SB Nation - Lavar Edwards

LSU 42 - Tulane 0: Snap Judgments

Richard Pittman — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:47:09 -0000

about 1 month ago: LSU running back Stevan Ridley (34) backs into the endzone over Tulane defensive back Jordan Garrett as linebacker Darryl Farley comes from the left in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. LSU defeated Tulane 42-0. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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I just isn't the same when the game is not on regular television. ESPN360 just doesn't give you the options that television gives you, and the picture is not as clear. That's not even getting into the whole problem of the connection to ESPN360 crashing and not being able to get a picture, missing several plays throughout the game, including Russell Shepard's touchdown run.

Anyway, here are some snap judgments:

I would like to take us back to what Poseur said in the Roundtable discussion:

Billy:

What would you like to see this Saturday versus Tulane?

Poseur:

A win. That's it.

I don't need to see fireworks and I don't need to see new wrinkles. I just want a quiet and uneventful win that serves as a nice appetizer for Bama.

Well, that's exactly what you got. The game was uncompetitive, uneventful, lacking in fireworks, and generally quite dull. Not that there's anything wrong with that. We came out and scored early and Tulane, though they put up a couple nice drives, never did anything that even resembled getting into the game.

I can't say we didn't see any new wrinkles though. After LSU had struggled to get good support from the fullback position from James Stampley and Richard Dugas early in the season, and inserting freshman Dominique Allen into the rotation last week met with mised results, Les Miles and Gary Crowton took a different approach and moved reserve scholarship offensive lineman Thomas Parsons to the fullback position. This experiment seemed to work well, as Parsons was effective getting to the defenders and blocking them.
We also had our most effective power running game yet. It's hard to know if that's because Parsons was added to the I-formation roster or if it's just because we were playing overmatched competition. However, I think it's worth pointing out that we rushed more than 100 yards more against Tulane than we did against UL-Lafayette, with a higher yard per attempt average as well.
By the numbers, LSU had 267 yards rushing, though Stevan Ridley's 73 rushing yards on the final drive of the game perhaps skews that number a little. Then again, Charles Scott had his most effective game of the season, rushing for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. All together, LSU had 455 total yards, plus a ton of punt return yards.
Jordan Jefferson also had a pretty nice game, averaging over 9 yards per attempt and throwing two nice touchdown passes to Brandon Lafell, who had 85 yards receiving on 4 catches. Things didn't look good for him early, as he took a quick sack and then threw an interception, but he rebounded to have a very productive day.
And what to say about the defense? It was LSU's first shutout since beating Middle Tennessee State 44-0 on September 15, 2007.
At first blush, it was not exactly a dominating performance. Tulane had 216 total yards, including two substantially long drives, one of which ended in a missed field goal and the other of which ended in an interception. Tulane got nothing going on the ground, however, getting credit for only 26 rushing yards on 20 attempts, helped along by 3 sacks of Ryan Griffin for -22 yards.
Tulane's passing game was a little better, averaging just over 5 yards per attempt. It's not surprising that senior wide receiver Jeremy Williams was Tulane's most effective offensive player, with 78 yards receiving and 21 yards rushing. He probably has an NFL future. Andre Anderson led Tulane in rushing with 27 yards, but averaged only 2.5 yards per attempt.
Tulane was able to have some of its most successful plays when they exploited our aggressiveness with screens or dump-offs. LSU will sometimes have problems chasing down a running back, particularly when they flare out to the left side of our defensive line. The left-side defensive end triumvirate of Pep Levingston, Lavar Edwards, and Chancey Aghayere just don't seem to be quick enough to keep up with a running back who gets a release to the outside, and those plays sometimes get big yards. It's been going on since the Washington game.
Kelvin Sheppard had another outstanding game. It's hard to say that there's a "great" linebacker out there for us, but Kelvin Sheppard, Harry Coleman, and Perry Riley sure seem to work very well together as a group, and they are productive as all get out. We may not have one Rolando McClain or Brandon Spikes out there, but we have 3 very good linebackers who do a lot of good for us.
Special teams did not get much action against Tulane, but we did get a nice blocked punt by Daniel Graff and a couple nice returns on punts from Trindon Holliday. Trindon sometimes struggles to be productive in the SEC, but when we face a weaker team, Holliday usually gashes them. He has been a useful and productive player for us over the years, but he could have become a legend in the Sun Belt or another conference.
It was great to see the second team get some time in the game. I think this was the first time all season the 2nd team offensive line got a chance. They got in the game with the ball on the 2 yard line and they opened rushing lanes for Stevan Ridley all the way down the field, for one of the most impressive touchdown drives in recent LSU history. Jarrett Lee completed 2 passes along the way on that drive, one to Reuben Randle and the other to John Williams, who I think was seeing his first game action of his career. Another pass was in the direction of Chris Tolliver, who was well-covered.
Defensively, we saw a lot of 2nd team cornerback Morris Claiborne, who is definitely the most surprising member of the freshman class. He got into the game in place of Patrick Peterson long before other starters were subbed out. They are clearly grooming him for important playing time next year, perhaps as Chris Hawkins' replacement on the other side of Peterson.
Richard Dickson went down with a scary-looking injury in the first half, but returned later in the game. As far as I can tell, we escaped the with no significant injury to any player. That satisfies me.
Obviously, things ramp up a bit this week.

Things I Worry About: Football Edition

Richard Pittman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:26:23 -0000

More photos » by Rogelio V. Solis - AP

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I worry about lots of things. Some of the things I worry about are actually important. Some of things I worry about relate to football. None of the things I worry about are both important and related to football. Worrying about football is fun. Worrying about your clients is much less fun, but is motivational.

Anyway, let's talk about the things that worry me, as they relate to LSU football:

1. Defensive Tackle Depth: The LSU coaches have made the tactical decision to go through the whole season playing only 4 defensive tackles, with a 5th getting playing time when the game is already decided. Every other defensive tackle on the roster either moved to defensive end (Lavar Edwards), moved to offensive line (Cordian Hagans), got hurt before the season started (Akiem Hicks), or is redshirting (Chris Davenport). It is a scary proposition to have such a thin unit at defensive tackle, especially when one of the ones you're using is Charles Alexander, who has never stayed healthy for a whole season. Except for a midseason injury to Josh Downs, we haven't been burned by this strategy yet, but there's still almost half a regular season to go.

2. Jordan Jefferson: The kid is still learning. I know this is beating a dead horse, but I sure wish it would have been possible to redshirt him last year. He's a sophomore and he still looks like a little kid with a baby face and gangly features. I want to bring him home and feed him some red beans and rice. He'll eventually fill out and physically mature, but I think we are sure going to wish we still had him on the roster in 2012. That's not a knock against Chris Garrett, who appears to have great promise as a QB. I just think Jordan Jefferson has the potential to a late bloomer and to become outstanding, but he could do so a little bit too close to the time he graduates for comfort. As of right now, he is still a work in progress. He played his best game against Auburn, but it remains to be seen if that is an aberration or a leap forward.

3. The Injury to Derek Helton: OK, he wasn't exactly booming 50 yarders with regularity, but he was getting good hang time on punts, and there has been no threat of a big return on us with him punting the ball. He actually ranks 10th in the league in punting average, but is only 4 yards behind 2nd in the league (Georgia's punter booms it). Josh Jasper can punt the ball just as far down the field, I am sure, but I would hate to see LSU give up a big return at a key time.

While I have more worries, that's all I really have time for this morning. I have to leave a little early, and I slept a little late (5:30am). What worries you?

LSU 23 - Vandy 9: Second Viewing

Richard Pittman — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:58:03 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

Keiland Williams ices the game. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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Because of weekend traveling, I am a little behind the regular posting schedule this week. I would have liked to have had this post up yesterday in the late morning or early afternoon, but I couldn't because I did not re-watch the game until late last evening.

I continue to believe that LSU simply dominated that game. Sure, the offense stalled for two long stretches, one in the first quarter and the other in the third and spilling over into the 4th. Vandy could get nothing going on our defense, however, and while we are always "one play away from being in trouble" until Keiland scored his second touchdown there in the 4th quarter, Vandy never came anywhere near making that one play.

Because I am by nature a cautiously optimistic, and because "cautiously" is the first word of that phrase, let's start the detailed analysis with what went wrong: the offense. We continue to have problems on the offensive line, both in pass protection and when we try a power running game. I was keeping a close eye on the center-left guard combination of T-Bob Hebert and Josh Dworaczyk and I think I can diagnose the problem in pass protection. The pass rush seems to have the most success when coming from Dworaczyk's zone. He sometimes has trouble finding a man to block, has trouble keeping his man's arms down (Jefferson's arm was hit while throwing twice, and I think both came from Dworaczyk's man), and gets beat by inside rushers at times.

The coaches think Josh Dworaczyk is a very talented offensive lineman, but he is still inexperienced. I think the problems coming from his direction should slow down as the season progresses.

I still can't figure out why we can't get a consistent push when we run with Charles Scott. I do think that perhaps the problem has been overstated a bit, because Scott had more success running the ball than his statistics suggest. While he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, he converted a number of important 3rd-and-short situations that probably did not help his average, but helped his team a lot. I don't want to gloss over the fact that we aren't getting the same kind of production from that area that we got last year, but I also don't want to condemn it without qualification, because qualification is needed.

The offensive line does a lot better when we run other schemes. When Keiland Williams is in the game, we tend to go with a zone blocking scheme that works a lot better than a power-them-off-the-ball scheme. It doesn't hurt that this is the best Keiland has run since he's gotten here. He's running with authority and without being tentative. He's getting the most out of plays. He hasn't yet tried to reverse field and get us a huge loss. I hate it for Charles Scott, who was clearly our best back last year, but I'm just afraid that Keiland is the runner who is best able to take advantage of what our offensive line is able to do well, and he should be getting the touches. I just think that as of right now our offense is going to do better with a cut-back runner in the game. It's too bad that we lost Richard Murphy, who really could have thrived with what we're doing.

In the passing game, people have rightly asked why we threw so many screen passes and short throws. I will agree that we went screen entirely too often, to the point where the screens resulted in way too many unsuccessful plays. Part of the problem on the screens was a lack of blocking by the wide receivers. This group of receivers is not as good at blocking on those screens as previous generations of wide receivers were, and the best blocker of the group is Brandon Lafell, who is also the best receiver and seems to get the ball the most on these types of plays.

That's why the screens weren't as successful as they could have been, but they were also overused. I think that is a result of Jordan Jefferson not being a particularly accurate thrower right now. He missed on a couple throws to wide open receivers on Saturday, including a sure touchdown to Chris Mitchell that he sailed over the receiver's head. Another example was the first snap of the game for us where it looked like Brandon Lafell made a great catch that was ultimately ruled incomplete. Lafell was wide open and the throw just wasn't on target, and made Lafell have to try to make a circus grab. I think Gary Crowton is reluctant to call the intermediate routes because he's afraid Jefferson just won't hit them consistently. Still, I think it was poor playcalling to try those screens again and again when they were having such limited results.

Speaking of poor playcalling, I also didn't particularly like seeing us run not one but two options in which Brandon Lafell was the pitch man.

On defense I paid particularly close attention to the left end spot, which in the absence of Pep Levingston was occupied by a rotation of Chancey Aghayere and Lavar Edwards. These two are drawing praise for their performance, but the starting Vandy right tackle handled them one-on-one the entire game until he got hurt. Those two redshirt freshmen have talent, but they were no match for him. After he left the game with a broken ankle, Aghayere and Edwards were able to get into the play a lot more.

I still cannot express enough how well the defense as a whole played. Everyone got into the act of making positive plays. Kelvin Sheppard seems to be the message board whipping boy so far this year, and he dropped what should have been an easy interception, but let's not lose sight of the fact that it was "easy" because he read the play. While he couldn't come up with the ball, he broke up the pass what might otherwise have been a positive play for Vandy. He also gets criticized for missing tackles, and yes he missed a couple, but he also made a couple big stops.

We still aren't getting to the passer enough, but we are at least creating a little pressure. I would like to do a little more of this and really get a good pass rush going. I just don't know if he have a pass-rushing defensive line, though.

I saw Morris Claiborne get into the game and make a tackle. That's a name you're going to hear a lot in coming years.

All in all, the Vandy game was a positive step forward for the team as a whole, but we are not where we want to be yet. We get a couple relatively easy games the next couple weeks, and hopefully we can iron out the wrinkles.

LSU 23 - Vandy 9: Snap Judgments

Richard Pittman — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:49:17 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

3 months ago: Vanderbilt cornerback Myron Lewis (5) up ends LSU quarterback Russell Shepard (10) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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Big win tonight. I am reasonably pleased. My quick thoughts:

Great job defense. Just outstanding. I can't say enough about how well this defense responded to a lot of criticism. They gave up really only one good drive, and then came up big again and again when the offense put them in bad spots in the second half.
I'm upset that the announcers stole my thunder towards the end of the game by pointing out how quiet Patrick Peterson was. The announcers were right that "quiet" for Peterson means "great". He was locked one-on-one with a Vandy receiver on his side of the field all night and Vandy QB Larry Smith just didn't even challenge him. They seemed content just to run him out of the play.
The whole defensive line played well. I know some naysayers will point to some nice plays Vandy made, but it's inevitable that a competent offense will make the occasional nice play. We stuffed them for no gain or short gains time and again, and we did a good job of getting off the field on 3rd down, as Vandy was 4 of 15 on 3rd down, and 1 of 2 on 4th down. On first viewing I can't single out any one defensive lineman, as Woods, Nevis, Alem, Lavar Edwards, Charles Alexander, and others made plays at one time or another.
One of the new faces on the defense, Brandon Taylor, had a very good game, picking up an interception, making a couple nice tackles, and generally being competent.
The defense saved the offense's bacon tonight. We had too many 3-and-outs, and more than one negative possession in the second half. Vandy had great field position for most of the 2nd half thanks to three consecutive possessions in which we ran a total of nine plays with two punts and a bad-snap safety.
Speaking of the bad snap safety, the long snapper on punts is actually a scholarship player whose only role on the team, as a sophomore, is to be the punt snapper. It is doubtful that this is a wise use of a scholarship in any event, and he better be flawless the rest of the season.
Jordan Jefferson's ATVSQBPI was 4.0. A big part of the problem was way too many completed passes that went for very short or negative yardage. Another problem was the offensive line play, which again was not up to snuff for long stretches. Jefferson was running for his life every time he dropped back to pass in those 3 bad possessions.
Keiland Williams had a really great game, averaging 7.2 yards per carry with the game-clinching touchdown. Charles Scott is still trying to get it going, as he averaged only 3.8 yards per carry. He had some nice runs, but the blocking just wasn't there consistently.
Great to see R.J. Jackson get so many touches, including one that led directly to a score that could have ended up being very important.
We finally saw Russell Shepard, and while he was productive, hopefully his fumble will be a learning experience for him. I'm still waiting to see Reuben Randle touch the ball.
Except for Trindon Holliday's fumble, the return game was really quite good tonight.
I caught sight of Morris Claiborne in the game and making a tackle.

Matchups to Watch vs. Vandy

Richard Pittman — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:40:28 -0000

by John Froschauer - AP

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By the end of a long week with lots of chatter about an upcoming game, you really feel like you've said pretty much everything that needs to be said. I think that here too. With it still being early in the season, we don't know enough about these teams yet to really be able to talk intelligently about what we expect. That said, the mystery is itself somewhat enticing. Let's take a look at some of the more interesting matchups we will be seeing on Saturday.

Jordan Jefferson vs. Myron Lewis: We talk about Myron Lewis on here almost as if he is Superman. He's not Superman, but he's an All-SEC calibre cornerback on a defense that doesn't have as much SEC-calibre talent as many of our opponents will. I don't know if they move Myron Lewis around to match him up with their opponent's best receiver. If they do, I suppose we will have to challenge him at times, because I can't see us going the entire game avoiding Brandon Lafell. Personally, if I was Jefferson, I wouldn't try to make my living in this game challenging Lewis on the outside. I would go to the other side of the field or to the middle of the field. You have to go to him once or twice to keep Vandy honest and not let them roll coverage away from him. If Terrance Toliver can consistently give us the kind of play he gave us last week, we can exploit their pass defense without ever having to go after Lewis.

LSU Offensive Line vs. Vandy Defensive Line: Well, duh. You could say this about every game. In this case, it is especially important because our OL did not perform up to snuff against Washington's DL. Vandy's defensive line is a pretty solid bunch in their own right. I truly believe that if our offensive line can consistently get a push against Vandy's defensive line, we will probably win this game by multiple touchdowns. If Vandy's defensive line can get a tie here, we could be in trouble. Watch Charles Scott's production. Last week, he started the game with a 21 yard run, then averaged less than three yards per carry the rest of the game. That was due to a lack of push by the offensive line. I will especially be watching the center-left guard, where we are breaking in two new starters.

LSU Defensive Line vs. Vandy Offensive Line: Again, I know I'm not exactly thinking outside the box here. I keep pointing to the offensive line's poor showing against Washington, but Poseur keeps pointing to the defensive line. The defensive line definitely lost contain on Jake Locker much too often last Saturday night, and we face another quarterback with good legs this Saturday. I don't put Larry Smith in the same category as Jake Locker, but he can do some of the same things. Vandy's offensive line is big, and supposedly pretty solid. They definitely ran up tons of yards against Western Carolina, but last year's overall rushing statistics were pretty modest. With Pep Levingston likely out with a hand/knee injury, and with Vandy running a hurry-up offense, it will be very interesting to see how we rotate defensive linemen in the game. I imagine Lavar Edwards and Chancey Aghayere will rotate in Levingston's spot.

Vandy's Receivers vs. LSU's Back 7: Who are Vandy's receivers? Their leading returning receiver is Brandon Barden, who caught 28 passes for 209 yards last year. Last week, he caught 3 for 38 yards. Their leading yard-gainer last week was a tight end who didn't catch a pass in 2008. Without much proven talent on the outside, and with a running quarterback, is Vandy in a position to exploit our pass defense that Washington was able to exploit? It's one of those doubtful propositions that seems to almost always come true anyway. I expect Vandy to run the ball between half and 2/3 the time unless they fall way behind. I just don't see where they have the throwing and receiving talent to make this a big part of their offense except by necessity.

The Return Games: I still find it inexplicable that on a team with as much athleticism as LSU has, it has been years since we have had a good punt/kick return game. Last week, Washington for some reason decided to kick away from our back return men and conceded decent field position after every kickoff. I doubt Vandy will do that, but we shall see. Trindon is definitely a home run hitter, but doesn't get the consistently good returns you'd like to see. Vandy, for their part, struggled in the return game against Western Carolina. They only returned one kickoff, so you can't really get anything from that, but they also failed to generate anything in their four punt returns, netting a total of 9 yards in those return opportunities.

I'm not sure where this game will be won or lost. Frankly, I hope we win and that no one particular area provided the difference.

LSU 31 - Washington 23: My Final Thoughts Before Moving On to Vandy

Richard Pittman — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:47:52 -0000

by John Froschauer - AP

3 months ago: Washington's Chris Polk carries the ball as LSU's Lazarius Levingston (95) pursues the play during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, in Seattle, 2009. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

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I watched the game again, and because I was watching it on the ESPNU replay, they didn't cut away to Rece Davis in the studio, and instead I got to see Terrence Toliver's first touchdown, from the beginning of the play. It was great.

Anyway, on second viewing, some of the things we've talked about already came into somewhat sharper focus. Defensively, we just did not cover the other team well enough in the middle of the field. Usually, if the opponent was on the outside against Peterson, Eugene, or Hawkins, we had pretty solid coverage. Even when Riley had man coverage way on the outside and down the field, the coverage was there. Jake Locker's a really good quarterback, and sometimes he made a perfect throw, and there's nothing that can be done about that other than generate a better pass rush. If the receiver was in the middle of the field in a safety's or linebacker's zone though, he was usually wide open.

In the running game, Washington had a lot of success when they ran misdirection or counters. This tells me that our defensive front seven was playing very aggressively but without much discipline. This is also seen when we would rush the passer and leave big holes for Locker to run through.

You can't really point out any player who didn't perform. Every defender made a play or two, particularly in the linebacker corps. I think you can point to Rahim Alem and say that he should have gotten a better pass rush and you could say that Chad Jones and the three-man rotation at safety (Danny McCray, Brandon Taylor, Karnell Hatcher) was pretty much invisible. And you'd be right.

On second viewing, I saw Josh Downs out there a good bit, and while his play is drawing praise, I can't really say he made any more plays than Charles Alexander or Drake Nevis made (both of whom made plays). He looked like he belonged, but did not look like he stood out. I also say Chancey Aghayere and Lavar Edwards on the ends a fair bit. I never saw Chase Clement or any of members of the Class of 2009 other than Downs.

The linebackers were solid in the running game. Kelvin Sheppard was not a starter, but seemed to get as much time as the other starters other than Harry Coleman, who was in the game for virtually every play as far as I could tell. Other than Cutrera's interception and Riley's nice coverage on a wheel route, the linebackers were pretty much invisible in the passing game.

Offensively, I think I can diagnose the problem with the power running game. It was the offensive line. The holes just weren't there. Charles Scott ran as hard as ever, and when there was a hole he got through it. If the problem was on the center-left guard I would be very concerned, as these are new starters T-Bob Hebert and Josh Dworaczyk. However, it seemed to be the line as a whole, which tells me it may just be a game-specific thing. We get another chance against a defensive front seven we should be able to overmatch next week when we play Vandy. We'll see how that goes.

When we ran option or ran to the outside, we had a lot of success. Jordan Jefferson really runs the option well. He did not make one bad decision in the outside zone or the inside zone when deciding whether to keep the ball or give it up. That's not to say every decision was right. He certainly needs to avoid taking big hits.

The passing game could not have been more basic. At no time did we try to get the ball down the field to an outside receiver, except for Lafell's touchdown. We ran a lot of short passes, passes to running backs, and a couple of throws to the tight end. Early in the game, Jefferson was not particularly accurate, but he settled down and started hitting his targets.

One area I would like to see an athletic, mobile quarterback like Jefferson improve is in his ability to make a play when the protection breaks down. Sometimes, when the protection wasn't there, Jefferson would scramble around but he never made a play. He just bought himself time to get rid of the ball. Maybe the receivers couldn't break open or something else was going wrong, but probably the biggest difference between Locker and Jefferson was that when the play broke down, Locker was able to make something positive happen while Jefferson generally had to just unload the ball out of bounds.

Our special teams play, other than our punting was pretty solid, I thought. Our kickoff coverage was good, and at no time did Washington threaten to break a long one. The kickoff return game took advantage of pooch kicks to get really good field position. We didn't miss a field goal attempt or get a penalty on a return. If we can get better distance on punts, I think special teams will be good.

Poll

Who was the Player of the Game for LSU?

Patrick Peterson

112 votes

Jordan Jefferson

36 votes

Terrence Toliver

100 votes

Other

8 votes

256 votes | Poll has closed

A Young Defensive Line Tries to Find Its Way

Richard Pittman — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:42:33 -0000

Rahim Alem is giving the opposition that weird hand shimmy that is supposed to give people bad luck.

If you could name two positions on the LSU football team where a lack of experience will be a factor going into the season, you would name quarterback and defensive line. We have discussed the quarterback situation until we were blue in the face, but have heretofore not discussed the defensive line situation all that much.

Our starting defensive line on opening night will likely consist of two seniors (Alem and Al Woods) and two juniors (Drake Nevis and Pep Levingston), so it's strange to call them a young defensive line. None of these guys have been full-time starters at any time in their careers, and really only Alem and Woods have played big roles in the past.

We have a good idea of what the starters, especially Rahim Alem, Al Woods, and Drake Nevis will bring us. Alem is quick as can be and will get into the backfield. Nevis is a force if he's healthy. Woods has the size but is still trying to develop good technique. We don't know how any of them will be affected by getting starters' reps, but we know what these guys are capable of bringing to any given play. Pep is not as well-known a commodity, but we'll see him soon enough.

In addition to inexperience at the starters' positions, we have extreme youth when you get past the starters. Charles Alexander is our third tackle behind Woods and Nevis, and he is a 6th-year senior with significant starting experience, but other than him every other member of the two-deep and even the 3-deep will be freshmen. All five of the defensive linemen signed in the Class of 2009 are still in competition to reach that 2-deep. The result is that when LSU starts rotating defensive linemen in and out of the game, you the viewer will be utterly lost. We take a look at those freshmen and the redshirt freshmen and where they stand, after the jump.

Lavar Edwards, #89, DT. When Lavar Edwards signed with LSU in 2008, he was known as a good athlete who did not go full speed every play, and his position was something of a mystery. He could have been on the offensive line. He could have been a tight end (quite respectable pass-catching skills), a fullback, a defensive end, or he could have bulked up to be a quick defensive tackle. He has settled in at defensive tackle, and is looking pretty solid at this point after his redshirt year. It is quite natural for the press to focus on the incoming freshmen and/or the new starters during Fall Camp, and to ignore redshirt freshman backups like Edwards, but everything I've heard about him has been encouraging, though he is definitely being pushed by Josh Downs and Chris Davenport.

Chancey Aghayere, #87, DE. There are rumors that Aghayere has taken some snaps at defensive tackle, but for now he is listed as a defensive end. Chancey Aghayere's recruiting film from his junior year of high school is about as good as any I've ever seen from a defensive end. He was well on his way to being a 5-star headliner recruit, but injuries have slowed his development considerably. He has the talent to be a great one, but hasn't been on the field long enough in any one stretch to fully develop. The young man, unfortunately, seems to have just been bitten by the bad luck bug when it comes to injuries. He missed most of his senior year of high school with an injury and then couldn't get healthy in 2008. Here in 2009, he has continued to miss practices or be in the green jersey for substantial periods of time.

Chase Clement, #88, DE. To this point, Clement is still known more for his bloodlines than for his performance on the field, after his true freshman year in which he redshirted behind a highly veteran corps of defensive linemen. Clement is the nephew of former All-American offensive guard Eric Andolsek and linebacker Ruffin Rodrigue. He's got good size for a defensive end at 6'5" and 260#. He has been listed as the #2 defensive end behind Pep Levingston since camp started, and should see plenty of time this year.

Michael Brockers, #90, DE. Of all the freshmen defensive linemen from the class of 2009, Michael Brockers is reportedly making the biggest push for playing time. He already has great size at 6'6" and 285#. Heck, he might have to move inside at that size.

Sam Montgomery, #99, DE. Sam is probably still not ready to be an every-down sort of defensive end due to his smaller size at around 250#, but hopes to be able to contribute immediately as a pass rusher. He is pushing to be the guy who spells (or lines up opposite) Rahim Alem in that role.

Bennie Logan, #93, DE. I was a huge fan of Bennie Logan coming into camp, but it appears he's the one who is getting the least attention at this point. Les Miles is well known for sandbagging and talking up one kid while really thinking another is the real deal. I don't think Logan has done anything wrong; I just think Brockers has been a big surprise and Montgomery fits a niche that Logan can't fit into. With 5 freshman defensive ends between the true freshmen and redshirts, it is no crime to let one of the true freshmen have a year to redshirt and get some separation

Chris Davenport, #50, DT. Chris Davenport may have the highest upside of any player in this guide (with the possible exception of a healthy Chancey Aghayere). He's a monster at 6'4" 323#. He's a bit raw, and has not played against the same level of competition as even the other true freshmen have. Still, I don't see him redshirting. He's just too talented.

Josh Downs, #77, DT. He's known as the "high motor" guy, and he's not even white. His motor must be through the roof. Downs may not have the upside of Chris Davenport, but he's a really good prospect in his own right, and has the polish to perhaps give him the early edge in playing time.

Be on the lookout for these guys, and we'll start sorting them out when the games start getting played.

Is LSU Planning To Move To A 3-4 Defense?

Richard Pittman — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:00:13 -0000

Our Tigers have run a 4-3 defense for quite a long time, meaning they line up with 4 defensive linemen and 3 linebackers. In this kind of scheme, your defensive linemen have to be quick and athletic to make up for the speed lost by taking out a linebacker and adding a defensive tackle. You need depth at tackle in order to do this, as you will need probably 5 or 6 tackles to get through a season, and that's only if you don't have a rash of injuries.

Take a look at LSU's roster. There are only 3 experienced defensive tackles listed: Charles Alexander, Drake Nevis, and Al Woods. Two of those guys are seniors. If you look at the Class of 2009, which we have been doing, you see two more defensive tackles, Chris Davenport and Josh Downs, with JUCO transfer Akiem Hicks being a hybrid DE/DT. If you look at the commitment list for the Class of 2010, which currently has 21 commitments, you will see we have zero defensive tackles committed to the 2010 class. If you do the math factoring in the guys we KNOW we want like Trovon Reed and Lache Seastrunk, you wonder if there is going to be any defensive tackle signed.

This makes for a situation that appears, at least at first blush, to give us a very thin depth chart at defensive tackle for 2009, and an even thinner depth chart in 2010. This has been caused by attrition (Sidell Corley transferring, Ricky Jean-Francois going to the NFL early), position switches (Cordian Hagans switching to offensive guard) and graduation (Marlon Favorite).

At the same time, you can look at how we've recruited linebackers and see that we are stocking up. Barkevious Mingo, Kevin Minter, Tahj Jones, and Lamin Barrow were all a part of the Class of 2009, while Rockey Duplessis greyshirted from the Class of 2008. Josh Johns could also end up at linebacker. In the Class of 2010, we have added Luke Muncie, DJ Welter, and Justin Maclin, while either Sam Gibson or Houston Bates could eventually end up there as well. That is a huge linebacker haul in terms of numbers in a short period of time, while at the same time our defensive tackle recruiting has slowed down a lot.

All of this comes while the 4-3 defense is being phased out at some other places. The NFL, which not that long ago was composed mostly of 4-3 defenses (popularized by Buddy Ryan in the 1980s), appears to be returning to the pre-Buddy Ryan days of more 3-4 defenses. At Bama, Nick Saban (who ran an unabashed 4-3 system just a few years ago at LSU) quickly converted Bama from a 4-3 to a 3-4. This trend appears to be the defenses' counter to the fact that offenses are moving more towards a wide open, field-spreading attack (even teams that aren't in the "spread" are still trying to stretch the defense more by passing more often than they did a few years ago). Teams are responding by getting more linebackers on the field at the expense of hulking defensive tackles.

This brings up the question. With fewer defensive tackles and more linebackers, are we setting up a switch to the 3-4?

I don't have a definitive answer to that question. After all, positions can be somewhat fluid. While Davenport and Downs are definitely tackles, Bennie Logan and/or Michael Brockers may be as well, though I have considered them defensive ends to this point. Michael Brockers in particular has bulked up quite a bit, as he now is listed at 285#, and reports say he looks it. Class of 2008 signees Lavar Edwards and Chancey Aghayere, who have previously been considered defensive ends, may also see a move to tackle. Lavar Edwards, a redshirt freshman, is actually now listed as a tackle.

Or will these guys just be the kind of big defensive ends that the 3-4 system requires?

I'm not saying it's happening, and I'm not taking a position on whether it should happen. The circumstances have simply made me suspicious about our plans for the future of the defensive tackle position.

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.

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.