- Admin
- #1
Offline
The 12 Difference Makers for the Tigers in 2015
By Mike Detillier
The 2015 college football season is closing in fast and I thought I would give you my take on the top 12 difference makers for LSU this season. The difference between winning 8 games or playing for the SEC title now rests in the hands of sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris, but early on LSU’s offensive line, running game, secondary and a strong group of defensive tackles have to play big in early season “it matters” games.
1. Leonard Fournette - Halfback
Fournette is the perfect football combination of desire, focus, size, speed, strength, agility, running instincts and great hands as a receiver. No question the most talented football player to wear the purple and gold since Billy Cannon and he has a legitimate chance to be the first Tiger Heisman Trophy winner during his playing days since Cannon won it in 1959.
2. Ethan Pocic - Offensive Center
The Illinois-native can play center, guard or tackle for the Tigers. Ethan is a very sharp young man who is immensely gifted and is the best center to play for LSU since Kevin Mawae. If Pocic went down to an injury he would be the hardest Tiger to replace in the lineup.
3. Davon Godchaux - Defensive Tackle
Godchaux exploded on to the LSU scene as a freshman racking up 42 tackles after having a knee injury which basically wiped out his final prep year. Davon has the foot speed, quickness, instincts and playmaking skills inside to be the best Tiger interior defensive lineman since Glenn Dorsey.
4. Vadal Alexander - Offensive Tackle
Alexander passed on a chance to enter the 2015 NFL draft to play another season for LSU. Has started at both tackle and guard for LSU and he teamed with La’el Collins on the left side to give the Tigers the most lethal guard/tackle run blocking team in college football the last two seasons. The 6-6, 335 pounder is now back at right tackle and bet the bank the Tigers will not go back to running more to the right side than the left.
5. Kendell Beckwith - Middle Linebacker
Beckwith, a former high school quarterback and outside linebacker, really blossomed into a very stout “Mike” linebacker from midseason to the end of the 2014 season. The former East Feliciana High School standout racked up 77 tackles and 7 ½ tackles for losses as a sophomore. Beckwith is poised to have an All-SEC season in 2015 due to his physical nature, speed, quickness, and “roam” ability. He has worked hard to upgrade his pass coverage skills which were exploited late in the year.
6. Travin Dural - Wide Receiver
The former Breaux Bridge High School speedster became the man to fill the shoes of Odell Beckham, Jr. and with limited quarterback play he showed up big in 2014. The former Louisiana 200-meter sprint champion caught 37 passes for 758 yards and 7 scores as a sophomore. He has hit the weightroom harder to physically get stronger, but he is legitimately one of the most feared wide outs in college football. Now, if only LSU can have someone to get him the ball more. Dural and future star end Malachi Dupre could really blossom into a special duo if the Tigers can put Brandon Harris in a position to make the accurate throws downfield.
7. Tre’Davious White - Cornerback
White has started 24 games in his first two seasons with LSU. The speedster from Green Oaks High School in Shreveport has outstanding foot speed and ball skills. Tre’Davious has accounted for 13 pass deflections and 4 pass interceptions at LSU. He is very similar in many ways to another former Tiger standout cornerback in Morris Claiborne.
8. Jamal Adams - Strong Safety
Adams came in with the reputation as one of the top prep safeties in the nation and he played up to those lofty press clippings. As a freshman he totaled 66 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss and 5 pass deflections. Tenacious defender who is known for his jarring hits in run support and he has a real good feel for pass coverage concepts. Adams is the next superstar defender for the Tigers.
9. Jalen Mills - Free Safety
Like Vadal Alexander, Mills had an opportunity to leave early and be picked fairly high in the 2015 NFL draft, but he opted to return for his senior season. The former cornerback has very good one-on-one cover skills, he tracks the ball quickly in flight and he is aggressive in run support. Mills has intercepted 6 passes at LSU and he teams up with Jamal Adams and Rickey Jefferson to give the Tigers the best threesome at safety in college football.
DBU is in high gear with Mills, Adams, White, Jefferson and four outstanding young cornerbacks in Donte Jackson, Kevin Toliver III, Xavier Lewis and Ed Paris.
10. Christian LaCouture - Defensive Tackle
LaCouture came in the least heralded one of the huge class of defensive tackles in 2013, but he is clearly the best of the defenders and a young man with a huge upside. The 6-5, 295 pounder is quick off the snap, instinctive, tough to keep out of the backfield and he has first rate chase down skills. LSU coaches praise his passion for the game, his smarts and his very strong work ethic. He is starting to develop some really good interior pass rush moves and he has been aided in this aspect by the coaching techniques of Ed Orgeron.
11. Jerald Hawkins - Offensive Tackle
Hawkins has started the last two seasons at right tackle, but he has been moved to the left side in 2015 and a spot I feel is more suited to his talents. Hawkins is the best athlete on the LSU offensive line and he displays quick feet and outstanding movement skills. His pass blocking skills are very good and he has worked hard to become a more physical run blocker at the point of attack.
12. Brandon Harris- Quarterback
The difference in winning 8 games or being in contention for the SEC title lies in the hands of Brandon Harris. With the suspension of Anthony Jennings, Harris has the doors blown open wide for him to become the leader of the offense and take over the starting spot. There is no question that Harris is the more gifted player from a standpoint of arm strength, quick release and being able to sling the ball in a tight spot downfield, but it is the mental part of fully understanding the offense and like it or not, he has a gunslinger personality on the field.
You have to know what you are doing at all times out on the field and last year it was apparent that Harris didn’t know at times and LSU head coach Les Miles felt more comfortable with Anthony Jennings and his better knowledge of the Tiger offense.
Everyone has chances thrown their way due to events in life. For Harris it is his opportunity to seize the moment and become the undisputed leader of the offense.
Louisiana DBS - Defensive Back State
LSU is known nationwide as DBU, but plenty of that talent comes from the state of Louisiana. Two out of the last three years the state of Louisiana has produced more NFL defensive backs than any other state. Entering the 2015 season here are the defensive backs who played high school football in Louisiana.
Morris Claiborne - Cornerback, Dallas Cowboys
Robert Alford - Cornerback, Atlanta Falcons
Keenan Lewis - Cornerback, New Orleans Saints
Delvin Breaux - Cornerback, New Orleans Saints
Tyrann Mathieu - Cornerback, Arizona Cardinals
Tharold Simon - Cornerback, Seattle Seahawks
Tramon Williams - Cornerback, Cleveland Browns
Lorenzo Doss - Cornerback, Denver Broncos
Taurean Nixon - Cornerback, Denver Broncos
Tracy Porter - Cornerback, Chicago Bears
Andre Hal - Cornerback, Houston Texans
Landon Collins - Safety, New York Giants
Eric Reid - Safety, San Francisco 49ers
Kendrick Lewis - Safety, Baltimore Ravens
Safeties Dawan Landry (Hahnville) and LaRon Landry (Hahnville) are currently unsigned free agents.
Jake on Football
This week I got a chance to talk to former UL-Lafayette (LA) and New Orleans Saints/Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme.
Delhomme was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and he recalled his early days with the New Orleans Saints.
"We really didn't have much of a chance under Mike Ditka," Delhomme said. "Jim Haslett came in and brought Mike McCarthy to run the offense and everything changed. Mike had the biggest influence on my career. He was so smart and he could find the weak points in a defense. My career changed under Mike because he was such a great teacher and sort of had quarterback camp each summer."
"I thought when the Saints allocated me to NFL Europe I would get a real chance to start and we worked out in Atlanta before we went to Amsterdam. I get there and on the same team I see this huge quarterback with a monster of an arm in Kurt Warner. We battled it out good for the starring spot and he won out, but I got a lot of playing time and I got to work with Joe Clark. Coach Clark was such a positive influence on me and he made football simple and fun. Kurt turned out to be pretty good, right. It was a great experience playing in Europe and that year with Kurt. He was a special player and a special guy off the field."
"Once I got to start fulltime in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers certain defenders gave me trouble and I hated to play against them. He was not an All-Pro talent, but one guy who gave me fits was Kevin Mathis with the Atlanta Falcons. He was just so smart and he could read what I wanted to do out on the field better than anyone I played against. Two other guys like that were Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Another guy that was tough for me to go against was Mike McKenzie with the Saints. He read your eyes very well as a defender."
Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDetillier