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By MIKE KIRAL The Ascension Citizen



BATON ROUGE - Week one of Les Miles' first summer camp as LSU head coach was in the books Saturday and two former East Ascension standouts said the change in atmosphere from former coach Nick Saban was already evident.

"It's more of a family atmosphere instead of a more business atmosphere under Coach Saban," junior center Josh Dicharry said. "Everybody is coming together pretty well and I think it's an environment that's going to be pretty productive for us.

"It's different because it's different philosophies and things. But when it comes out to it, it's still college football. You're still working hard, you still have the discipline factor but I think everybody has changed pretty well to the style."

Sophomore defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey also said the first week went by well.

"Everybody is working hard and making strides in the right direction to be a good team," Dorsey said. "We just got to keep working hard and give effort on every play. But we're heading in the right direction. Everybody has got a good attitude about everything."


Dorsey and the defense also had to get used to a new coordinator in Bo Pelini. Pelini, who coached at Nebraska and Oklahoma the last two seasons, takes over for Will Muschamp who followed Saban to the Miami Dolphins. Pelini will bring new terminology to the defense but still utilize the attacking style that helped the Tigers finish among the nation's best defenses the last two seasons.

"It's kind of like the same style," Dorsey said. "Just get up the field. Whatever you have to do to get to the ball, just get there. They expect a lot out of us, a lot of effort. It's not too much difference as far as I can see."

Dorsey said Pelini's style of coaching is also similar to Saban's and Muschamp's.

"They were both hands-on," Dorsey said. "They like to get in our faces and have a lot of enthusiasm. Its kind of the same to me."

Dorsey enters his second season at LSU as the backup to senior Claude Wroten at left tackle. He played in 12 games last season, starting three. Dorsey forced a fumble on his first collegiate snap against Oregon State and went on to record 18 tackles, two for losses, during the season.



"Just to help the team," Dorsey said of his role this season. "Whenever they call on me to do my job and do my best. Whether it's giving Claude a break or (senior right tackle) Kyle (Williams) a break, just being there. However I can help the team, just give it all I got."

Dorsey said he had a good spring, improving in a lot of areas and gaining confidence. He is continuing to get a lot of reps as preseason camp opens.

"The speed and the mind set of the game is what I have to work on right now," Dorsey said. "I get a lot of reps at practice to help with that."

With LSU's depth on the line, Dorsey said he expects the rotation pattern of the last couple of years to continue to help keep the players fresh.

"We'll probably do the same," Dorsey said. "Kyle and Claude getting the start and me and a guy like Marlon Favorite stepping in when they need a break. Us stepping in there and making sure there is no let off and just showing the same intensity as they have."

Dicharry went into camp as the third center behind senior Rudy Niswanger and redshirt freshman Ryan Miller after playing mostly on the scout team as a sophomore.

"I'm looking at getting a little more playing time than last year but I'm still probably going to be a scout guy," Dicharry said. "But whatever I can do for the team is fine with me."

Dicharry did get to see action last September in LSU's 51-0 win over Mississippi State at Tiger Stadium.

"Being able to get out on the field and get in a couple of actual plays against a different opponent, it was very exciting," Dicharry said. "The feeling of being in Tiger Stadium playing ball is great."

Jimbo Fisher stayed on for his sixth season as offensive coordinator. And while Miles takes more part in the offense than Saban, Dicharry said the changes in the offensive scheme he has to learn are minimal.



"Coach Miles is letting Coach Jimbo do what he has always done," Dicharry said. "It's basically the same offense we ran last year."

Miles, coming over after four years at Oklahoma State, inherits a wealth of talent from Saban. That talent, coupled with LSU having won a pair of SEC titles and a national championship over the past five years, has led to high expectations for the 2005 Tigers. LSU is the favorite to win the SEC West title and at least one preseason poll has the Tigers ranked second in the nation.

"We try not to focus on all the media and stuff," Dicharry said. "You can get caught up in it and become a disappointment. You try not to focus on that. You just try to focus on the things you did to be successful and I think we're doing a good job on that so far. We just have to keep it up and I think we have the talent to be able to keep up with our standards."

And if there is one thing that has carried over from the Saban era, Dorsey said it's the Tigers having learned to not look past the next game.

"We're just going to take it one game at a time," Dorsey said. "Prepare for one team at a time. We can't afford to look on down the schedule and get into all the hype. You just have to practice like you know how and take one game at a time. If we do that, we should be all right."

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