LSU spring game defensive takeaways: Harold Perkins is as advertised, secondary needs work

In a 32-32 tie with the offense on Saturday in LSU's spring game, the defense showed a lot of promise but also reason for concern across different position groups. There were missed tackles and missed reads, which is to be expected in a spring game several months removed from regular season play, but some concerns go deeper than sloppy fundamentals.

The cornerback room is in question for the second season in a row in Baton Rouge. Head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Matt House were tasked yet again to build up the cornerback room from the ground up, and while they were able to collect a lot of talent, it still isn't a finished product.

“I think we're not there yet,” Kelly said. “We think we have some guys that are capable of playing at a high level but there is still work to be done.”

Sophomore and the lone cornerback retained from 2022 to 2023, Laterrance Welch, shined on Saturday with two pass breakups. Former five star recruit and Texas A&M transfer Denver Harris took a majority of his reps with Welch on the second team but did get some opportunities to work with the first team with Southeastern Louisiana transfer Zy Alexander. So can the work that needs to be done get done by September? How vital is this CB room to LSU football's success?

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