SB Nation - Kirston Pittman

Class of 2009: DE Bennie Logan

Richard Pittman — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:00:10 -0000

Defensive end Bennie Logan of Red River High School in Coushatta, Louisiana, was one of the last players offered a scholarship by LSU for the 2009 class. He had a productive junior year, recording over 90 tackles, and while he did not earn an offer from LSU, the coaches decided to keep an eye on him.

Over the course of the next year, Logan matured physically and athletically. Listed at 6'2 1/2" and 245# on Scout after his junior year, he is currently listed at 6'3" and 272# on LSUSports.net and as reported this morning, he may yet end up at tackle. He had a terrific senior campaign at Red River, recording 116 tackles including 30 for a loss from his defensive end spot.

He was invited to visit the LSU campus and speak with the coaches and when they took a look at him, they saw a kid that no longer looked "borderline". He looked like he was physically ready to suit up and play in Tiger Stadium.

I think Logan is a solid prospect, which probably makes me somewhat more optimistic than most about Logan's prospects of being a productive player. He is listed as a 3-star on both Scout and Rivals, and who can blame them? This is a kid who got little attention from BCS schools until after his senior year, but then his recruitment really picked up. It's hard to say, though, that a kid is a 4-star prospect when his own home state school didn't pay much attention to him until late, and the rest of the regional powers didn't show any interest at all. I think this is a product more of him being a very well-kept secret and a late bloomer rather, and is not because he is a suspect player. I think he could be the Class of 2009's Jordan Jefferson, who also earned a scholarship late in the recruiting game, only to be probably the most valuable player we signed in 2008, at least in early returns.

Logan was not leftovers, though. Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas Tech all wanted him before LSU offered. I know that the coaches are expecting him to be a major contributor in the future, and he may end up being a contributor immediately, though my hope is that he will have a chance to redshirt and learn technique to go along with his physique before he is expected to contribute.

I think Bennie Logan and Michael Brockers are very similar prospects. Both are large defensive ends in the Tyson Jackson mold. If LSU is fortunate (and if they have good coaching), one of these two will develop into a close approximation of Tyson Jackson while the other develops into a close approximation of Trumaine Johnson. If we're REALLY lucky, the other will develop into a close approximation of the 2007 version of Kirston Pittman. If we're appallingly, unfairly lucky, they will both morph into an approximation of Tyson Jackson while Slammin' Sam Montgomery develops into a pass rusher like Rahim Alem.

We'll get to Sam Montgomery later.

On film, Logan still looks a little raw. He looks like the best athlete on the field, but probably still needs some coaching. It's hard to argue with a man who makes over 100 tackles, with more than 1/4 of them behind the line of scrimmage. My hope is that he can get that coaching and come back for the 2010 campaign as a redshirt freshman ready to fight for playing time against the likes of Chancey Aghayere, Chase Clement, and others from the 2008 class.

5 Keys To A Successful Season, Part 1: Veterans Step Up

Richard Pittman — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:50:48 -0000

In particular, veterans on defense step up. In more particular, veteran former role players increase their production. In extra-particular, I am thinking of linebackers Jacob Cutrera and Perry Riley, and defensive end Pep Levingston.

These three players, two seniors and a 4th year junior, are all going to be counted on to make plays this year. Cutrera and Levingston have been the consummate role players in their careers. Both have waited their turn behind good players who were ahead of them: Cutrera's been behind Darry Beckwith and Levingston has been behind Tyson Jackson, Tremaine Johnson, and Kirston Pittman. The way is cleared for these two to stake a claim to a starting spot and both are reportedly having great offseasons.

In particular, people are saying Jacob Cutrera has really increased his level of play. He has always been a solid backup, but now people are saying he's one of the best players on the defense. It might surprise you to learn that Cutrera has actually started in 5 games; one in his freshman season, two in his sophomore season, and two in his junior season, and he has 91 tackles on his career, including a career high 11 tackle game in his freshman season. His junior year was actually less productive than his freshman season from a tackles standpoint, even though he filled in for an injured Darry Beckwith for part of the season and played significant reps in every game.

They are saying that he is a man among boys this year, and really ready to increase his production. In particular, Cutrera will have to improve against the pass, and will have to make more "big" stops, i.e. stops for losses or for short gains.

Lazarius "Pep" Levingston has always looked like a good player at his defensive end spot. When he gets into the game, he always gets penetration into the backfield and makes plays. He has only made 17 tackles on his career, but 5.5 have been for a loss, which I think is a very good ratio for a defensive end. He has simply been behind a very deep and very veteran defensive line corps led by the likes of Tyson Jackson and Kirston Pittman. The opportunity just has not been there. Pep is probably the player who will most benefit from having 5 of our top 8 defensive linemen graduate or leave early.

The coaches expect Pep to step right into Tyson Jackson's spot and be a playmaker on defense.

Riley has been a starter, and I for one expressed surprise at how much offseason hype he is getting. Perhaps I shouldn't though. However, CFN was not the only accolade he received, as he was also 3rd Team Pre-Season All-SEC as chosen by the coaches. He was a Butkus Award Finalist last year, an honor that came as a big surprise to me.

Riley has a surprising 88 career tackles including a surprising 60 last year. He was the defensive MVP of the Peach Bowl (still refusing to call it by its official name) with 11 tackles and an interception, his second interception of the season. Was that performance in the Peach Bowl the start of something great? Is this a guy who should have redshirted in his freshman year? I would love to think that Riley is due for a breakout year under the tutelage of master linebacker coach John Chavis. In particular, you have to love what he was able to do in pass defense at the end of last year, picking off a pass in each of his last two games.

Like with Cutrera, we will want to see more big plays from Riley. More plays being made at the line of scrimmage or behind it. We would like for him to continue being productive in pass defense.

The LSU defense certainly looks to be improved over the nightmare that was last season. If these three guys show themselves to be impact players rather than just role players, they could take a defense from good to great and help put us on the road to a special season.

Tomorrow: Special Teams.

Class of 2009: JUCO DT Akiem Hicks

Richard Pittman — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:00:10 -0000

via media.scout.com

That is one of my favorite pictures ever. It almost rivals that picture of Trindon Holliday and Herman Johnson. By the rules I set up in doing this series, I have no choice but to label Akiem Hicks a mystery man. There's no film of him. There are hardly even any pictures of him in action. If you search for photos of Akiem Hicks on Google, you come up mostly with pictures of other prospects, like Kenny Bell, Chris Davenport, and Craig Loston. Even the official LSU bio of Akiem Hicks is sparse in its information. Do not fret. Our mystery man from the 2008 class is getting raves as one of the next great offensive linemen at LSU.

This is not to merely surrender. There are still things we can tell you about Akiem Hicks. He is a product of California high schools and went to Sacramento Community College to play his first two years of college football because he could not get eligible to play FBS football. He was fairly heavily recruited at Sacramento CC, earning offers from multiple BCS and non-*BCS institutions ranging from LSU and Tennessee to Oregon and South Florida. I wouldn't go so far as to say, "Everyone wanted him," because frankly not everyone has a need for a JUCO defensive lineman. LSU did, and that's going to be where we put our focus.

One of the difficulties facing LSU this offseason has been the loss of 5 of our top 8 defensive linemen. Tyson Jackson, Marlon Favorite, Kirston Pittman, Ricky Jean-Francois, and Tremain Johnson are all gone off of last year's squad. Those are 3 starters and 2 primary backups. Even though we all think Drake Nevis is going to be a star, and that Rahim Alem is a star already, we have to be concerned about defensive line depth. Our top 3 defensive tackles are Charles Alexander, Al Woods, and Drake Nevis. Both Alexander and Nevis have had injury problems of varying degrees. After those three, we are going to have to ask freshmen to step in to play. At defensive end, only the starters Rahim Alem and Pep Levingston have any experience at all playing on a college field. While we all believe that Lavar Edwards, Cordian Hagans, Chancey Aghayere, and Chase Clement can play (plus all the really good-looking defensive linemen from the 2009 class), I can't blame Miles for wanting to bring in a more mature and experienced alternative while the freshmen get acclimated.

Plus, after the 2009 season, the only contributors to the 2008 season remaining will be Nevis and Levingston, who were probably the 9th and 10th defensive linemen on the 2008 squad. Adding Hicks to the equation is a nice insurance policy. I'm not saying he's going to be a star player, but who knows, he might be. As I said, it's not like we really know much about him. It's just that after the first few defensive linemen in the rotation, our DL gets awfully young awfully quickly. It's a smart move to bring in an experienced player who will be here for two years while we sort out the next generation of defensive linemen at LSU.

Hicks reportedly can play any position on the defensive line, though his 6'5" 295# frame would suggest he's more natural on the inside. He would be an awfully big 4-3 defensive end, but I suppose he'll play where he's needed.

Curtis Taylor and Ricky Jean-Francois to San Francisco; Demetrius Byrd to San Diego

Richard Pittman — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:56:54 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

8 months ago: FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2008, file photo, LSU wide receiver Demetrius Byrd (2) breaks away from Mississippi State defender Tay Bowser (28) on his way to a touchdown during an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La. Byrd was in critical but stable condition Monday, April 19, 2009, after a car accident in Miami, and his agent said the NFL prospect was expected to fully recover. (AP Photo/Bill Haber, File)

Browse more photos »

Three Tigers were picked in the final round of the draft today as safety Curtis Taylor was picked by San Francisco, in what I would say was a bit of a surprise, especially considering Darry Beckwith, Demetrius Byrd, Marlon Favorite, Kirston Pittman, Brett Helms, and Ricky Jean-Francois had all not yet been picked. Favorite, Beckwith, Helms, and Pittman would not hear their names called at all. I find that to be a mild surprise in all cases, but especially with Beckwith who some thought would go as high as the second round.

Ricky Jean-Francois was the last Tiger selected, and he will join Curtis Taylor in San Francisco. Jean-Francois was an enigma at LSU, spending more time away from the field than on it for one reason or another, and not having the big season that was expected of him in 2008. He's exactly the kind of player who sometimes makes a better pro than amateur however, as he sometimes shows outstanding athleticism.

Between Taylor and Jean-Francois, San Diego picked wide receiver Demetrius Byrd, who probably would have gone a little earlier had he not gotten into a somewhat serious car accident earlier this week. Byrd will join former Tiger Craig Davis, but Byrd never played with Davis as Byrd was a JUCO transfer who came in after Davis left.

It is a big disappointment that Beckwith was not drafted. He came back for his senior season, but then lost time due to injuries and was not as productive as a senior as he had been as a junior. From his freshman season, he appeared destined to be a solid draft pick and I imagine he must be devastated at being overlooked.

In all, six Tigers were drafted, and that's a pretty nice number, but half of them were drafted in the closing round, and only one was drafted before the 5th round. With Favorite and Pittman not being drafted, it ends a long streak in which every regular starting defensive lineman at LSU was drafted into the NFL. I do not have the numbers, but the streak goes back a number of years, into the Lavalais, Spears, Hill era and perhaps beyond.

One is forced to conclude that the 2008 version of the LSU Tigers just were not all that talented, at least among the seniors. Between players being drafted lower than expected and players not being drafted at all, this was a rather disappointing draft for LSU, despite Tyson Jackson's surprise top 3 pick. The deficit spans the transition time between the Saban and Miles eras, as H. Johnson, Favorite and Pittman were Saban signees and Beckwith and Francois were Miles signees.

Clearly something was off this year, as I firmly believe that Beckwith, Favorite, and PIttman all would have been drafted had they declared in 2007.

New 2009 Commitment: Bennie Logan DE

Richard Pittman — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:30:06 -0000

With signing day just over one week away, we are going to start focusing just a bit more on recruiting here at ATVS. This past weekend was a big weekend for the finishing up the 2009 recruiting class, which will sign next Wednesday. The Tigers hosted top targets Rueben Randle, Trent Richardson, Sam Montgomery, and Kendal Kelly, as well as a bunch of already-committed recruits and one player who was hoping to get a full offer.

Bennie Logan of Red River High School in Coushatta, Louisiana had gotten a "greyshirt" offer. To recap, the term "greyshirt" means that the player will not enroll at LSU in the fall, but will wait until the following December to enroll in school and will count towards not this current signing class but rather to the next one. Les Miles had promised Logan that he could enroll in the 2010 class if he wanted, but Logan had offers from schools like Texas Tech and Nebraska to enroll in the Fall, and while he wanted to go to LSU, he was unlikely to wait a year when he had other solid programs who wanted him now.

LSU, for its part, appeared to be hoping that Defensive End Sam Montgomery from South Carolina would fill out this class's needs at defensive end. Montgomery is a very solid pass-rushing specialist, the kind of player the team lacks among young players, especially if Chancey Aghayere continues to struggle with injury. Bennie Logan is more of a combo defensive end, smaller than the run-stopping Tyson Jackson but not lightning quick like Rahim Alem. If you want to compare his STYLE of play, he probably compares favorably to Kirston Pittman.

Logan is listed at 6'3" 235# on Rivals, but is listed at 6'2.5" and 245# on Scout. Word on him is that he is a bit of a late bloomer. One of the troubling aspects of the modern recruiting arms-race is that it forces teams to act earlier and earlier in the recruiting cycle in order to get on the right players. These days, a lot of teams have most of their class committed at least 6 months before signing day, before these guys have even begun their senior years of high school.

What is in some ways a guessing game, then, becomes a guessing game where you're making your guess when the players are at an even lower stage of physical development and emotional maturity than they were even a few short years ago. Imagine if you had to be evaluated for aptitude in your current profession when you were a junior in high school? This state of affairs means that late bloomers are often find that their schools of choice are full-up by the time they emerge as serious players.

In Logan's case, in viewing his junior highlight film, you see a nice player. He's big, he's stronger than anyone else out there, as is typical of major college recruits. You just don't see any wow factor there. You don't see much of anything that makes him stand out from all the dozens of other very good high school players who don't draw much attention from the LSU's of the world. LSU stayed in touch, but did little else as Logan began his senior year.

Then, Bennie Logan played his senior year. He got better. He got stronger. His senior film was significantly better than his junior year film, but was this just a product of him being not only the strongest and fastest player on the field, but also the most experienced? It's hard to say. He went to LSU on an unofficial visit (where the prospect pays his own way) late in 2008, and according to published reports, "he looked the part." That is to say his body developed and he starting looking a lot like a college defensive end, bigger, stronger, more defined. One can guess he's probably bigger than his listed 235# or 245# now.

LSU got more interested. We had one defensive end committed to the 2009 class, Texas's Michael Brockers, and we were still looking at Sam Montgomery to take the other spot, as he is an outstanding prospect and a rare and valuable pass-rushing specialist. Logan got more love, but he still wasn't at the top of our board.

Well, the LSU coaches must have decided either that Montgomery was unlikely to leave the Carolinas (as has been widely expected to be the case) or they decided they can afford to take 3 defensive ends in this class, as they finally made a full 2009 offer to Logan during his official visit. According to Dandy Don, he accepted it and will be a part of this 2009 class.

I think it's safe to say that Logan's going to need some more time in the strength and conditioning program, and I would not expect him to be an instant impact player with players like Sidell Corley, Rahim Alem, Pep Levingston, Chase Clement, and others on the roster. If he works hard though, and keeps developing, he could be a gem.

Recruiting Update: Part 2, Who Do We Think We're Getting?

Richard Pittman — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:30:06 -0000

We'll get back to our unseemly obsession with the Gene Chizik story in the afternoon. This morning, as LSU has returned to the practice field, we go back to our series on recruiting.

Last recruiting update, we talked about the last three players to commit to the 2009 LSU football recruiting class. Today we take a look at those who are not yet committed but who everyone pretty much agrees are going to end up as Tigers. This is a pretty solid group here and will help form the nucleus of this recruiting class. Let's get started.

This is consensus 5-star strong safety Craig Loston from Aldine, Texas. Both Scout and Rivals list him as the #1 safety prospect in the country. He is first cousins with fellow LSU recruit Russell Shepard, who is the #1 rated quarterback in the country according to Rivals.

This kid promises to be a cornerstone player for LSU for several years, and will compete for playing time immediately. He appears to have no weaknesses as a safety. He's an aggressive, hard-hitting player, but he also seems to be a fundamentally sound tackler. He has good ball skills as evidenced by his interceptions and his play on the offensive side of the ball. And finally, he has the speed to close on receivers. He may even have a future as a returner, but I won't go as far as to predict that.

And to top it all off, much like his cousin Russell Shepard, Loston appears to be a high-character kid. If you're looking for a weakness, you can point out that LSU is actually the third school he has committed to (but some don't consider him a commitment yet). Early in his high school career, he committed to Texas A&M. Earlier this year, he committed to Clemson. Ever since then, however, he appears to have been all about LSU, and appears to have a great relationship with Les Miles. All things considered, I think his multiple de-commitments doesn't really say much about him. Sometimes these things do indeed speak volumes, but that's usually when it's accompanied by other signs of trouble, such as when Luther Davis had multiple commitments and other issues going on with his recruiting.

No, this is a great kid, and one who may very well see immediate playing time, and not just on special teams.

This is Barkevious Mingo from traditional LSU feeder school West Monroe High School. Mingo is an interesting kid. He does not have a whole lot of experience playing football, and most think that means he will have to understudy for a year or more before he is really ready to contribute. His junior year of high school was his first time playing organized football.

Think about that for a second. This kid never played organized football until he was a junior in high school, and yet he opened this recruiting season as a consensus 4-star player on both Rivals and Scout. A kid's junior year is the most important year for his recruitment. It's the year that coaches most look to in deciding who to offer and who to target. Many teams have their recruiting classes halfway finished before the senior year even starts, and few players earn scholarship offers from major programs based on senior year production (Morris Claiborne and Lamin Barrow are two exceptions). This kid started his junior year having never been coached, and still managed to attract the attention of schools around the country.

He is listed as a linebacker, but may grow into a rushing defensive end a la Kirston Pittman or, even more hopefully, Jevon Kearse. Jevon Kearse is the player that most often is the subject of comparisons with Mingo. Like Kearse, Mingo is very tall (6'5"), is lightning quick, and has long arms. He has a very high level of athleticism, and a big frame for putting on more weight. He is listed at 210#, but may be bigger than that by now.

As a prospect, Mingo may be a boom-or-bust type. He could end up being an All-American. Or he could disappear on the depth chart. You just don't know, because he is so raw. He appears to have a high ceiling, but high-ceiling players are always risky because they may never approach that ceiling. The good news for Mingo is that LSU's linebacker situation is not exactly intimidating for a new recruit. We appear to be missing out on all the national-level linebacker recruits we've targeted (with one or two exceptions maybe), and of last year's linebacker class only Ryan Baker appears to be a can't-miss prospect. That leaves a lot of room for a strong-side linebacker like Mingo to manuever.

Wide receiver Andre Debose is part of the Seminole Trio, which also includes defensive end Dyron Dye and safety Ray Ray Armstrong. LSU has been recruiting all three of those players, but only Debose appears to be likely to sign with LSU. He is out of Seminole (hence the titular "Trio") High School in Sanford, Florida, and he is an electrifying athlete. He is a little small for a wide receiver at 6'0" and 170#, but he can fly. He is also quick enough to warrant a good long look at punt returning.

Debose was recently upgraded to 5-star status on Rivals, and had been a 5-star on Scout for a while. He merits such high marks because he is incredibly elusive with the ball in his hands. His videos show him juking defenders out of their shoes, and then running away from them when he gets into the open field.

Just in watching his videos, he seems to be a little raw as a receiver, but that may be deceiving because his videos come from his junior year. He reminds me a lot of Skyler Green, who was also fast and elusive and appeared to be developing into a great player before his career got sidetracked by an injury that slowed him down. He reminds others of Percy Harvin, and I think it's certainly possible he could have a Harvin-esque career here at LSU. We may be getting ahead of ourselves by making that comparison, but keep in mind that Harvin and Skyler Green were pretty similar players in terms of style. Both were undersized receivers who were quick and fast, and ran a lot of reverses and things like that. Unlike Green, Harvin lined up in the backfield a fair bit, but Green probably could have done that as well, as he was initially recruited as a running back, but simply none of his coaches (Jimbo Fischer was his OC for his entire career at LSU) ever tried it with him. Harvin and Green were similar in style, but Harvin is just better at it.

I think you can fairly say that Debose's upside is to be another Harvin. His downside is probably Skyler Green territory. Still, that's not a bad downside at all. Whatever happens with Debose, he will enter a very crowded depth chart at LSU. He would primarily be competing for playing time with other smallish receivers like Chris Tolliver and Jhyryn Taylor from the 2008 recruiting class, and Kenny Bell from the 2009 recruiting class. Not to mention there's the possibility that Drayton Calhoun and Morris Claiborne could be trying to get time at slot receiver.

And those are just the smallish inside-type receivers. The outside receivers could see young guys like Tim Molton, Deangelo Peterson, DeAngelo Benton, and possibly Reuben Randle and/or Kendall Kelly. And those are just the YOUNG receivers. Don't forget about Brandon Lafell and Terrance Toliver.

This is all to say that any receiver that breaks out of that pack and gets playing time will be a pretty special player. Debose could be that guy.