SB Nation - Kentravis Aubrey

Les Miles Diagnoses, Attempts to Fix, the Problems

Richard Pittman — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:34:31 -0000

We aren't really sure what Joseph Barksdale (78) and Lyle Hitt (65) are supposed to be celebrating. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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If there are three problems on this LSU team right now, I think we could categorize them as, in order from most concerning to least: a) problems on the offensive line, b) problems at quarterback, and c) problems at defensive line.

I really think the problems at quarterback will work themselves out as Jefferson gets more experienced and comfortable. The question is whether that process will culminate this year or next. Furthermore, I think there is little that Les Miles and the rest of the coaches can do to help that situation along other than help Jordan Jefferson by putting him in positions to succeed. I.e., by not telegraphing a ton of screen passes all the time. We'll see how that goes.

The problems we really need to talk about, though, are the problems on the offensive line and on the defensive line. My personal opinion is that the defensive line has played reasonably well in the last two games, which is why this is not one of the two biggest problems. We have had numerous injuries, however, and that's why it's on the list.

The story of LSU's depth problems on the defensive line, and at defensive tackle in particular, starts with recruiting and subsequent position changes or attrition. LSU has recruiting literally tons of defensive linemen in the last 5 years, starting with Lyle Hitt in 2002 and continuing to the 2009 class when we signed a very large number of defensive linemen. Here is a list of those defensive linemen who are no playing defensive line for LSU: Lyle Hitt (position change), Ricky Jean-Francois (declared for NFL), Joseph Barksdale (position change), Kentravis Aubrey (injuries), Sidell Corley (transfer), Will Blackwell (position change), Cordian Hagans (position change).

What all the moves from defensive line over to offensive line have done to our offensive line is a story for another day.

The second part of the story of why we are having depth problems at defensive line is the story of redshirting. Redshirting is, of course, the practice of not putting a player in the game for an entire season and keeping his year of eligibility. On the whole, the practice is down in college football as more and more coaches rely heavily on freshmen. Les Miles has been somewhat old school on this topic, redshirting as many new players as possible.

So far this year, the following true freshmen have played: Defensive tackle Josh Downs, cornerback Morris Claiborne, wide receiver Reuben Randle, and quarterback Russell Shepard. If there have been more, I did not see them. Some very heralded recruits appear to be headed to a redshirt, including 5-star recruits Chris Davenport and Michael Ford as well as other players who were expected to contribute immediately, like fullback Dominique Allen, defensive linemen Michael Brockers and Sam Montgomery, linebacker Barkevious Mingo, offensive tackle Chris Faulk, and safety Craig Loston (whose rumored injury may be the culprit here).

The football program can only have 85 scholarship players at a time. If we are committed to steadfastly refusing to play 20 or more of them, you can see where this can wreak havoc on your depth. Having about 1/4 of your scholarship players voluntarily unavailable leaves you vulnerable.

In particular, it leaves you vulnerable to injuries, and this is what is delivering the killing blow to our defensive line depth. Starting defensive end Lazarius Levingston ("Pep", to you) continues to be out with a leg injury. JUCO transfer Akiem Hicks has yet to play this season due to a variety of ailments, and the rumor is this problem may persist. And then last Saturday towards the end of a blowout win, true freshman Josh Downs left the game with a leg injury, the severity of which is a closely guarded secret

Les Miles was trying to get through the season using only 4 scholarship defensive tackles: veterans Charles Alexander, Al Woods, and Drake Nevis, plus true freshman Downs. If Hicks can come back, he would have been the 5th. I'm not sure this was ever a smart plan, especially considering Charles Alexander's extensive history of being unable to stay healthy. Alexander's been excellent so far this year, and has stayed healthy as far as we know, but you just can't count on that to last. Asking those 4 to take all the snaps seems like it's inviting injuries, as those players wear down.

Anyway, Les Miles has decided to move true freshman defensive end Michael Brockers, who at 6'6" 285# certainly has the size to play inside, over to defensive tackle and is prepared to pull the redshirt off of him. This has been reported at the premium sites, but I don't feel bad about repeating it here because it was pasted right on the freely available front page of Tigerbait.com yesterday.

He is bound and determined, I guess, to keep the redshirt on Chris Davenport, who is a natural defensive tackle. I don't have a problem with moving Brockers inside. The man is a giant and got rave reviews all through pre-season, and was expected to contribute this year as a result. If the need is on the inside rather than on the outside, so be it.

The most serious concern remains the offensive line, which simply has not played well. The good news is that it appears everyone is aware of that. Numerous stories have come out recently where players are acknowledging that the offense is sputtering. Here is Les Miles' take:

"Offensively, here I am: I’ve come off the game and I’m mad," Miles said. "I didn’t think we rushed the football well enough. I always like to rush the football. We rushed for 175 yards. I’m sitting there going, ‘Wow, when did we do that? Was I there? ’"

There’s something unsettled, uncertain, about the team that isn’t reflected on the stat sheet or the scoreboard. The problem is one of maximizing production. A problem of execution, not scheme or imagination. It’s as if a chef has every ingredient on hand but hasn’t yet struck the proper mix, Miles said.

"I think we’re looking for the best recipe, but I don’t know that we’ve found it just yet," he said. "I don’t think change is necessary, I think it’s more efficient and better."

I think we've all come to accept that Les Miles is not the smoothest guy in the room, and these quotes won't change that perception, but at least he agrees with us that there is a problem and is willing to acknowledge it publicly. This is a sharp change from last year's issues with the defensive schemes, which Les Miles to this day has refused to criticize, even after letting both defensive coordinators responsible go.

There are also rumors that Miles attended the offensive line unit meeting early in the week and let the group have it. It's a start. At least he is not blind to the problem. Let's see if we can fix it now.

The Randle/Benton Story is Even More Disturbing Than the Janzen Jackson Story

Richard Pittman — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:00:08 -0000

Deangelo Benton: The loser of a high-stakes poker game that he never asked to be playing.

It is becoming obvious now that Les Miles was put in a very difficult position by people associated with Rueben Randle, people uncomfortable with Randle competing with Deangelo Benton. Reading between the lines, it is clear he was told, "You can't have both." Les Miles thought about it and decided that while Randle and Benton were roughly equal on the field, Benton was an academic risk and that because the 3 year time clock until he's eligible for the NFL started 2 years ago, he was a risk to go to the NFL at any time.

Les Miles made the decision to cut Benton loose. It was the safe call. Had he lost the best player in the state of Louisiana for the 2nd time in 3 years, Miles' job security would have become rather precarious. I think Miles did exactly what he needed to do for his own short term interest, as you can only imagine the fetid stink that would have been around the program had Randle gone to Alabama or Oklahoma, despite the otherwise outstanding class (and the class is still outstanding, even with having lost Janzen Jackson).

But let's look at this a little closer and see just what a Faustian bargain Miles made. There are a LOT of bad repercussions that could come of this, and let's look at just a few things to consider:

1. What does this say about who's in charge? A recruit, if he's highly coveted enough, is able to dictate to the coach that he should cut ties with a guy who has been around the program for two years. Recruits often secure promises that "I won't recruit any more quarterbacks/running backs/whatevers if you commit to me." It's no big deal. But this isn't that situation. This is a situation where a player had been involved with LSU for years. He had even moved to Baton Rouge at one point, expecting to get qualified. He was, for all intents and purposes, a member of the team, just not dressed out. A recruit, albeit a talented one, gave an ultimatum to cut that guy loose and we caved. Is the recruit running the team now? What other decisions can a recruit force a head coach to make? What if he doesn't like the position coach? Can he order up a new one?

2. What does this do to team chemistry? Deangelo Benton has friends on the LSU football team. Two other of his former high school teammates are LSU Tigers today: defensive linemen Kentravis Aubrey and Josh Downs. He got to know many of the players when he was being recruited and when he was living in Baton Rouge. How are those guys going to accept Rueben Randle, the guy who got him shipped off? Everyone knows what happened now. Will Randle ever be truly accepted by the group of upperclassmen who were close to Benton? What will they think of the coaches who made the decision to cut him loose? Some of the players from his original recruiting class are now team leaders: Joseph Barksdale, Chad Jones, Drake Nevis, etc. How will those guys respond to Randle?

3. What does this do with the relationship with Bastrop High School? This is perhaps a bit more complicated of a question, as LSU cut off one Bastrop player to appease another Bastrop player. Bastrop coach Brad Bradshaw had been working personally with Deangelo Benton to get him qualified, meeting with him in his office every day to go over his coursework and keep up with how he was doing. Bradshaw has been one of LSU's biggest supporters, and Bastrop has been a terrific feeder school for LSU as a result. At the last minute, LSU axed one of his prized recruits that he had been working so diligently on to get him qualified.

"I know what I say don't matter," Bradshaw said. "I'm nobody. But I don't like how this went down."

I don't like how it went down either. Maybe Bradshaw ultimately doesn't care that much, as Benton can still get qualified and go to Auburn and play high level football. Maybe his enmity is more with Randle than with LSU. I don't know. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time Bastrop has a big-time recruit.

4. What pressure does this put on Randle to perform? Benton is very likely to be heavily in the wide receiver rotation at Auburn from the very beginning. Their depth chart is not anywhere near what LSU's is at that position. These two players will forever be linked and compared. If Benton tears it up, which there's a pretty good chance he'll do, the pressure will be on Randle to match him, and Randle has a tougher depth chart to negotiate.

5. Is it the moral thing to do? I have a cat. I 've had this cat since before I met the woman I ended up marrying. My wife hates my cat. And the cat hates her. My wife would probably not be very sad if the cat keeled over and died. My wife has never given me an ultimatum of, "Either your cat goes or I go." I'm sure she would secretly like to do it, but she hasn't. I have my suspicions as to why she hasn't: I think she's realizes it's wrong to make someone make that choice. I think she knows that the person who makes that ultimatum is automatically the villain in the story, and she's not interested in being the villain. If you're ever put in that position, isn't the moral thing to do to stand by the person (or cat, in this case) that didn't put you in the position? Aren't you supposed to say, "My cat has been loyal to me lo these 7 years and has never insisted I get rid of Mrs. ATVS" and stand by the cat? Alright, maybe that's taking things a little too far, but you get the idea.

I'll be first say that I'll probably get over it, especially if Randle becomes a great player. And of course this would all be moot if Benton had gotten qualified when he was supposed to. He'd be a junior now and probably headed to great things, and Randle wouldn't have been concerned about him jamming up the depth chart forever.

This is going to stick in my craw for a while though. It's ugly business. I also think it's somewhat unprecedented. We have a great class, but I'm left with a very sour taste in my mouth over the Randle situation and the Janzen Jackson situation. I would say, "That's recruiting!" but these are not typical recruiting stories. These are situations brought on by individuals breaking new ground in recruiting power plays and tactics, respectively.

I don't blame Les Miles. He was put in a no-win situation. He had to either relent on the Benton issue or face the wrath of millions of angry LSU fans who would have wanted Randle at all costs. And what would Miles have looked like if he had chosen Benton and then found out that he had failed to qualify again? No, Les, I think you did the safe thing (an odd thing to say about the guy who has a reputation for taking crazy risks), but I think there could be some long term problems caused by it.

Recruiting Update: Part 3, The Wish List

Richard Pittman — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:30:06 -0000

In Part 1 of the Recruiting Update, we took a look at the last three recruits to commit to LSU (Morris Claiborne, Lamin Barrow, and Dominique Allen). In Part 2, we took a look at 3 other players who are not currently committed, but who are widely expected to end up in purple and gold. Today, we take a look at the remaining players on the board and who we would really like to have (among the ones we have a real shot at getting).

Keep in mind that LSU has 20 commitments already, and with the 3 listed on the previous post, we would have 23. That leaves only a scant bit of room for other players. Just to remind the readers, you can only add 25 new scholarship players in a calendar year, and can only have 85 on the team as of (I think) August 1 of any given year. I expect we'll sign more than 25, expecting an academic nonqualifier or two, and maybe asking a player to wait a year to join the team otherwise in order to make the numbers fit. Anyway, keeping in mind that we probably aren't going to go any higher than 26 or 27 signees this year, let's look at who is left on the board.

This gentleman is almost certainly the #1 player on LSU's board at the moment among the uncommitted players. His name is Reuben Randle, from Bastrop, Louisiana. He has been a 5-star recruit from the word go, and was recently upgraded to the #1 overall player for the 2009 class, per Rivals.com. He is a tall, rangy wide receiver with good speed, great hands, and outstanding body control.

Personally, I think that upgrading him to #1 overall is kind of fishy. I normally hate conspiracy theories, but I think it sells a few more subscriptions when you get to bloviate endlessly about "Who's Going to Sign the #1 Player in the Land?". Randle's one of the few top players who isn't verbally committed anywhere and for whom there is still a fair bit of drama.

Which is not to say Randle is not an outstanding player. He clearly is. He is one of those players who would thrive in any system. He is going to be an outstanding outside receiver at the next level. Considering he is the #1 wide receiver prospect in the country, there is great temptation to compare him to Julio Jones and AJ Green, the top 2 guys in last year's wide receiver class.

He is most similar to Julio Jones, in that he is a tall outside receiver with great hands and body control. His body is also physically mature like Jones's and it appears he can step right in and be a player wherever he goes. The only thing Jones has that Randle lacks is the strength on the ball after the catch. Once Julio Jones makes a catch, he has a certain Earl Campbell-like quality of being hard to tackle. Randle doesn't really have that, though he is fast like Jones. AJ Green is more of an explosive receiver, an athlete playing wideout, but also with terrific hands. Randle, I think, is a little more polished, if not quite as explosive. One might say then that Randle splits the difference between Julio Jones and AJ Green.

Which is not to say Randle isn't a great athlete. He played quarterback for the Bastrop Rams this year, and it is said that if he wanted to play quarterback in college, he would probably be a 3-star dual threat recruit. He is speedy and has a surprisingly good arm. It is reported that some schools (Michigan) are trying to use the prospect of playing some quarterback as a lure to get him there.

And this brings us to the ultimate question of where Reuben Randle is going to go. The message boards couldn't be more anxious on this question, and some say that he is going to forsake LSU and head off to Bama to be Julio Jones's wingman for the next two years. There are rumors of a rift in his family, some of whom do not think highly of the LSU coaching staff. Reuben himself stays very quiet about what's going on, which only feeds the rumor mill.

Personally, I am optimistic about Randle ultimately picking LSU over his primary out-of-state suitors (who are Bama, Oklahoma, and Miami, in descending order of likelihood of signing him). He has been to LSU many times for games and for unofficial visits, including one last week. He has several high school teammates going to LSU, including Kentravis Aubrey and fellow 2009 recruit Josh Downs, as well as hopefully Deangelo Benton if he ever makes his grades. His coach and his school are heavily supportive of LSU, and his family has been on good terms with Les Miles. It is by no means a done deal to LSU, but I think there is much reason to be hopeful that Randle will make the right choice, which is to say the right choice for ME.

It's no secret that LSU wants to sign two safeties in this class. It appears that they will sign Craig Loston, but who the second safety will be remains a mystery. It looks like the one they want is Darren Myles of Carver High School in Atlanta, Georgia. Myles is a high 4-star on both Rivals and Scout. He is a prototypical free safety who would be an excellent complement to Craig Loston.

Myles is a speedy player, listing a sub-4.5 40 time. He has great ball skills and cover skills for a safety. In term of athleticism, he is not far from Craig Loston, but Loston appears to be more polished at this point. Plus, where Loston is very aggressive on the field, you would like to see Myles get a little more aggressive. He looks a bit like a tweener, not quite a cornerback and not quite a safety, something sort of in between. He will just have to learn to play the position a bit more at the college level.

Myles is out of Atlanta, Georgia, but he is originally a Louisiana product. His family relocated from Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina and settled in Georgia. This is why LSU has his ear. I firmly believe that Myles would probably be all-LSU if his family was still in Louisiana, but he's spent the last 3 years seeing a bit of the larger world and it may suit him.

Bama appears to be the major competition for him, and at this point I would say that he is more likely than not going to sign with Bama, but LSU has reportedly made up some ground lately.

If there is one complaint that could be made about the efficacy of LSU's recruiting lately, it has been the inability to attract high-level linebacker recruits. I think it has mostly been a result of a combination of the lack of high-level in-state linebackers produced, and dumb luck of just losing out on the ones we target from out of state, which considering the success we've had in recruiting you can't really say is anything other than luck. That luck could change with Jarvis Jones out of Carver High School in Columbus, Georgia. (As an aside, those Georgians sure do like that George Washington Carver. Both Jones and Myles go to a Carver High School in two different cities.)

Jones is 6'3" and about 225# and plays very aggressively. His videos show Jarvis Jones zipping and weaving his way through traffic to get to a ball-carrier before unloading into him with a hard hit, while making sure to wrap up as well. He also displays very good athleticism by jumping high into the air to intercept or bat away thrown balls. He is a high 4-star on both Rivals and Scout. He is an outstanding linebacker prospect, and the coaching staff has been recruiting him heavily all year.

Recently, he appeared to be likely heading to Baton Rouge to play football at LSU, but it appears his recruitment may be a casualty of the 7-5 season. Word is that Urban Meyer did some of his famous negative recruiting and turned Jarvis Jones against us. Now LSU has some work to do. However, the changes coming to the defensive coaching staff may help make up that ground. Who knows?

If he does not pick LSU, he will likely choose between Florida (who is putting together a monstrous linebacker class with or without Jones), Texas, and in-state Georgia who is making a late push.

The 2008 version of the LSU Tigers lacked a good pass rush in the base 4-3 set, particularly when Rahim Alem was not in the game. This was one of the many problems the LSU defense had, and one of the things LSU wanted to work on in recruiting. However, outside of Texas defensive end Michael Brockers, LSU has had a tough time convincing out of state defensive ends to come onboard.

Greenwood, South Carolina defensive end Sam Montgomery is one guy who is still out there considering LSU and who looks like a solid pass-rushing specialist at the next level. He has the long arms and the athleticism you expect to see out of a right-side defensive end. He stands between 6'3" and 6'4" and is somewhere between 230# and 240# depending on who you believe. He is a high four-star on both recruiting services.

As it stands, LSU has a young pass-rushing defensive end on the roster in Chancey Aghayere, but it is not known if he will ever fully recover from his high school injury, or what kind of player he will be. Adding a guy like Sam Montgomery would be a real boost to our defensive line. It will be hard, though, as South Carolina is a tough place for LSU to recruit. He has recently said some very positive things about where LSU stands, but I'm going to continue thinking he stays somewhere in the Carolinas until he says otherwise.