Faulk: Auburn will be tough test for LSU

NEW ORLEANS – The all-time leading rusher in LSU history, Kevin Faulk, knows a good team when he sees one. After all, he won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.

On Saturday at Tiger Stadium, there will be two good teams on the field when the second-ranked Tigers face No. 9 Auburn.

“It’s probably going to be one of our toughest tests to date,” Faulk said Tuesday at the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club luncheon presented by Home Bank at Rock ‘n’ Bowl. “Their defensive line is probably the best we’ve faced.

“Each game that we play is going to get that much more important. We’ve just got to continue to grind and understand what’s ahead of us.”

Faulk did some media work in the Boston area and coached at his alma mater, Carencro, before joining the Tigers staff in player development.

“I knew I wanted to be a coach, but this job here is a little more,” Faulk said. “(Coaches) don’t get a chance to know a kid. You don’t get that opportunity a lot.”

In player development, Faulk said, “We get the opportunity to understand who they are, where they come from. When they go to coaches now, it’s all about football.”

What makes the 2019 edition of the Tigers special?

“We have a lot of veteran guys that have the passion,” Faulk said. “We’ve got some good leaders on the football team.

“Our quarterback (Joe Burrow), wow. He knows what’s going to happen before the game is going to be played.”

When players ask Faulk if they’ve seen somebody with similar skills to Burrow, he can only laugh. Of course, he lined up in the same backfield with Tom Brady.

“He does have those similar traits,” Faulk said of Burrow. “He’s probably 10 steps ahead of the game right now.”

Faulk remembers an instance in Foxboro when Brady pranked his backup, Matt Cassel.

“Three tires from (Cassel’s) car are at his locker instead of his chair,” Faulk said. “The offensive line said, ‘We’ve got your back.’”

The next day, Faulk said, the offensive line got revenge for Cassel. “Tom’s car is filled with packing peanuts,” he said. “He opened the door and peanuts came falling out.”

Auburn and LSU kick off just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised by CBS.