alexandrabsmith

Story by Alexandra Smith

LSU fans can only survive so long without college football.

Once spring comes around Tiger fans feed their football withdrawals by flocking to Tiger Stadium to scrutinize the new team in its annual National L Club Spring Game.

The game will take place on Saturday, April 9, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. CT.

Since there are many new players, as well as two new coaches, fans will have the opportunity to judge what is in store for the fall.

Jason Shaw, the Academic Advisor and Tutorial Coordinator at the Cox Academic Center for Student Athletes, believes that many fans are excited to watch the game and see the additions to the team.

“LSU lost a lot of players last year because many either graduated or went on to the NFL,” said Shaw. “But we have a lot of new recruits and transfers that are working hard, both on the field and in the classroom, and I think many fans will be impressed.”

The football team also welcomes two new coaches, Thomas McGaughey, Special Teams Coordinator and Steve Kragthorpe, Offensive Coordinator.

Bryce Morein, a petroleum-engineering senior at LSU, said he looks forward to the spring game because it allows him to check the team’s progress and starting positions.

“To me, the best thing about the game is to see our new recruits, who we have followed all season, dressed in purple and gold!” said Morein.

Like many fans, Morein has many expectations for this year’s game.

“I’m expecting our defense to be better than our offense,” he said. “I’m looking forward to watching Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon on defense, Zach Mettenberger, and our freshman wide receiver, Jarvis Landry.”

Many fans go to the game just to see whom Coach Les Miles will put at quarterback.

“The theme of the game is definitely who will start at quarterback,” said Morein. “We all know Miles loves Jordan Jefferson, but Mettenberger was a monster offseason pickup and is clearly better.”

In case there was not enough hype around this game already, fans can get something in addition to a sneak preview of the 2011 Tigers.

According to the LSU Sports website, fans will have opportunities to win prizes, and get autographs from over 25 former LSU football All-Americans fans.

“Some of the LSU Greats who will be on hand include Bert Jones, Kevin Faulk, Kyle Williams, Jerry Stovall, Wendell Davis and many others,” said the website.

There will also be pre-game activities on campus beginning at 12:30 p.m. According the website, Louisiana native Amanda Shaw will hold a free concert in Lot A at Tiger Stadium from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

According to the website, Admission to the game is free and fans can enter Tiger Stadium through Portal A on the west side of the stadium or through gates 10 and 11 on the east side. Gates open at 1 p.m.