LSU football defender reacts to transitioning to a new position

The Tigers have faced the injury bug throughout 2023, particularly at the cornerback position. In large part because of this, coach Brian Kelly has needed to turn elsewhere for depth at the position. Heading into their game against Auburn, LSU football defender Sage Ryan spoke about his transition.

LSU football defender Sage Ryan reacts to transitioning to cornerback

It’s never easy to switch positions. Add in the challenge of doing it in the middle of the season, and you might run into a bit of a disaster.

However, for the Tigers and LSU football defender Sage Ryan in 2023, this could end up being a saving grace of sorts.

Heading into the Tigers game vs. Missouri, coach Brian Kelly elected to make a change in the defensive backfield. To gain some physicality at cornerback, he moved redshirt sophomore Sage Ryan outside, and while it wasn’t perfect, the former safety/NICKEL put up a solid performance, with three tackles on the day.

He sounded enthusiastic about the transition, giving credit to his surrounding defenders and experience at other defensive back positions.

“I play safety, I play NICKEL, I play cornerback, so I pretty much know every position on the field, so that just brings me confidence,” the redshirt sophomore said about transitioning to his new position. “And just knowing who I have on the field with me, those guys like Harold Perkins, Maason (Smith) rushing the passer, (Mekhi) Wingo, Major (Burns), they all help communicate on the field, so my comfort level is high. I’m confident in those guys to do their 1-in-11, and they’re confident in me.”

Surrounding support has played a significant role in gaining confidence

There’s no doubt being one-on-one vs. some of the best wide receivers in the SEC isn’t the easiest task. However, LSU football defender Sage Ryan sounds up to the challenge.

“Coach (Robert) Steeples has done a tremendous job helping me, guiding me, and leading me to be the best that I can be in that position,” Ryan said. “And the guys that played the position already, they’re helping me. It’s coming along, I’m liking it. It’s different being on that island, so I like it.”

Most importantly, however, he’s facing challenges in his new position daily in practice. The LSU football passing game is one of the best units in college football.

If the phrase “irons sharpens iron” means anything at all, the defensive back has every reason to improve throughout the remainder of 2023.

“After every one-on-one rep, we kind of communicate with each other and just say what I could have done better,” LSU football defender Sage Ryan said about the wide receivers. “So just going against those guys, it helps prepare me tremendously for Saturday. And we’ve got the top guys in the nation, so just to get that comfortability with those guys, it helps me a lot.”

We’ll likely get another opportunity to see Ryan in his new position this weekend as the Tigers get set to face Auburn on Saturday.

Thank you for reading LSU Glory. For more LSU Glory content, covering all things LSU athletics, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at lsuglory.fr@gmail.com or direct message us on our Twitter account. It is thanks to your support that we can continue to grow into one of the fastest-growing and most influential LSU media outlets there is.