Andre Sam looks to lead LSU's defensive turnaround
It was evident back in fall camp that Marshall transfer Andre Sam was going to be a key contributor to LSU’s secondary in 2023, but as the year went on, Sam’s emerged as one of the more important pieces to this LSU defense. When he’s struggled, the defense has been troublesome. In recent games, his resurgence has mirrored the defense’s steps forward.
Allowing 31 to Arkansas, 55 to Ole Miss, and 39 to Missouri were obvious signs that things were wrong, but Sam and his teammates in the secondary continued to work. Looking for answers. Missed tackles, blown assignments, and losing one-on-ones were becoming commonplace, but over the last two weeks, no one has taken a bigger step up than Sam.
“It’s been patience, control, and playing within himself,” Kelly said. “He was playing outside of himself, maybe got excited, but now the game has slowed down for him and you can see he’s in the right place, not overrunning things. He took himself out of plays early in the year, if you remember there were some missed tackles, but he’s settled in and is playing confident and controlling the middle of the field. He’s playing at a high level and we need him to continue to do that and if he does, he’s a solid player for us.”
Sam had two interceptions against Army and could have had two more, seemingly always being in position and being a step ahead of the offense. His outing against Auburn showed similar improvement and gives LSU fans hope that Sam can be the catalyst for a strong close to the season for the Tigers’ defense.
“The more time I spend watching extra film or getting more work in with my teammates so we can all be on the same page,” Sam said after the win over Army. “The offense was in slow motion today. From my first game in this uniform to now, the offenses are getting slower and slower, and now I have a better feel for it.”
With cornerback Zy Alexander going down in the win over Army, there are more questions than ever about what LSU has in the back end. For Sam, who is in his sixth year of college football, he’s aware of what it takes to excel at this level and is watching his team come together and do the work.
“We meet more to do more film study and do more work on and off the field so we all build that trust so we can play faster together,” Sam said. “When I first got here over the summer to now. It’s tremendous growth from the front end to the back, just working on the details.”
For Sam, who went from McNeese to Marshall and now to LSU, his journey has the state behind him and now, the hope is he can continue to make plays to help LSU return to Atlanta for the SEC title game.
“It feels great. I’m from Lake Charles and most kids don’t get the opportunity to wear this jersey, so I’m doing it for the kids back home,” Sam said.
