We have great receivers for sure. Do SEC defenses protect against the pass as well as the run? I think fewer teams have great defensive backs. We could exploit that weakness often.
I am afraid to say that I was at a Florida camp with Xavier Carter and the only thing he has going for him his speed. Granted, it is 4.2 speed and he was the fastest guy at the camp, but he was not even in the top 10 receivers there. He did not really impress me, just thought I'd let ya'll know. He is fast though. (Didn't want to bring negativity to the thread because there is a great WR corps being put together at LSU, sorry if i dampened enthusiasm because I share the same spirit for Tiger football)
A lot of techniques can be taught but you can't teach speed*. These guys are raw and excellent coaching can turn them from good to great. (*Better technique can improve speed a little but you either have it or you don't.)
How will anyone be able to stop Hill, Doucet, and Carter on the field at the same time? Don't ask me that is for sure. Another thing that I wanted to point out though. What makes everyone so sure that Russell is going to be better than Flynn. I mean I want both of them to reach full potential, but I never hear anyone mention Flynn's name whenever talking about the future of this football team. I really like both of our freshmen quarterbacks though. We are really loaded at WR. We have too much talent to put on the field actually, especially if Clayton returns. It is bittersweet if he leaves. I would love to have him another year, but he really needs to move onto the pros because there is nothing else for him to accomplish at LSU. Plus, we have many younger recievers that deserve to see some playing time. I guess it would be best if Clayton just moved on to tearing up the pros...
lmb20988: For the same reason Brett mentioned about the speed with receivers. JR has raw natural talent. Flynn has the technique and is more polished. Flynn is good and will be better. When JR masters the technique, coupled with that talent, look out! This is based upon opinions of two people that have watched both in practice. However, it does not mean that JR will be better. In fact, I projected back in the fall that Flynn would probably start before JR. I see JR leaving LSU early, and Matt staying 4/yrs. JMO
One of the reasons Hill, Bowe and Davis signed with LSU last year was that they knew Jamarcus Russell and Matt Flynn were signing with the Tigers. I even heard that Russell was calling Amp Hill to convince him to sign with LSU. If we sign Early Doucet or Xavier Carter, let alone both of them, we will have an embarrassment of riches at the WR position for years. Next year's WR's would include: Sr.--Michael Clayton (if he does not go to the NFL early) Jr.--Skyler Green Jr.--Bennie Brazell So.--Junior Joseph So.--Amp Hill So.--Dwayne Bowe So.--Craig Davis Fr.--Early Doucet (or Xavier Carter, or both) I don't see how anyone could put Clayton or Green on the bench, so you would have many extremely talented WR's competing for the remaining starter spot in the lineup. Nice problem to have.
I disagree that Michael Clayton has nothing left to accomplish. It would be foolish to announce early for the draft during the "year of the wide receiver." I think he goes much higher next year, plus we could legitimately campaign him for the Heisman. Defenses, by next season, will understand that we're too stacked at WR to double Clayton, and he will take off with really impressive stats.
Clayton going pro and Xavier Carter were topics of discussion on BR sports talk yesterday. The host and callers consensus was that Clayton would be gone after this year. I don't agree, I think there are too many WRs in this draft class and he hasn't had a great season "statistically" so I think that would hurt him. They said Xavier Carter has world class speed. Impressive, as long as he can catch.
