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Steele Curtain, Center Rodney Hudson, DE/OLB Bud Dupree, and Top 32
By Mike Detillier
The sun finally came out in south Louisiana and the brightness and warmth that had been missing from Louisiana skies and on the LSU football team has put some pep in the step for the Tiger football team and the Tiger nation.
Since losing to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, the dreary storm clouds of losing recruits and losing their defensive coordinator had many Tiger fans in a bad mood.
Added to that misery was losing outside linebacker Kwon Alexander, defensive end Danielle Hunter, and cornerback Jalen Collins early to the 2015 NFL draft.
But this past week brought the team a new defensive coordinator in Kevin Steele, a new defensive line coach in former Ole Miss/USC head coach Ed Orgeron. Orgeron played football at South Lafourche High School. The news that outside linebacker Lamar Louis, tight end Dillon Gordon, wide receiver Travin Dural, offensive guard Vadal Alexander, offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins and free safety Jalen Mills were returning to play their senior year at LSU was well received.
The sunny days are back, for now.
Dural made his intentions known early in the process and it was very smart for Gordon and Louis, two late round picks at best to return. The keys were landing Alexander, Hawkins and Mills for another year in Tigertown.
Hawkins was the key "keep" for LSU. He has been a very good right tackle for the past two seasons for the Tigers, but he would like to give the left tackle spot a shot and his return to team up with Ethan Pocic as the starting tackles for LSU gives them two excellent bookend tackles.
Alexander is the run blocking "roadgrader”. Like Trai Turner was a year ago, Alexander would have either been a 3rd or 4th round pick in the 2015 NFL draft, but his decision to return gives the Tigers one of the top run blocking guards in college football for another season.
Mills is the surprise decision. I wrote a few weeks back I expected Alexander, Hawkins, Dural, Louis and Gordon to return, but I really felt as though Mills would leap into the 2015 draft early.
Mills is a very good football player. He has been a three-year starter for the Tigers and he is a ballhawk with excellent range and playmaking skills as both a pass defender and as a run support safety.
He would have been an early 3rd round pick in 2015, if he had decided to come out early, but after going back and forth numerous times he was brought back to LSU after speaking to LSU head coach Les Miles.
Getting Alexander, Hawkins and Mills to return to LSU for 2015 may have been Miles best recruiting efforts in 2015.
With those three key players back LSU is a legitimate contender for the SEC Championship and National Championship aspirations, but that huge hole and question mark at quarterback will be the very key to getting to those goals.
The Tigers landed two veteran coaches, one to replace John Chavis at defensive coordinator and they landed the premier defensive line coach in college football in Orgeron.
In Kevin Steele, the Tigers have landed an experienced coach with outstanding work habits having worked under guys like Dom Capers, Tom Osborne, Bobby Bowden, Johnny Majors and Nick Saban.
Former University of Tennessee and New Orleans Saints safety J.J. McCleskey says that Steele is "a fantastic recruiter, one of the best in the business, a tireless worker and he knows the X and O's of this business very well."
When Steele has been a defensive coordinator he has used many more blitz packages than we have seen under John Chavis and a lot of this pressure came from the outside linebacker spots.
The negative on Steele is that he is a very emotional person and sometimes he will get so caught up in the game that it affects him making the next call after a big positive or negative play.
“Kevin is a really good coach, strong fundamental coach and a world class recruiter, but sometimes he gets so emotionally wrapped up in a game that he will lose his focus on the play at hand and you need to control your emotions as a playcaller,” said an assistant who has worked with Steele. “I really enjoyed working with Kevin and he knows this game very well, but the key for him to succeed as a coordinator is for him to keep his composure better in crucial points in a game. As a playcaller who have to let the play that happened evaporate fast and move on.”
For Ed Orgeron it is a dream come true. Coach O has told me numerous times that he loved coaching at USC, but that Louisiana is home for him and that coaching at LSU was a dream job for him, if the right spot opened up.
That right spot opened up early this week.
Developing defensive linemen fully has been something I have written about numerous times and we have not seen that happen at LSU under Brick Haley.
Haley is a terrific recruiter, one of the very best in the nation. Tiger defensive linemen were never fully developed under his watch and other than Bennie Logan and Ego Ferguson we have not seen that player fully develop his full skills as a defensive lineman under Brick's tutelage as a defensive line coach.
Ed Orgeron has recruited and developed 10 first round pick defensive linemen during his career and that number will be eleven come late April when USC's Leonard Williams gets picked in Round One.
And quickly Orgeron has made his presence felt on the recruiting trails.
Longtime college/prep coach and now liaison for marketing at Thibodaux Regional Hospital, Don Rodrigue says that Orgeron has been the talk of the town for coaches in Louisiana.
"I have spoken to 8 to 10 high school coaches since LSU hired “BeBe" and all of them are so excited to see him at LSU" Rodrigue said. "You have to teach defensive line skills. As an old defensive line coach it is all about leverage, learning how to properly use your arms and hands to get off a block and constantly keeping your feet moving. At LSU you saw a lot of times when the defensive lineman couldn't beat his man with an initial move the feet stopped moving and they were stalemated. Hand placement skills and how to pull and tug around that offensive lineman is paramount. Coach O is a master teacher of those skills. I have been around what he teaches at different schools and at our camps and the kids respond to him.”
"Coach O is a tough guy, but he's fair to the young men and guys love playing for him," said the former coach and now day to day communicator for Thibodaux Regional Hospital. "His defensive lines at Miami (Fla.), USC, Ole Miss and Tennessee were about being physical against the run and also getting those big linemen to learn how to turn their hips and work around offensive linemen as pass rushers. As a coach he is going to get your attention. And he is the best recruiter I have ever seen. You talk about impact players, but he is an impact coach."
During the 2014 Manning Passing Academy I had a chance to speak to USC quarterback Cody Kessler and he raved about Orgeron.
“If you are asking for a word to describe him it would be intense,” said Kessler. "He’s loud, tough, super enthusiastic and it is contagious. He might be the guy to get all over you as a player in practice and then be the first to put his arm around your shoulder and speak to you like a dad would to a son. He’s a special guy. He’s not only a super coach, but he’s a better person. He just doesn’t forget about you when the playing days for you are over with. He found out I was coming here to Nicholls State and the Manning Camp and he invited me over to his home for dinner. We went through a tough stretch together after they fired Coach Kiffin at USC and he was the main reason for our success down the stretch. The guys just didn’t want to let him down.”
Finally some sun for south Louisiana and LSU and now we will find out real quick the impact of Orgeron and Kevin Steele on the recruiting trails as we filter down to the final weeks before signing day. Defensive linemen across the Deep South get ready, Steele and Orgeron will be calling and visiting.
Give Les Miles his full due. He won recruiting day early landing Orgeron and Steele and getting Louis, Gordon, Dural, Alexander, Hawkins and Mills to return.
Now, just fix the quarterback issue.
Gotta take a trip to the Hudson
The New Orleans Saints need to upgrade the cornerback and offensive center spot via veteran free agency. The Saints will free up enough money to address those two critical spots and a few more in the next few months, but one veteran player the Saints have to take a close look at is Kansas City Chiefs center Rodney Hudson.
Jonathan Goodwin was a good football player, especially in his first run with the Saints before he bolted away to the San Francisco 49ers. But it was obvious in watching him play last season that he has played his best football in the past and he had injury issues that has also affected his overall play. The Saints need a new, young center and someone that is an experienced starter.
Former Florida State All-American Rodney Hudson is that guy.
One of the best deals in the Mickey Loomis/Sean Payton time frame was the draft day deal that landed Jeff Faine with the Saints in 2006.
Faine was a former first round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2003 who had a host of injury issues with the Browns, and the Saints traded down in Round 2 of the 2006 draft to land the former Notre Dame standout.
Faine was a stellar performer for the Saints upfront for two seasons and he landed the largest free agent contract ever given to a center when he signed on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008.
Now, the Saints need that type leader and player upfront in 2015 and beyond.
Hudson is a young and talented player. He will not turn 26 years old until July 12th and he has been a two-year starter for the Chiefs.
The former three-time All-ACC performer was the most decorated offensive lineman in the history of Florida State and he is a native of Mobile, Alabama.
His quickness and leverage skills at the NFL level are tailor-made for what the Saints need upfront in protecting their mid-30's quarterback in Drew Brees. Hudson has always been a very good run blocker and is noted for his foot movement skills and his leverage skills to move bigger linemen at the point of attack. His foot speed and quickness are strong points to get Hudson to the next level to throw a key block downfield. With a lot of moving personnel parts along the Chiefs offensive line Hudson was a consistent force at center.
Due to age and salary cap reasons the Saints will have to make a personnel move with one of their two offensive guards (Jahri Evans or Ben Grubbs) and moving Tim Lelito to the guard spot seems to be the right personnel move.
Acquiring a young and talented center to protect the middle for Brees and upgrading the run blocking skills up the middle is paramount along with securing a veteran starting cornerback.
Rodney Hudson would seem to be the "perfect fit" for the New Orleans Saints in the middle at center.
This "Bud" for Saints?
The New Orleans Saints select 13th overall in Round One of the 2015 NFL draft. There is a very strong possibility that Nebraska's Randy Gregory, Florida's Dante Fowler, Jr. and Missouri's Shane Ray will all be off the board before they come up to the Saints pick in Round One and it is only a 50/50 shot that Clemson defensive end/outside linebacker Vic Beasley will be available.
One player to keep an eye on that will make a strong move into the top 15 of the 2015 NFL draft is Kentucky defensive end/outside linebacker Alvin "Bud" Dupree. The Saints need a top edge pass rusher and it has to fall right in line at the third "need spot" after filling voids at center and cornerback on the offseason "wish list".
Dupree has played both defensive end and outside linebacker for the Wildcats and he looks to be a perfect fit as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 alignment.
I currently have Dupree rated as the 15th best overall player for the 2015 NFL draft, but I do know that pass rushers and potential pass rushers are a premium and this could move him up the draft charts.
The 6-3, 260 pounder ,who played his prep football at Wilkinson County High School in Georgia, recorded 74 tackles, 12 1/2 tackles for losses, 7 1/2 quarterback sacks, 5 quarterback hurries, 2 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and he blocked one kick as a senior.
His 23 1/2 quarterback sacks are second all-time at Kentucky and he also accounted for 38 tackles for losses throughout his career. What jumps out to me about Dupree is his athletic skills, his violent hands at the point of attack, his quick diagnostic skills and his pass rush potential off the edge. Bud still needs some work on his technical skills and coming off the edge with a sharper turn and better hand-placement, but those are coachable points and when he works out for the NFL scouts he will knock their socks off.
While Dupree's name has not been brought up much as a likely Saints pick at 13, just remember he is a guy that will eventually be in that bullpen of players.
Mike D’s Top 32 Pre-Senior Bowl/Combine List
1. Leonard Williams, DT, USC
2. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
3. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
4. Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska
5. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
6. Dante Fowler, Jr., DE/OLB, Florida
7. Shane Ray, DE, Missouri
8. Landon Collins, SS, Alabama
9. Brandon Scherff, OT/OG, Iowa
10. Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford
11. Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
12. Vic Beasley-DE/OLB, Clemson
13. Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State
14. La’el Collins, OT, LSU
15. Alvin “Bud” Dupree, DE/OLB, Kentucky
16. T.J. Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh
17. DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
18. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
19. Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami (Fla.)
20. Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State
21. Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington
22. Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
23. Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State
24. Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota
25. Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon
26. Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma
27. Malcolm Brown, DT, Texas
28. Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma
29. Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
30. Nate Orchard, DE/OLB, Utah
31. Tevin Coleman, RB, Indiana
32. Devin Funchess, WR/TE, Michigan
Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDetillier