in to spy the quarterback. Roy’s dominant presence led to Bigsby being held to 3.8 yards per carry and Ashford only rushing for 19 yards.
Overall, No. 99 had six total tackles on the evening with five of them being solo.
Roy’s impact was arguably bigger in the second half following House’s defensive adjustment. He played a big part in containing Auburn’s running game, which was about all the Tigers had going for them as Ashford struggled to adapt to the changes in the secondary.
Auburn was held scoreless in the second half and Roy was one of the biggest reasons why this was the case. The junior is often lost in the shuffle with such talented players around him on the defensive line. There’s nothing sexy about stopping the run, but there’s little doubt that Roy has what it takes to make it at the next level in the coming years.
For now, he’ll have to stick to terrorizing opposing SEC offensive lines.
3. Harold Perkins
LSU is one of the National Football League’s biggest talent developers. The Tigers rank third amongst universities with 46 of their former players on active NFL rosters. Even though the current team didn’t have high hopes placed on it coming into the season, there are still a ton of talented prospects within its ranks. Players such as Kayshon Boutte and Ojulari are the most highly regarded due to their age and experience.
However, if I was asked to name one individual that I’m certain will succeed on Sundays in the future, I wouldn’t hesitate to respond with Harold Perkins.
He was seen as the single most important recruit for Kelly and his staff coming into the year. The new Tigers coaching regime managed to flip the five-star linebacker from Texas A&M late in the process, and it’s paid dividends thus far.
Perkins started this season on the outside looking in. He wasn’t named as a starter on the defensive depth chart, nor did he get much playing time outside of special teams against Florida State. But with Ojulari and Smith out against Southern (and beyond in the case of the latter), Perkins got his chance to impress versus the Jaguars. He hasn’t looked back since and he’s quickly become an irreplaceable piece on the defensive side of the ball.
The Cypress, Texas native shined against Auburn with three tackles and two quarterback hurries. His most important contribution though was the interception of former LSU wide receiver Koy Moore on a trick play deep in the Tigers’ territory.
Perkins’ massive grab allowed the Bayou Bengals’ defense to keep Auburn off the scoreboard in the second half. It was an obvious turning point in a scrappy SEC away game for LSU. Furthermore, it was a memorable moment in the young career of a budding superstar.
Remember Perkins’ name as he’ll be huge for the Tigers going forward and for a lucky NFL franchise in a few years.