8/19/09 Depth Chart Review

8/19/09: Depth Chart Review


Key Losses:

Demetrius Byrd, WR
Herman Johnson, OL
Quinn Johnson, FB
Brett Helms, OL
Cold David, K
Darry Beckwith, LB
Marlon Favorite, DL
Tyson Jackson, DE
Kirston Pittman, DE
Rick-Jean Francois, DL


Linebackers: (Preseason Grade = B)

At linebacker, LSU returns two starters in Kelvin Sheppard (Sam LB) and Perry Riley (Will LB). Senior Jacob Cutrera (Mike LB) has also made 5 starts during his career. Converted safety Harry Coleman has made the move to strong side LB last spring. Coleman, who led the team in tackles last season, will bring a lot of speed to this position and I would expect that Coleman will win the Sam position from Sheppard in fall practice. Chavis understands the need for speed at this position, and he’s known for converting safeties to linebackers. Filling in the two-deep, LSU has a lot of good young talent including Ryan Baker, Barkevious Mingo, Kevin Minter, and Kyle Prater.


Defensive Line: (Preseason Grade = C)

On the D-line, LSU returns a 6th year senior at the tackle position in Charles Alexander. He was granted another year of eligibility due to injury. The other tackle spot is still up for grabs. Senior Al Woods and Junior Drake Nevis will battle for the starting spot, but both will see a lot of playing time. My guess is that Nevis will be the starter, and Woods will come in to relieve both tackle positions to keep fresh legs in the game. There’s not much depth at D-line, so a few injuries could put LSU in a real jam. Filling in the depth chart is JC transfer Akiem Hicks, RS freshman Cordian Hagans, and true freshmen Chris Davenport and Josh Downs. Once a perennial strength, the D-line is now LSU’s biggest vulnerability.

Replacing both defensive ends, including the #3 overall pick in the NFL draft, Tyson Jackson, won’t be easy. The defensive ends will most likely be Rahim Alem (Sr.) and Pep Livingston (Jr.). Both of these guys did great things in limited action last season. I’m not worried about the starters; however, every single backup at this position is a freshman. Talented…yes. But still very inexperienced. Two young players that stand out are Sam Montgomery and Michael Brockers.


Defensive Backs: (Preseason Grade = A)

The defensive backfield was rated as second worst in the conference in 2008. LSU intercepted only 8 passes, down from 23 in 2007. The D-line production was down as well, which gave opposing QB’s more time to throw. Combine this with softer coverage and an inability to check-off to different looks, and it’s not hard to see why LSU’s defense was not very good last season. Patrick Peterson will be the starter at one cornerback spot. The other will probably be Chris Hawkins, but don’t be surprised if Jai Eugene is in the conversation. All 3 of these guys are considered “shut-down” corners. They can be put on an island and play man defense without any problems. Brandon Taylor is also in the two-deep at the corner position. At free safety, you’ll see Chad Jones. This is his natural position, and he should flourish after playing most of 2008 at dime back. Senior Danny McCray and Brandon Taylor will vie for the nickel spot. It seems though, that new defensive coordinator John Chavis and new defensive backs coach Ron Cooper prefer a cornerback type player at the nickel spot, so that’s not good for McCray. The strong safety position will be filled by either Ron Brooks or Karnell Hatcher. Both of these guys are young, but very talented. Ron Brooks really emerged at the end of last season, and made some big plays on special teams. True freshman Craig Loston may get some playing time if they don’t put a shirt on him.


Offensive Line: (Preseason Grade = A)

On the other side of the ball, LSU looks to have one of the best O-lines in the conference. Although LSU did lose two senior starters in Helms and Johnson, left tackle Ciron Black turned down the NFL to return for his senior season. He is now projected to be taken in the first round of the draft. The left guard position will be filled by Josh Dworaczyk, a very talented sophomore. Replacing Helms at the center position will be either Patrick Lonergan or T-Bob Hebert, son of the Cajun Cannon. Hebert is still recovering from a torn ACL, but his rehab has gone very well and I project him as the starting center going into the season. At right guard will be Lyle Hitt, a very experienced back up who will get his chance to start. Junior Joseph Barksdale will man the right tackle position with plenty of experience. The two-deep roster has Greg Shaw and Alex Hurst at tackle. The second team guards will be Will Blackwell and Thomas Parsons.

LSU is very deep at tight end. Senior Richard Dickson, 2nd Team All SEC, is the clear-cut starter. Unless he gets hurt, he WILL set new LSU tight end records for receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. This is probably the deepest position on the team with backups Mitch Joseph, Tyler Edwards, and DeAngelo Peterson very capable of playing if needed.


Quarterbacks: (Preseason Grade = C+)

At quarterback, Jordan Jefferson will get a chance to start the season. However, Jarrett Lee WILL BE counted on at some point. And, I’m fine with that. Lee got a bad rap last season, but he didn’t play that bad for a freshman. Unfortunately, his mistakes were very costly and conspicuous. Everyone remembers his 16 interceptions, including 7 for touchdowns, but does anyone realize that he completed 53.2% of his passes and had a QB rating of 116.93. That’s not bad for a freshman in the SEC. In fact, those numbers were good enough for 6th best in the conference last year. Jordan Jefferson had a completion percentage of 49.3% and a rating of 112.87 in his limited action. The real difference between the two is the turnover/TD ratio. Jefferson’s ratio is a 0.25, while Lee’s ratio is over 1 (1.14 to be exact). If Lee can find a way to reduce the interceptions, and get a little more mobile, he could be a very good QB. Jefferson is the man to beat this season, and I’m excited to see how much he’s developed since the Chick-fil-A bowl. Also getting some PT at QB will be Russell Shepard. His greatest asset is his legs, and I’m sure Crowton is drawing up some nice plays for him. Chris Garrett will probably get a redshirt, but he will be a very solid backup one day. Both Shepard and Garrett participated in spring practice.


Wide Receivers: (Preseason Grade = A-)

The wide receiver corps will be led by Brandon Lafell, who briefly entered the NFL draft last spring before withdrawing his name. Lafell has shown steady improvement every season, and he will be the #1 option for the first time in his career. If Lafell has a good season, he’ll be a first round draft pick next April. The #2 guy will be Jr. Terrance Tolliver, who has made modest contributions since his heralded arrival at LSU as the #1 receiver prospect in the country coming out of high school. Another player who shares that distinction, Rueben Randle, will fill the #3 spot as a true freshman. For LSU to have a good season, both of these guys need to step up and play to their potential. RJ Jackson, Chris Mitchell, and Chris Toliver are very good receivers and will all see playing time this season.

LSU will have a lot of options for the slot receiver. In the past, we’ve seen Crowton utilize Trindon Holliday and Richard Murphy. This season, you can add Russell Shepard to that list. Shepard will be an exciting player to watch when he gets the ball in his hands. I’d love to see Shepard run the Skylar Green special, the slip screen. It’s an easy pitch and catch for a young QB and it gives the receiver some space to dance.


Running Backs: (Preseason Grade = A+)

LSU likes to use a lot of backs. Over the last 8 seasons, LSU has had 7 different players finish the season as the leading rusher. Only 1 of those players, Jacob Hester, repeated the next season as the leading rusher.

“Chuck the Truck” is the clear starter at tailback. Charles Scott (Sr.) rushed for over 100 yards in 6 of the first 9 games in 2008. He averaged 109 yards/game going into the 10th week of the season, when LSU’s offense fell apart. He finished the season with 1174 yards and 18 TD’s. He’s looking to give LSU back-2-back 1000 yard season for the first time since Kevin Faulk got 3 in a row from 96-98.

Keiland Williams (Sr.) is in his money year, and I hope he can hit the hole hard and break some tackles this season, or he’s not going to be drafted very high. His speed and quickness are NFL caliber, but his toughness is questionable. He is very timid with the ball in his hands. He has one more season to live up to his potential.

The rest of the group includes Trindon Holliday (Sr.), Richard Murphy (Jr.), and Michael Ford (Fr.), although Ford may redshirt this season.

At fullback, there is a lot of competition. Sophmore Steven Ridley is almost fully recovered from a knee injury he suffered in spring practice. Ridley is more of a tailback than a fullback, but fullback is probably where he sees the most playing time. He will compete with Junior Richard Dugas and true freshman Dominique Allen, who is an absolute beast at 255 lbs.



Upcoming Pre-season Reports:

8-26-09: 2009 Season Preview & Fall Camp Update


10 Days till Kick-off!!