SB Nation - Ron Brooks

Miles Names A Strong Safety Starter

Poseur — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:41:52 -0000

In a classic example of burying the lede, The Advocate reviewed Les Miles' radio show and after several pages of the usual "we're working hard" stuff, there was some actual news:

Miles said senior Danny McCray could be the starter at strong safety against Washington. McCray has played mostly nickel back in his previous seasons at LSU.

McCray, like just about every returning member of the defense not named Jones, Alem, or Peterson, has come under some, shall was say, intense scrutiny. It's kind of a bizarre exercise to single out one or two players for the blame of last year's abomination of a defense, but that's what fans do.

A quick perusal of the LSU message boards reveals that McCray and Eugene are probably neck and neck for Most Blamed LSU Defensive Player (Jarrett Lee is a runaway winner on offense). I'm not going to argue that either of those defensive backs had a good year because they clearly didn't, but I'm still loathe to blame any one player for last season. It was a collective effort.

Loston is already earning absurd raves and, well, I'll let Dandy Don take it in his review of the radio show:

Dustin wanted to know when the earliest LSU fans could expect to see Craig Loston on the playing field. Miles said that Loston has great talent and would likely play against Washington with less than two weeks of practice.

Loston must be awesome. Absolutely awesome. Do you know how absurdly gifted a player must be to come in as a freshman and earn playing time after only two weeks of practice? If Loston can push for playing time after being here for a week, he will probably be in the mix for a starting job by midseason. I'm not prone to optimistic predictions for freshmen, but I'm absolutely floored by this. And I still am curious where Ron Brooks and Karnell Hatcher, two pretty talented sophomores, are going to play.

Safety might be transforming from a team weakness to a strength before our very eyes (that Chad Jones guy has of course locked down the free safety slot). There's just tons of underclassmen fighting for time, which is probably why McCray is getting the start now. He's about the only senior on the depth chart. Someone's got to show the young kittens the ropes before he eventually slides back to more of a support role. Experience matters, but eventually, talent wins out.

Maybe, just maybe, the Tiger faithful will stop blaming McCray for last year's pass defense.

Fall Camp's Biggest Surprise

Richard Pittman — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:44:21 -0000

via www.tigerrag.com

In the Spring, defensive back Ron Brooks was the story. He moved from cornerback to strong safety, and despite his cornerback-sized frame, he was the talk of the Town, the next playmaker in the LSU secondary. While no one said he had won the job, most people were saying he was clearly the best option at the position, and the one that the coaching staff liked the most. He had the inside track.

Now, if you substitute the word "Fall" for "Spring", the words "Brandon Taylor" for "Ron Brooks", and change everything from past tense to present tense, you have the current story.

When Fall Camp opened, everyone was surprised to see the true sophomore backup cornerback, who recorded all of 4 tackles and 1 pass breakup in 2008, not only practicing with the safeties, but running with the first team. At first, many believed that it was an experiment, that he was "cross-training" so he could be more versatile. Perhaps he was in training to play more of a hybrid nickel or dime position?

Not so far.

In every practice report I have read that has mentioned the subject, Brandon Taylor has been listed as running with the first team at safety. Ron Brooks was behind him, but now it seems that Karnell Hatcher is behind him, with Ron Brooks running third.

You have to keep in mind that the media sees only a small fraction of the practice, and sees no live contact. And no, I would not put Les Miles above deliberately hiding who his starter would be. If he really is taking that kind of approach though, we just have to live with it.

For what it's worth, Brandon Taylor is still listed at cornerback on LSU's semi-official (but probably not up-to-date) roster at Lsusports.net.

When Brandon Taylor was recruited, he was considered one of the best players in the 2008 class. He was body-ready, a skilled athlete, and came from a football-playing family that surely put him a little ahead of other recruits mentally. The problem was that the absolute best player in the class, Patrick Peterson, played the same position Taylor played. It was an awkward situation where Taylor was good enough to be an immediate contributor, but the coaching staff had to wonder how much they wanted two true freshmen to be in the rotation at corner.

In the end, the defensive coaching staff probably made the worst move they could have made. They played Brandon Taylor, but not very much, and rarely in situations that mattered. He also played some special teams, but was not a very big factor there either.

Heading into the 2009 season, Taylor was expected to compete at cornerback, possibly as a dark horse to beat out Jai Eugene and Chris Hawkins for the spot opposite Peterson. No one guessed he might get a look at safety and then keep the job. It looks now like that very well could happen.

The competition is certainly not over. I really liked Karnell Hatcher in 2008, and of the three people competing for that spot, he is the one who saw the most significant playing time last year. He was very strong against the run, recording 13 tackles while backing up Brandon's older brother Curtis Taylor. Ron Brooks is still, of course, an outstanding athlete who was a special teams standout last year.

Soon, practices will be closed and we will no longer get any kind of reliable information on what's going on. We will know when we see the Tigers take the field on September 5.

Fall Camp Storylines So Far

Richard Pittman — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:50:54 -0000

They've been going at it for about a week in Baton Rouge, preparing in earnest for the season to start, and already there are a few surprising developments at LSU's Fall Camp. We Highlight some of the bigger ones:

Brandon Taylor jumps into the competition for the strong safety spot. Easily the biggest surprise was when talented but little-used sophomore cornerback Brandon Taylor opened the running with the first team at strong safety. Before camp began, the strong safety position was generally considered to be up for competition, but most expected the competition to be between Spring sensation Ron Brooks and last year's backup Karnell Hatcher. I expected Taylor as a dark horse to maybe challenge for the cornerback slot opposite Patrick Peterson. Instead, as practice opened, Taylor was moved into the strong safety slot running opposite of Chad Jones. Brooks was with the second team, and Hatcher was with the freshman, ostensibly as the third team safety. The running order has not changed yet in the parts of practice that the media sees. It may be simply that the coaches were giving Taylor a look at that position in hopes of developing versatility, but it was simply that, why would he go with the first team and not the second or third? This is a situation that will get the closest attention from here to the beginning of the season.

The surprising introduction of Morris Claiborne. In a class with, by some counts, four 5-star players reporting to camp, and one 5-star still trying to get eligible, the Class of 2009 member who is turning the most heads is a 3-star recruit named Morris Claiborne. That's right; the guy no one had heard of until the middle of his senior year. The guy who did not even have a picture of him up on the recruiting sites well into his senior season. I'm not saying he's an immediate contributor to this team or anything like that. At least not yet. He still has to find a position and master it in order be really useful. He began camp practicing at wide receiver with the rest of the freshman. He was quickly promoted to the morning practice sessions with the veterans and switched to cornerback, where he has run with the second unit. I am thinking he will end up at cornerback, because he lacks ideal size for a wide receiver, but his long arms and quickness will be a huge asset in the defensive backfield. It would surprise me at all to see him back on offense though, and it wouldn't shock me if he ends up playing both ways at some point in his career. If he's second string right now, he will probably play immediately, but I would prefer to give him a chance to redshirt and master whatever position he ends up playing. It would also give him some separation between the veteran corners on the roster and himself, giving him more opportunity to play in the future.
Offensive tackle Chris Faulk starts out on the second team at left tackle. When Fall Camp opened, every member of the Class of 2009 was practicing in the afternoon session, away from most of the veterans who practice in the morning. All, that is, except one. Offensive lineman Chris Faulk started camp practicing in the morning with the veterans, and he was doing it at left tackle, behind Ciron Black. This is a remarkable achievement for a young player. I do not remember a true freshman coming in and immediately practicing with the veterans before. Not even the guys who got here in the spring, like Kevin Minter, Drayton Calhoun, and Russell Shepard, were running with the veterans at the start of camp. Patrick Peterson was in the afternoon sessions at the beginning of last year. Rueben Randle practiced in the afternoon. As time went on, Faulk was joined by a couple other freshman. Barkevious Mingo was promoted for a day. Morris Claiborne was promoted. But Faulk was there from the beginning. He even moved last year's backup left tackle, Greg Shaw, over to right tackle. His future must be incredibly bright.
The development of the wide receivers. Terrance Toliver finally looks like he's going to approach that sky-high potential he has always had. He's put some real muscle mass on his frame, and can finally fight off physical defensive backs. He has always had great length and long arms, but he's been lanky. With a little added muscle it opens up the prospect of him being a receiver in traffic, where before Toliver was always mostly a deep threat. I believe Terrance Toliver is going to have that breakout year this year. I don't think he'll be one of the best in the SEC, but if he can increase his receptions total to about 40 while retaining his big play ability (that we did not see enough of last year after a freshman year that saw him average 25 yards per catch), he will be an outstanding complement to Brandon Lafell. True freshman Rueben Randle also looks like he is for real and will be able to make an immediate contribution. As I said before, don't expect Jones-like or Green-like numbers as a freshman, but if he can pull in 20 or so catches, he will really help this team. Veterans R.J. Jackson and Chris Mitchell make me feel pretty good about the depth at the position, and Chris Tolliver may be able to make a contribution as well. I really think this has the makings of a very good overall wide receiver unit.
Competition at center and at fullback. The most important position battle on the team right now is going on at center between P.J. Lonergan and T-Bob Hebert. It was believed that Hebert had the inside track going into camp, but Lonergan started the season practicing with the first team while Hebert ran with the rookies in the afternoon session. In yesterday's first full-squad practice the two were finally on the field together and Hebert was apparently first-team. This is the most important battle because barring injury you have to imagine that whoever wins this battle will play almost every significant snap and the second teamer will have trouble finding the field, while there could be a rotation at strong safety. A similar competition is ongoing at fullback where we have recently seen tight end Tyler Edwards jump into the fray that previously includedStevan Ridley, Richard Dugas, and Dominique Allen. Ridley is definitely the most capable runner (though Allen appears surprisingly nimble for such a big man and could end up being a surprising playmaker later on). Dugas is the converted offensive lineman. Allen is the freshman. It is anyone's guess how these snaps will be divided up in the season.
Freshman defensive linemen impressing all. The defensive line members of the Class of 2009: Josh Downs, Chris Davenport, Mike Brockers, Bennie Logan, and Sam Montgomery, are getting early raves and bringing back memories of Spears, Hill, Lavalais, etc.

5 Keys To A Successful Season, Part 4: The Revamped Secondary

Richard Pittman — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:30:08 -0000

I think everyone can point to the two biggest things that went wrong with the 2008 season. [Aside: I would say there were three things that went wrong; the two usually named things, and a very inconsistent pass rush.] In the coaches' quest to exorcise the demons of 2008, they have been forced to make a lot of changes to the secondary, which was, of course, one of the two things that went horribly wrong in 2008.

The opening game of the 2008 season saw a starting secondary of RCB Jai Eugene, FS Curtis Taylor, SS Harry Coleman, and LCB Chris Hawkins, with Danny McCray at the nickel and Chad Jones as sort of a utility player. Only one of those players was a senior, but there is no guarantee any of them will see significant snaps in the same role for the 2009 season.

The opening night lineup of the 2009 season will see Patrick Peterson at one corner position and Chad Jones at free safety. These are two very athletic and very promising players, but after this the spots are open for competition, and it is anyone's guess who will occupy the nickel and dime back positions, or if those positions will even exist as we currently understand them.

We have been over the secondary is great detail once before in this offseason,and I won't repeat those articles here except to the extent I already have. You can go back and read Part 1 and Part 2 of the Spring Preview: The Secondary series. Some of that information is quite outdated (Phelon Jones transferred and Harry Coleman is definitely a linebacker now). But for the most part the information we had back in March is still solid today, and we'll do a formal update on the position after Fall camp starts.

Suffice it to say that there have been wholesale changes in the coaching and in the personnel in the secondary. If one was being uncharitable, one might compare it to a game of poker in which we did not like the hand we were dealt and so we reshuffled the cards and dealt a new one. I prefer to think of it as learning from mistakes.

I don't know who will start at strong safety, but I was a HUGE fan of Karnell Hatcher's play in spot duty last year. The other prime candidate for the position is Ron Brooks, who got the most press of any up-and-coming player in the Spring. Danny McCray certainly isn't conceding the race, and he is the most experienced safety we have who isn't moving to linebacker. Plus he's actually well-suited for the role of strong safety, where he was not well-suited for his prior role as nickel back.

At corner it appears to be a battle between last year's starters, Jai Eugene and Chris Hawkins, but I would keep an eye out on true sophomore Brandon Taylor, who impressed the heck out of the coaches in practice as a true freshman and figures to be in line to improve as much or more than anyone on the team from last season to this season.

Whatever the personnel groupings, the unit absolutely has to play better than it did last year. I don't mean, "they have to play better in order for us to win." I mean there is no possible way they couldn't play better, as they played so poorly last year. Some of the worst passing teams in the conference looked competent against us. For example, Chris Todd of auburn went 17 for 32 for 250 yards against us (OK, he had 2 interceptions). Tyson Lee went 17 for 26 for 165 yards. Stephen Garcia went 14 of 26 for 215 yards.

Don't ask what the good passing teams did to us.

It's hard to do worse than that. Hopefully with more suitable personnel groupings and fresh coaching, the situation in the secondary will right itself. Taking Danny McCray off of the slot receiver almost can't help but improve the defense.

Offseason reports have Patrick Peterson and Chad Jones reportedly ready to blow up into the All-America calibre players they were recruited to be. I am always skeptical of offseason hype machines, but we will have to see. We should be finding out a lot more about this in the coming weeks. If those two are really that good at their respective positions, a huge negative could become a huge positive.

Class of 2009: WR/Ath Morris Claiborne

Richard Pittman — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:00:11 -0000

via image.cdnl3.xosnetwork.com

Morris Claiborne of Fair Park High School in Shreveport is one of the more interesting prospects in the class of 2009. While the class of 2010, as presently constituted, has included so far a number of players who are relatively unknown in the recruiting media before their senior years begin, Claiborne was completely unknown until well into his senior year. When he committed to LSU shortly after receiving an offer, most observers knew very little about him. The recruiting services not only did not have film, they did not have a picture of him.

How does a player completely escape media attention so thoroughly? Let us answer that question by dispelling a few myths.

First, it is not true that great athletes are sure to be found at all. Colleges have only a handful of potential scouts available to them: a head coach and 9 assistants, plus probably a few others who may not be able to make contact with recruits, but are free to go and watch them. I do not even have a guess as to how many high school football teams there are within 300 miles of LSU, but I can guarantee that it is impossible for any college team to have enough resources to get to all of them.

Instead, the coaches do much of their talent evaluation through high school coaches sending film, potential recruits attending camps, and general knowledge of a small number of typical feeder schools. If a player does not come from a typical feeder school, does not attend recruiting camps, and does not have the marketing power of some of the bigger schools, it is entirely possible that he will completely escape the attention of the big-time programs. This is one of the reasons that good players end up at places like Arkansas State and Rice on a regular basis? Probably, the bigger schools just never knew about them.

Such was likely the case with Morris Claiborne. He did not attend camps, and Fair Park High School rarely puts out big-time prospects. There is no junior film of him. What happened was either that the coaches first saw Claiborne while scouting a different player for an opposing school, or a coach or parent sent some film in late. Whatever happened, the coaches liked what they saw. They offered and he accepted.

On LSU's roster, Claiborne is listed as an "athlete", meaning he does not have an assigned position as yet. Without a position to play, I have no choice but to label Claiborne a project at this point. It is expected that he will be a wide receiver, but perhaps he will move to defensive back, as his 6'0" 180# frame seems more suited for the defensive side of the ball than the offensive, but he is quite an electrifying athlete with the ball in his hands.

For Fair Park, he played mostly quarterback. He was one of those quarterbacks that was simply the best athlete on the team, so his coaches wanted the ball in his hands on every play. He will certainly not be a quarterback in college. His film is very impressive. He has terrific raw speed and change of direction. He is the sort of player who could be a slot receiver and take short passes for long gains. Or he could be a cornerback and use his quick change of direction to keep up with wide receivers.

I like him quite a lot as a prospect, but he must find a position to play and settle into it, learning the techniques of either a corner or a wideout. The longer he waits to settle into his ultimate position, the more difficult it will be to develop into a productive player. He is, in that sense, like a Ron Brooks or a John Williams. Brooks settled into one spot and is excelling. Williams has been unable to find where he fits and has not been a productive player yet. If Claiborne finds his spot, his pure athleticism will give him a very good chance to develop into a good or even a great player.

Class of 2009: RB Drayton Calhoun

Richard Pittman — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:00:15 -0000

via media.scout.com

Tucker, Georgia, product Drayton Calhoun was an early commitment to LSU. He was also an early enrollee, meaning he graduated from high school one semester early and enrolled at LSU in time to participate in Spring Practice. Because Calhoun was an early commitment and never wavered, he did not really get a lot of attention from the recruiting media as the season wore on, but he had a very good season with the Tucker Tigers, winning the class AAAA state championship in Georgia.

Drayton Calhoun is a 6'0" (probably a generous listing) 175# athlete. When he committed, I watched his highlight videos and saw a running back who had terrific acceleration, quickness, and speed, but who was called upon by his coaches to always run outside the tackles with reverses or to use counter plays. His film showed almost no traditional running back play where he got the ball on a handoff or pitch while in the backfield. Everything was a reverse from an H-Back position or a counter. Because of this, I did not see him as a running back and expected him to be a defensive back at the next level. Slot receiver was also a possibility, but we also did not see him catching a lot of passes.

He is currently listed as a running back on LSU's semi-official roster. I still don't see it. For that reason, I consider Calhoun a project.

I have a theory, developed years ago when I was really big into hockey and paid just as much attention to the development of hockey players as I do now to the development of football players. This theory is that players rarely add elements to their games after moving up to a higher level of competition. In hockey, this meant that if a player was not a scorer in junior hockey, in all likelihood he would not be a scorer in the AHL. If he was not a hard hitter in junior, he probably would not be a hard hitter in the AHL.

This should not be that surprising, but the key part of the theory was the converse. A player might lose an element of his game after moving up to a higher level of competition. A big scorer in juniors might suddenly be unable to score in the AHL. A guy who hit like a ton of bricks in the AHL may find himself unable to line up a check in the NHL, or may shy away from the contact altogether because the adversaries are so much tougher.

What does this have to do with Drayton Calhoun? If the theory holds in college football, it means that Calhoun, who did not have the "tough runner" element available to him in high school, probably will not be able to develop it in college. He was a pure speed runner and slasher in high school. He was not really a tackle-breaker. We can't expect him to suddenly develop the skill of running through arm tackles in college, as the arms he'd be running through are a lot stronger than the ones that the coaches tried to avoid having him contact in high school.

As a running back, he reminds me a lot of Bama running back Terry Grant, a fellow speed back who had really nice production in 2007 with 891 yards, mostly to the outside. Then, because he was unable to run effectively inside, he was shunted aside when more well-rounded backs like Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram emerged, players who could run both inside and outside and therefore wouldn't be as predictable as Grant. I see Calhoun the same way, except that I doubt there would ever be a time when a one-dimensional outside runner could be our feature back.

There are a lot of electrifying runs in Calhoun's highlight reel. He clearly is a fine athlete. I just don't think he is a running back. He may be a punt returner, though. He seems to have the elusiveness one would look for in that position. I think he will probably eventually move to the defensive back. If you want a comparison to recent well-known recruits, I would submit former Tiger John Williams and current Tiger Ron Brooks, both of whom came to LSU a little undersized but with obvious quickness and speed on their resumes. Brooks moved to defense and found a home as the likely starting strong safety in this his sophomore year. John Williams has never been quite able to find a home after bouncing from wide receiver to defensive back and back again.

I would like to see Calhoun move to cornerback sooner rather than later. I suspect the only reason he is not there now is because he was promised a shot at running back. There were no pure cornerbacks signed in the 2009 class and the opportunity is there, as a redshirt year would put him two years behind Brandon Taylor and Patrick Peterson with really no can't-miss prospects lined up after those guys right now.

Maybe I'm wrong. I'd love to be. I'll be first to quote this article mockingly if I am.

In Case You Haven't Figured Out, This Will Be Recruiting Week at ATVS

Richard Pittman — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:30:09 -0000

First, a congratulations to GasHouseGorillas, who celebrated the birth of his first child yesterday. GasHouseGorillas, in case you didn't know, is my older brother. Liam Casey Pittman was born yesterday at around 11:00am, weighing in at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measuring an impressive 19.5 inches. Sadly, if the Pittman genes have anything to say about it, great athleticism is probably not in his future, Cousin Kirston notwithstanding.

Continuing on with the topic at hand.

With the Long, Dark Offseason of the Soul continuing for another few weeks, we are scrounging just a bit for topics to discuss here at ATVS. What's good for the bloggers is not necessarily good for the team, as I pointed out in this post about all news being bad news. Things are mighty quiet around the LSU athletic facilities, with nary a serious injury (since the Tim Molten injury), an arrest, or a transfer to discuss. We think transfers are coming, as I think we still have a little ways to go to get under scholarship limits, but they're not out there right now.

So this week, barring the introduction of any real news, we will be going over LSU recruiting for 2010 in the morning, and profiling 2009 signees in the afternoon. The 2009 profiles will continue until we're done with them.

Of course, there may be some real news, as SEC Media Days are upon us starting on Wednesday. Usually, if there is any SEC Media Days news, it is purely of the manufactured variety, and I am not really planning on spending a lot of my energy discussing it. I will, however, be reading Team Speed Kills' coverage, as he should have the hook-up for me. If anything important happens in Birmingham, he'll tell us all. I'll actually be doing a little podcast with him later this week. Be sure to check that out when it happens.

In the meantime, a little 2010 recruiting is in order. First, I would like to quote an article I wrote back in March on the subject of 2010 recruiting, back when little was known about most of the recruits we'll be signing:

For reasons I can't entirely explain, we seem to have a two-year cycle on the perception of in-state recruiting and our ability to recruit great players from out of state. For example, 2007 was a banner year for recruiting in the State of Louisiana, with two 5-star players produced by the state: Joe McKnight and Chad Jones, along with several very highly regarded 4-star type players. Not only that, but LSU's recruiting class was widely considered about the most solid in the country, with 21 four- and five-star commitments signed, including 5-star Terrance Toliver, and only a handful of 3-stars. This resulted in a #4 ranking according to Rivals, and was generally considered to be an outstanding class.

Contrast that with the 2008 recruiting class. It was much more heavily weighted towards 3-stars, with thirteen 3-star players signed, along with thirteen 4- and 5-star players. There were no in-state 5-stars. With the exception of Patrick Peterson (formerly Patrick Johnson), our out-of-state recruiting was considered lackluster, as it was believed we got a lot of guys who were other teams' leftovers. Examples include Derrick Bryant, Alex Hurst, and Kyle Prater, 3-stars out of Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas respectively. It was considered a down year and was ranked #11 by Rivals (fourth in the SEC).

The early results on both of these classes (keeping in mind that the 2007 class has had an extra year to develop and an extra year to have players wash out) is that these classes are more-or-less equal. From the 2007 class, we had 4 players get essentially a starters' share of playing time last year: Chad Jones, Terrance Toliver, Joseph Barksdale, and Jarrett Lee. Kicker/punter Josh Jasper was also a big contributor. A couple players slid right into backup positions and appear to be poised to be starters this year: Drake Nevis, Josh Dworaczyk and Will Blackwell. A few more have contributed as backups and on special teams and look to stay in those positions for now while they wait for more experienced players to clear out: Stevan Ridley, Phelon Jones, Ron Brooks, Mitch Joseph, etc., etc.

But look at the 2008 class. The QB from the 2008 class appears to have beaten out the QB from the 2007 class for the starter job, despite one fewer year in the system. Patrick Peterson beat out all the 2007 corners signed and became a starter. Ryan Baker was a monster on special teams and looks like he might win a starter's position this year. Brandon Taylor will compete as well, now and in the future. Offensive lineman Alex Hurst is drawing raves and many close to the program believe he'll be one of the next outstanding LSU offensive linemen, and he was one of the "leftovers".

My conclusion is that, at this time, it appears the 2008 LSU recruiting class was just as good as the 2007 class. It's hard to say how much of that was the 2007 class being overrated (just look at the guys who left the program without ever contributing: Jordon Corbin (sadly, due to injuries), Delvin Breaux (likewise), Jarvis Jones (kicked off; not to mention the ones who just don't look like they're going to be good players (no names mentioned at this time), and how much of it was the 2008 class being underrated.* I think it's a little of both.

That's my conclusion. My point is that the 2009 class was highly regarded, both in- and out-of-state, and so we're due for a down cycle in perception. The 2010 Louisiana recruiting class is not considered to be as great as the 2009 class or the 2007 class. It's considered more like the 2008 class. I wouldn't buy it though. Try not to get too high about the highs or too low about the lows. There will be lots of solid players in this class from the State of Louisiana. We will also sign some very good players from out of state, maybe even some real blue chippers.

Just calibrate your conclusions according to the inevitable result that it will be perceived to be middling. I think it's just part of the psyche of LSU fans and of recruiting observers in general. We're coming off a serotonin high of a great recruiting class. It's time for a bit of a come down. It's time, I guess, for the heroin half of our recruiting speedball to kick in (sorry, criminal defense lawyer-mode came out for a second).

I am wrong a LOT. I will be the first to admit that, but sometimes I get it exactly right, and I think this is one of those times.

Right now, LSU has 18 officially recognized commitments for the 2010 class. Ten are listed as 3-stars on Scout. Eight are listed as 3-star (or are unrated) on Rivals. Overall, this is shaping up to be a class more like the 2008 class than like the 2007 or 2009 classes. There are a lot of prospects in this class that are getting little attention nationwide. There are a few sleepers in the class like Sam Gibson (one of my favorite prospects, by the way), Houston Bates, Cameron Fordham, and Elliott Porter.

There are not a high number of in-state prospects that are getting a lot of love from the recruiting media. Rivals only lists 8 Louisiana prospects with 4 stars, and none with 5 stars. I expect two of those (Terrance Broadway and Munchie Legaux) to drop down to 3-stars soon, but they may be replaced by one or more new 4-star prospects. This compares to 14 four- and five-star prospects from the 2009 class, 11 in the 2008 class, and 17 in the 2007 class. This is clearly a year more like 2008 as far as the in-state prospects are perceived.

But as pointed out, the 2008 class appears to be a very good class, with Jordan Jefferson and Patrick Peterson being the headliners of that class so far. Peterson was all-world, but Jefferson was a sleeper who did not earn an offer until after his senior year was finished. The 2008 class was full of players who were probably a little underappreciated, like Karnell Hatcher, Greg Shaw, and Alex Hurst. I am thinking that this 2010 class will probably end up the same way.

Tomorrow and Thursday, we will discuss just a little bit about the little guys (receivers, defensive backs, etc.), and then on Friday we will start to profile some of the linemen that have decided to call LSU home in a year. We'll play it by ear after that, but at some point next week we'll get into the "Where Do We Go From Here" discussion of recruiting.

Stack-Ups: Did Anybody Ever Tell You That You Look Like a Shorter, Clumsier Julio Jones?

Ivory Tower — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:00:49 -0000

Winning the SEC West requires a mixture of coaching, discipline, and luck. And to some extent, you just need to be better than everyone else in the Division. Or the really good team needs to be on probation at the moment. It's June, and that means here at RCR, we are just throwing words at the internet and seeing what sticks. Stack-Ups are what's sticking today.

Last week, we compared the SEC West's quarterbacks. And Gonzo was there in full force; so that was the bomb.

Today, we're all about that position that kinda sounds like "quarterback" when Larry Munson says it: cornerbacks (and safeties). DEFENSIVE BACKS!

ALABAMA

It is amazing - and indicative that the Tide is still quite talented - that when talking about Alabama, the punditry is not automatically talking about Javier Arenas. He is far more important to the Tide as a return man than as a cornerback, but for a guy that had 44 solo tackles (14 more than the more-heralded defender D.J. Moore at Vanderbilt) he ain't half bad at the day job. Justin Woodall brings back four interceptions. And Kareem Jackson is listed as a returning starter, as well at the other cornerback slot. Of course, these are the same guys that gave up 336 yards through the air to Utah, so only so much can be said for bringing back last year's guys. As a unit, these fellows return 9 interceptions, which is certainly a satisfactory number, if not electrifying. It's a group that has frustrating written all over it for Tide fans because, with all the experience returned, they are still going to give up big performances by the more challenging aerial attacks.

ARKANSAS

If everybody scored secondaries the way I score golf rounds, the 2008 Hog defensive backs would have a real argument that they were among the best in the SEC; nay the whole country. Instead, they finished tenth in the SEC and got lit the heck up by people like Mike Hartline, Tyson Lee, and whoever plays quarterback for UL-Monroe and Tulsa. (Full disclosure, the Rebels, don't forget, finished last in the SEC in pass defense, but we'll get to that in due time) This unit is full of guys whose middle name must be "If he can step up this season ..." and hopes of JUCO transfer production. Those JUCO's are named Anthony Leon and Rudell Crim (am I the only one who wishes Anthony Leon would transpose his name so that the Arkansas' secondary could be anchored by the very Arkansas-sounding tandem of "Leon and Rudell?"). It's not a top-flight squad, and adding insult to injury is that the guy about whom they ought to be most excited, Elton Ford, has been out since a neck injury in last year's game against Hootin' Dale.

AUBURN

Defensive backs, in keeping with a pretty respectable tradition on the plains, look to be the highlight of, perhaps, the whole team. The team leading tacklers last season, Mike McNeil and Zac Ethridge, are both still in school with eligibility (so, "returning" in one sense), but both missed time this spring with injuries (so, "returning" has something of a flexible timetable). Oh, and Jarraud Powers' replacement, senior Aairon Savage, is recovering from a knee injury. This is all to say that if the staff at Plains General Hospital can do for Auburn's safeties and cornerbacks what they haven't been able to do for Gregory House, the returning talent for what was a good Auburn defense ought to see an upgrade from "stable" to "wicked awesome."

LSU

Honorary Rebel Chris Low swears these guys will be better this year. And one thing, they don't lack is depth. Another thing they don't lack is coaching. Everybody seems to be a John Chavis fan; count me among the everybodies. Chavis moved their leading tackler from last year, Harry Coleman, from safety to linebacker. They're happy with Chad Jones at free safety and Patrick Peterson at cornerback. And, supposedly, Cornerback-to-Safety convert Ron Brooks is the class of this deep field. What's the storyline you keep hearing, though? Oh, yes, it's that, for all the hype, no one in this group was really a game-changer last year. Blue-faced professions of talent only go so far. The production on the field is yet to be seen.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Ole Miss fans wish many happy returns to Derek Pegues, who parlayed a disappointing senior season into a disappointing draft day. But now he's gone, and nobody on this staff will be for State what Pegues as for the Maroon in 2007. Between their projected starters (Zach Smith and Charles Mitchell at Safety; Marcus Washington and Damien Anderson at Corner), there are just about 7 or 8 starts. I should also note that Jerrell Powe has infinitely more interceptions (1) than their projected starting secondary. I'm sure that, in reality, State's secondary will be serviceable (as it usually is) and, statistically, it might actually look semi-impressive (at some point teams will stop throwing the ball against them).

OLE MISS

In Oxford, for the first time in what seems like a long time, people aren't just talking about violations when they say "secondary." The defensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl, Marshay Green, looked good in spring practice. The Rebels have, I might say similarly to Alabama, solid experience at the position (if that experience was not all good). This unit was dead last in the conference in pass defense in 2008, and their solid performance in the Cotton Bowl may just have been the Dr. Jekyll to a more more prevalent Mr. Hyde. However, we can look to Kendrick Lewis, the second-leading tackler among Safeties in the SEC last year, to provide leadership along with Marshay. I expect moderate improvement.

WRAP-UP:

Every SEC West team ought to be a little tentative about calling its defensive backs "The Best in the West." Where some teams lack talent, they have experience. Where others lack experience, they have talent. And some teams might not have a whole lot of either. The punditry, though, seem pretty well agreed that LSU has too much depth, speed, and the leadership of old men not to turn things around and be a special unit. Who am I to disagree?

1. LSU

2. Auburn

3. Alabama

4. Ole Miss

5. Mississippi State

6. Arkansas

LSU Preview

John Berkowitz — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:14:39 -0000

As the 2009 season approaches, Washington once again will have one of the toughest schedules in college football, starting the season with a bang as LSU visits to open the season on Sept 5. The Tigers are coming off a disappointing 8-5 season, but there is plenty of talent on the squad to make another serious run for a SEC West title. LSU may not be of the same caliber as a USC, but they are a solid top 15 pick heading into the season.

Sophomore Jordan Jefferson looks to have earned the starting QB spot this past spring. Jefferson is 6'4" and very mobile. He played in seven games last season, starting twice. The obvious highlight of his 2008 campaign was leading the Tigers to a 38-3 upset win over Georgia Tech in the season's finale. Jordan finished the 2009 season by connecting on 36 of 73 passes for 419 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception, He also rushed for 134 yards and one TD on 49 carries. The Tiger defense will be ready for Jake Locker, as they will practice against a similar player every day.

The running back position is loaded with talent, experience, and depth. The Tigers return three seniors who each can break a game open. LSU is led by Charles Scott, who rushed for over 1000 yards in 2008. Keiland Williams and Trindon Holliday provide plenty of experienced, quality depth, keeping defenses on their toes.

The wide receivers are led by Brandon LaFell, who tallied a team-leading 63 receptions last season. LaFell is an NFL-type talent who could have gone early in the 2009 pro football draft. Chris Mitchell, R.J. Jackson, Tim Molton, Chris Tolliver and five star recruit Ruben Randle will all push for playing time when the Tigers line up in three-and-four-wide sets. Randle will come in this fall with the ability to immediately start for the Tigers. Senior TE Richard Dickson returns and is a good bet to earn some post-season honors.

The Tigers' offensive line has the look of a rebuilding unit, as they lost three starters to graduation and the NFL. Bob Hebert, who was limited in 2009 spring drills due to a knee injury suffered during the 2008 season, will be the new starter at center. Josh Dworaczyk steps into the left guard spot, with Lyle Hitt returning for his senior year at right guard, plus Ciron Black and Joseph Barksdale teaming up to be one of the better tackle tandems in the SEC.

The key to the enduring success of the LSU football program under the regimes of both Les Miles and Nick Saban has been its defense. With all the growing that must take place on the offensive side of the ball in 2009, the defense will be counted on to pick up a lot of the early slack. LSU feels they have addressed this need by retooling its defensive staff in the form of three new assistant coaches.

The defensive line is rebuilding after losing their top five players to graduation in 2008. The Tigers return senior DE Rahim Alem , who led the SEC in sacks a year ago, and also got a boost from the NCAA when they granted DT Charles Alexander a sixth year of eligibility. Junior Pep Levingston and has taken hold of the defensive end spot this spring opposite Alem and it looks like he could be a player. He will most likely line up next to DT Drake Nevis. LSU is going to be challenged early up front this year because of the losses but they have a lot of talent in line that is just waiting for their first chances of getting into the rotation.

At linebacker the Tigers return Seniors Jacob Cutrera and Perry Riley, along with Jr. Kelvin Sheppard. All three have have all played a lot of football at LSU. Since LSU is bringing in a new DC expect some early growing pains as the talent adjust to the new schemes which were implemented last spring.

The Tigers are loaded at defensive back. CB Patrick Peterson and safety Chad Jones have All-American type talent. The other starting corner will likely be senior Chris Hawkins, who led the team with three interceptions and nine pass breakups a year ago. Pushing Hawkins and Peterson is junior Jai Eugene and sophomore Brandon Taylor, and they will more than likely battle for the nickel spot. Ron Brooks and Karnell Hatcher are battling it out for the starting spot at the other safety position.

Consensus

LSU is rebuiliding but not in the same sense that Washington is. The difference is that LSU has a solid pipeline of young talent that has been tutored to expect success.

The inexperience at QB is going to hurt them early in the season. On defense rebuilding the front four with a new DC is also going to cause some early growing pains.

Expect the Tigers to finish in the top 25 but they are realistically a year away from contending for a national championship unless their QB grows up in a hurry against the always tough SEC schedule.

How does UW match up?

Realistically Washington should be playing Nevada or Utah State to open the season and not a team like LSU. UW is however going to be catching the Tigers at home at probably the best time all season to play them. UW obviously comes in with an edge at QB and our young receivers should be able to match up well with LSU. The offensive line will have its hands full with the Tigers defensive front even though they are in rebuilding mode. UW's offensive line frankly doesn't cut it at this point and only recruiting, time, and talent will change that.

Defensively the Huskies get a break facing an inexperienced QB starting the season on the road. I expect improvement in every phase of the Husky defense this season which is easy to say because they were argualby the worst unit in the BCS last season.

Early Prediction

Washington should be able to hang with the Tigers early in this one. They should be fired up and playing over their heads in their nationally televised debut under new head coach Steve Sarkisian. Whenever you insert Jake Locker into the lineup it is a great equalizer to make up for a sup par offensive line. An enthusiastic full house to open the season should create quite a bit of excitement in Husky Stadium.

That being said overall talent and depth wins football games and sometime in the third quarter LSU should begin to pull away like so many teams such as Ohio State have done to UW in recent years. This one will be closer than expected but I am thinking pulls away and wins 31 - 21.

Questions Coming Out of Spring Practice

Richard Pittman — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:42:51 -0000

With Spring Practice Officially dead and buried, it is time to look at some of the questions we still have.

1. How will the revamped offensive line perform? Last year, the offensive line was one of the strengths of the team, as we ran well and generally protected the QB as much as it could be expected against SEC defenses. This year, we have to replace 2 of the veteran linemen in Brett Helms and Herman Johnson, both of whom will be in an NFL training camp. Coming out of Spring, it looks like their spots will be taken by sophomores Josh Dworaczyk and T-Bob Hebert. What we do not know and can hardly even speculate about at this point is whether those two are really good, or if they're just "better than the alternative". Offensive line play is always the most important determining factor about how an offense will perform, as poor line play will adversely affect both the running and the passing games, and good line play will open up holes for your running backs and make your QB very comfortable in the pocket. The play of Dworaczyk and Hebert will go a long way to determining how this team will perform offensively this year. We know Ciron Black is as solid as a left tackle gets, and Lyle Hitt is a 3-year starter, so we know what he brings. We will also need Joseph Barksdale to step up his play and go from being "promising" to being "studly". Word is he is on his way to doing just that, but we will have to see.

2. Will we get consistently good quarterback play? LSU fans rightly have high hopes for Jordan Jefferson and Russell Shepard, and we actually have something of a luxury in having Jarrett Lee as an experienced player beginning the season in a backup role. The problem remains however that we have a VERY young quarterback group. We don't have any quarterback who's been around long enough to be a junior, and Jarrett Lee's 9 starts makes him by far the most experienced on the roster. Jordan Jefferson has showed great promise, but we need to remember that he is just a true sophomore, and he has started only 2 games. We enter the 2009 season with the least experience at the QB spot of any team in the conference, though South Carolina has a somewhat comparable situation.

3. Will we have productive complementary players at the skill positions? Brandon Lafell is an outstanding player and a true #1 receiver. Will we have a quality #2, #3, and #4, or will we have to rely on TE Richard Dickson even more? After a couple years of looking really great in his uniform, it is Terrance Toliver's turn to become a reliable producer. Whenever a player transitions from sophomore to junior year, you have to stop talking about his potential and start talking about his production. At 6'5" and with outstanding speed and athleticism, Toliver's potential is through the roof, but it's time to do something with it. He ended last year on a high note, catching 16 passes in his final 5 games, after catching only 6 in the previous 8. If he continues that pace and breaks a few nice gains out of it. We will also need Chris Mitchell, RJ Jackson, Tim Molton, or one of the other receivers to step up play as well. Rueben Randle or even Russell Shepard could figure into this in the Fall.

At running back, we know Charles Scott is a good power running back with the intelligence and durability to be a #1 tailback. But you need more than that. Keiland Williams was inconsistent despite solid line play, though he got more productive as the season wore on. I will speculate that I think he was not in optimum condition at the beginning of the year and he lost a step of speed. He needs to be a speed back, so he needs to get that step back. Junior Richard Murphy had a disastrous sophomore season after having high expectations heading into the season. One of these two guys will have to step up play for LSU to reach its potential. We do not know if Stevan Ridley will be sufficiently recovered from his injury to be a factor in the 2009 season. If Keiland or Murphy or Ridley can't be productive behind Scott, we may see a lot of Michael Ford when he reports for his freshman season.

4. Who will be our backup defensive linemen?

Unlike an offensive line, a defensive line cannot live by its starters alone. It needs depth. It needs a rotation. We believe we have our top 4 offensive linemen in Pep Levingston, Drake Nevis, Al Woods, and Rahim Alem. We think they are going to be very good-to-outstanding players. Levingston would be a big surprise to me. I did not really expect that of him, and I am pleased to hear the good reports. The questions are who will be backing those guys up, and how will they perform when they're needed? Charles Alexander brings experience to the defensive tackle position, as he will be on his 6th year of eligibility and was a full-time starter last year. Other than Cheese, our backups will be very green. Redshirt freshmen Lavar Edwards, Chancey Aghayere, and Chase Clement appear to have the inside track. I loved Aghayere when he was a prospect, but he has had to battle back from high school injuries.

5. Whither the defensive backfield?

We think we're pretty sure that, barring injury, Chad Jones and Patrick Peterson are going to be the starters at corner and at free safety. Other than that, it's all a mystery. Chris Hawkins was the only player to start all 13 games last year in the secondary, but he was on the Purple team for the spring game, which would suggest that he has been passed up on the depth chart. Jai Eugene took his place. Last year's starting strong safety has been moved to linebacker. Ron Brooks has won accolades at the position, but no one has said he's won a job. Karnell Hatcher was a standout last year as a true freshman, and he will have something to say about who plays that spot. At corner, we have Hawkins, Eugene, and Brandon Taylor battling for the last starting spot opposite Patrick Peterson. At strong safety we have Ron Brooks and Karnell Hatcher. Plus we have Derrick Bryant who played a bit as a freshman and who certainly isn't giving up. Even if we can make some educated guesses about who will be starting, we have absolutely no idea who will come into the game in nickel or dime situations. There's been some noise we won't have a true nickel package, but we know we'll have a dime. And let's not forget that super-prospect Craig Loston will be here soon.