Daily Reveille

Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ben Hicks Freshman safety Stefoin Francois (left) and sophomore running back Richard Murphy (right) run down the field Saturday at the spring game in Tiger Stadium.

Sophomore running back Richard Murphy caught a sweep along the right side, outran the entire defense, hit the hole and plowed over redshirt freshman safety Stefoin Francois on his way to the end zone to tie up the score at seven.

"Guess that's the Jacob Hester side of me," Murphy said when talking about the big hit in the end zone.

Murphy single-handedly carried the White team to a 38-10 victory against the Purple team in Saturday's spring game in Tiger Stadium.

"I wanted to see Murphy today," said LSU coach Les Miles. "He is a very elusive back who has great vision. He has some things he needs to square away, but I think he is going to be a nice back."

That "nice" back played mean Saturday en route to 145 yards on 11 carries. He also found his way into the end zone three times, two running and one on a 53-yard screen pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Jarret Lee.

"When I first got here, everything was really fast," Murphy said. "But since I've been here for three years, everything is slowing down for me, and I'm just not nervous anymore."

Murphy played in 12 out of 14 games this past season for the Tigers, rushing for 230 yards on 35 carries with two touchdowns.

Murphy took the majority of the snaps with the first team offense in the aftermath of junior Keiland Williams' fumble on the Purple team's 15-yard line during the White team's first drive.

"Williams had some nice carries, but no back can put the ball on the ground," Miles said. "Anybody who throws the ball on the ground around here should not plan on playing a lot."

Williams rushed for 38 yards on five carries but failed to return to the field following the first drive.

Junior running back Charles Scott did not play because of an undisclosed injury.

The Tigers will meet President Bush today at 2:05 p.m. in the White House Rose Garden.

In addition to the White House visit, the Tigers will go sightseeing throughout the nation's capital and will visit many of the city's tourist attractions.

"We are excited because only one team in college football gets to go to the White House every year," said junior wide receiver Brandon Lafell.

This will be the second trip for the team during Bush's presidency. LSU and USC - winners of the 2003 BCS and AP national championships, respectively - were forced to share the White House lawn in 2004.




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Contact Erik Vollenweider at evollenweider@lsureveille.com

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