Jay Johnson raves about Ty Floyd, what he has done for LSU this season

Jay Johnson couldn’t be more proud of the way Ty Floyd has played for the LSU Tigers in 2023.

Following Johnson and Floyd helping LSU get to the College World Series, the Tigers skipper told the media how happy he’s been with his pitcher, and why it means so much to him to see Floyd succeed.

“I’m so proud of him,” Johnson said of Floyd. “I mean like, you know there was a point last year, and I know exactly when it was, and he was, he was struggling a little bit, because this guy’s talented. We just needed him to believe in himself, kind of equating to his talent. So I just brought him in, and I said, ‘You’re going to pitch and you’re going to pitch a lot, and we’re going to take the reigns off, and I just want you to go for it.’ And he did. He finished the year great for us.

“He beat Hurtson Waldrep in the Regional, that guy’s pretty good. I asked him to come out of the pen early this year, because of the injuries thing, and may not seem like a big deal now, but first Sunday of the year, he closed three innings. And then against Kansas State, who ended up being a good team, he closed. Then it became evident that we need to just push you to Saturday and go for it.”

Of course, Johnson also has another fantastic arm in his rotation named Paul Skenes, who has been the best pitcher in all of college baseball over the course of the season. While he heaped praise on Skenes, Johnson believes it’s taking away some of the media attention from how good Floyd has been.

“Because Paul [Skenes] has been so out of this world good, I think people have really missed how good of a season Ty Floyd is having,” added Johnson. “And I think about a lot of coaches teams, there’s a big game Friday guy, but there was always a guy on Saturday that was like, 10-1. I mean, and that’s what he’s been for us.

“And I could’ve left him out there. I just had a good feeling about Riley, where we were at in the lineup. Not wanting them to see Ty a third time through. But yeah. I’m so proud of him. I thought today was a good outing. Last week before the rain delay, or the lightning delay, was a good outing as well. And then you just keep stacking them up, and that’s kind of flipped us to be in the position that we are right now.”

With Ty Floyd playing at the top of his game, the LSU Tigers and Jay Johnson will be a team nobody wants to see in Omaha.