2015 LSU spring football thread (1 Viewer)

[weightlifter316]

There's enough talk about non-recruiting matters that I thought it'd be good to make a thread we can discuss football without cluttering the recruiting thread.

LSU starts spring practice on March 7 so we'll know where everyone is going to line up by the second week or so. Expect some shuffling, especially with regards to the center and guard positions on offense.

LSU's Pro Day for those headed to the NFL will be March 27.

 

[weightlifter316]

Dre was asking about the OL. Reports are that Hawkins will slide over to LT and that Alexander will move back to RT.

A lot of people are really high on William Clapp but I just happen to like Pocic at center. Some feel he's being wasted there but that's for the coaches to decide. Team comes first, if they feel he's better suited at center for the time being than I have no problem with him being there. Since were at it, here's what I think of the OL situation, copy and pasted.


I'm very curious to see how the OL shakes out in the spring. I'd like to see

LT - Hawkins
LG - Alexander
C - Pocic
RG - Brumfield
RT - Boutte

I think those are the 5 best OL LSU has. 2016 would be

LT - Pocic
LG - Teuhema
C - Clapp
RG - Brumfield
RT - Boutte


If Alexander is indeed going to play tackle (which appears to be the case) my best guess for this year will be

LT - Hawkins
LG - Brumfield
C - Pocic
RG - Boutte
RT - Alexander

To me what it comes down to is Pocic staying at center in 2015. Many believe if Clapp is ready to play center that Pocic should slide over to guard but I personally like Pocic at center, I also believe that Brumfield is better than Clapp is so I'd rather have him on the field, even if that means keeping Pocic at center when he has the ability to play elsewhere. Of course, I could be wrong, Clapp could be a better blocker than Brumfield or even Pocic and Boutte, I don't know. We'll see what the coaches think. LSU has a lot of talented OL, there are about 8 guys who could potentially start when you include Malone and Austin. Plus with Teuhema coming in, he could be one of those rare freshman OL who is just so physically dominant they have to find a place for him as a starter.

 

[weightlifter316]

For those who don't know, the following players will not be at LSU moving forward

FB Melvin Jones
CB Rashard Robinson
DT Mickey Johnson


Reportedly grades for Jones and Robinson, transfer for Johnson.


Also, Jalen Mills legal case is still lingering. April 8 is his trial date.

 

[weightlifter316]

Jennings will be the starter at QB in the spring. I personally don't feel that Harris is as far behind Jennings as a lot of people assume. I think Harris is going to fight for the starting job from day 1 of spring training. McMillan will be there to push both Jennings and Harris to compete hard.

Fournette will be the star at RB and most likely the key player in LSU's offense. Williams will be a solid second option and there is a lot of freshman talent coming in at RB/FB. David Ducre is there with the team and will be present during spring practice.

WR is going to be loaded. Dural, Dupre, Diarse, Quinn, and Tyron Johnson is a scary group of talented playmakers. The freshman were very green last year and have a lot of work to do but the talent is undeniable. Adam Henry has done a very good job with the development of WR's at LSU.

TE will be Gordon and Colin Jeter as the primary blocking TE's. DeSean Smith showed flashes in the Music City Bowl against Notre Dame and will be someone to watch as the primary pass catching TE. Jacory Washington was also a very talented receiving TE recruit who redshirted last year but I hope will do big things. Freshman Shipley will most likely be groomed in the Gordon blocking TE role.

OL is very talented. Should be a very solid group with some decent experience and good depth.

Insane amount of talent at LSU right now on offense.

 

[weightlifter316]

Lot of unknowns currently with the defense.

DE will be breaking in two new starters with the departures of Rasco and Hunter. Tashawn Bower will most likely be one starter and Deondre Clark and Sione Teuhema appear to be the most likely leaders for the other spot. Not very much depth or experience at DE. Might see someone move from DT over to end.

DT has a ton of talent and depth. This position will work itself out. Not concerned here.

LB is still a concern. Losing Kwon sucks. Beckwith should be solid, Louis and Jones have some experience at OLB as does Duke Riley. Curious as to how Clifton Garrett fits into everything but he's got serious potential.

CB will be green but very talented. White will start for the 3rd year. I think Ed Paris will turn some heads, he was a big time 2014 recruit out of Texas, much like Jamal Adams. Dwayne Thomas will be coming off of injury but should be 100%. I felt like he was LSU's best player on defense before his injury. Freshman Kevin Toliver will play as a true freshman and Donte Jackson has some serious ability as well. No real worries here, DL will dictate how well they play more than they will.

Safety looks to be ok. Mills situation will be one to follow. Adams will be a beast. Jefferson and Thompson have a good amount of experience. There is depth there with John Battle and Devin Voorhies.

Mills could also possibly play some corner if needed.

Ultimately the DL play, particularly at DE and the LB play as well will dictate what the LSU defense does in 2015. Hopefully Orgeron can get the most out of the DL where it all starts.

 

[MLU]

Its almost time for the Absurdly Early Depth Chart Thread...

 

[Guido Merkins]

Jennings will be the starter at QB in the spring. I personally don't feel that Harris is as far behind Jennings as a lot of people assume. I think Harris is going to fight for the starting job from day 1 of spring training. McMillan will be there to push both Jennings and Harris to compete hard.

Fournette will be the star at RB and most likely the key player in LSU's offense. Williams will be a solid second option and there is a lot of freshman talent coming in at RB/FB. David Ducre is there with the team and will be present during spring practice.

WR is going to be loaded. Dural, Dupre, Diarse, Quinn, and Tyron Johnson is a scary group of talented playmakers. The freshman were very green last year and have a lot of work to do but the talent is undeniable. Adam Henry has done a very good job with the development of WR's at LSU.

TE will be Gordon and Colin Jeter as the primary blocking TE's. DeSean Smith showed flashes in the Music City Bowl against Notre Dame and will be someone to watch as the primary pass catching TE. Jacory Washington was also a very talented receiving TE recruit who redshirted last year but I hope will do big things. Freshman Shipley will most likely be groomed in the Gordon blocking TE role.

OL is very talented. Should be a very solid group with some decent experience and good depth.

Insane amount of talent at LSU right now on offense.

It all sounds great when you say it like that, but until we have a QB, sorry, none of it matters. Hopefully Harris can make that jump because AJ isn't an SEC caliber QB...

 

[weightlifter316]

It all sounds great when you say it like that, but until we have a QB, sorry, none of it matters. Hopefully Harris can make that jump because AJ isn't an SEC caliber QB...

Give Harris some time. Rarely does a true freshman start in the SEC and play well enough to warrant calling his play good. And give him some credit, when he did play his numbers were actually better than Jennings were. Harris played bad against Auburn but so did Jennings. Before that, Harris outplayed Jennings by a good bit.

Biggest problem was Harris not getting any playing time against Arkansas, A&M, and Notre Dame. Should have seen the field in all of those games as LSU was not in contention in the SEC West.

 

[Guido Merkins]

Give Harris some time. Rarely does a true freshman start in the SEC and play well enough to warrant calling his play good. And give him some credit, when he did play his numbers were actually better than Jennings were. Harris played bad against Auburn but so did Jennings. Before that, Harris outplayed Jennings by a good bit.

Biggest problem was Harris not getting any playing time against Arkansas, A&M, and Notre Dame. Should have seen the field in all of those games as LSU was not in contention in the SEC West.

Harris should have absolutely played the last 3 games. No doubt. Which brings me to my other point, namely, I don't have confidence that Les will actually choose Harris to be the starter even if he has the greater potential of the two.

IMO, we have seen what Jennings is. Harris should be given EVERY opportunity to win the job. It seems like to me that Les goes with the guy who makes fewer mistakes, but in the case of JJ and AJ, that guy is also the guy that doesn't make any plays because he doesn't take any chances. You can't be afraid to take some chances. You aren't going to win every game 13-10, no matter how good your defense and running game are.

 

[coldseat]

IMO, we have seen what Jennings is. Harris should be given EVERY opportunity to win the job. It seems like to me that Les goes with the guy who makes fewer mistakes, but in the case of JJ and AJ, that guy is also the guy that doesn't make any plays because he doesn't take any chances. You can't be afraid to take some chances. You aren't going to win every game 13-10, no matter how good your defense and running game are.

I agree with you, but I don't know where the perception came from that AJ makes less mistakes than Harris. From what I saw, he makes plenty of mistakes, gets rattled easily and doesn't make many plays.

 

[Bayouboy]

Les is stubborn as a rock, but he can't be blind (at least totally blind!).....you have to think the emphasis is to get Harris ready. Other than the coaches and players on the team, no one really knows why Harris was benched and never set foot on the field again. It totally goes against all logic (considering Jennings horrific play)....but there was some reason Miles stuck with Jennings.

I agree that we've seen the best Jennings has to offer. Jennings may get marginally better, but it seems clear he is not SEC material. I honestly think if Miles is foolish enough to stick with Jennings as his QB, it could ultimately cost him his job.

Harris has to be the answer. Hopefully, his time learning on the sidelines will help him mature as a player/leader. Harris seems to have all of the physical tools to be an elite player, but does he possess the mental skills to match? With the way the team is built, average, but consistent QB is almost all you need. The OL will be formitable and the running game will be sick....match that will insanely gifted receivers and all you need is a means to get the skill guys the football.

One huge disadvantage for the Tigers is the change in defense. They were primed to be elite....but now they have to learn a new system. When players have to think instead of react....it opens the door for big plays. Even though the defense will be very talented, I think the transition to the new scheme will take some time to master.

 

[MLU]

One of the things that I like about Les is how he sticks with a guy, even if they struggle. The way that teams swap players around in a desperate attempt to find a "spark" is ridiculous and almost never results in improvement. In fact, it just leads to more disarray. It's only recently that coaches have taken this approach as if they've forgotten that they're professionals and not fans on a message board.

I have been accused of being arrogant, but I'm not as you guys who think that from your view on the couch once a week that you are better informed of who the better QB was than Miles or Cameron.

While I certainly don't understand why Harris didn't see playing time towards the end of the season as he did at the beginning I'm sure the coaches had their reasons. Harris showed some real playmaking ability this year in spots. What I can't seem to forget, unlike many of you is that he also had the single worst two performance this year as well versus Wisconsin and Auburn. Many will point to those games as isolated instances and that most freshman would also perform poorly. To that I say, "Exactly my point".

Harris' time will come and I think he will be the best QB LSU has had in a long time. Hopefully he distances himself from Jennings this Spring. If not, then I hope Jennings takes a "Dak Prescott-like" leap soon.

 

[Guido Merkins]

I agree with you, but I don't know where the perception came from that AJ makes less mistakes than Harris. From what I saw, he makes plenty of mistakes, gets rattled easily and doesn't make many plays.

I think he doesn't throw many interceptions. Of course, he's rarely accurate enough to hit anybody on either team...

 

[Guido Merkins]

One of the things that I like about Les is how he sticks with a guy, even if they struggle. The way that teams swap players around in a desperate attempt to find a "spark" is ridiculous and almost never results in improvement. In fact, it just leads to more disarray. It's only recently that coaches have taken this approach as if they've forgotten that they're professionals and not fans on a message board.

I have been accused of being arrogant, but I'm not as you guys who think that from your view on the couch once a week that you are better informed of who the better QB was than Miles or Cameron.

While I certainly don't understand why Harris didn't see playing time towards the end of the season as he did at the beginning I'm sure the coaches had their reasons. Harris showed some real playmaking ability this year in spots. What I can't seem to forget, unlike many of you is that he also had the single worst two performance this year as well versus Wisconsin and Auburn. Many will point to those games as isolated instances and that most freshman would also perform poorly. To that I say, "Exactly my point".

Harris' time will come and I think he will be the best QB LSU has had in a long time. Hopefully he distances himself from Jennings this Spring. If not, then I hope Jennings takes a "Dak Prescott-like" leap soon.

Sticking with your guy is one thing, but I can't think of a single reason why Harris shouldn't have gotten playing time in the last 3 games. LSU was playing for nothing except for a spot in a crappy bowl over a spot in another crappy bowl. Harris should have been given several series in all of those games. That's why people are nervous. This looks like Jefferson all over again. No matter how bad he plays, he never gets pulled and not only that, the other guy gets no reps.

 

[MLU]

Sticking with your guy is one thing, but I can't think of a single reason why Harris shouldn't have gotten playing time in the last 3 games. LSU was playing for nothing except for a spot in a crappy bowl over a spot in another crappy bowl. Harris should have been given several series in all of those games. That's why people are nervous. This looks like Jefferson all over again. No matter how bad he plays, he never gets pulled and not only that, the other guy gets no reps.

I can't think of a single reason either, but that doesn't mean there wasn't one.