The LSU Tigers have been looking for a punt returner all year. They may have found him Saturday night. LSU receiver Craig "Buster" Davis took his turn at the position and gave the return game a spark it hasn't seen all year. Davis returned three punts for 33 yards, including a 27-yarder which set up LSU's fourth touchdown of the contest en route to the 49-0 blowout of Kentucky. Davis also had a 33-yard return nullified by a holding penalty before the punt. "For my first time, I thought it went pretty well," the senior Davis said. "I wasn't nervous or anything, I was just ready to help the team." Davis is the fifth punt returner the Tigers have used this year. Chevis Jackson had been the Tigers' starter until a critical fumble last week at Florida. LaRon Landry, Trindon Holliday and Daniel Francis have also each returned a punt this season. Former Westgate standout Jared Mitchell became the sixth returner late in the game, but didn't get a chance to field the punt as it sailed out of bounds. Entering Saturday's game with Kentucky, the Tigers were averaging only 6.8 yards per return. LSU has been spoiled the last few years with Skyler Green handling the return duties for the Tigers. In the last three years, the Tigers have averaged more than 14 yards per return. "It was going to be tough for anybody because Skyler made it look easier than it is," Davis said. "Just what he did in the past three years was amazing. He's probably the best punt returner in SEC history." It was the first time in his LSU career that Davis has returned a punt. In fact, it was only the third time in his entire football career that Davis even lined up at punt returner. The first two resulted in the opposing team kicking the ball out of bounds. "I was just really clowning around with coach (in practice) and told him to put me back there," Davis said. "He put me back there to field a couple of punts and I guess I looked pretty smooth. "I just wanted to go out and help the team. I feel that anything I can do to help the team is good." After last week's special teams meltdown, which also included a fumbled kickoff return as well as a blocked punt, LSU coach Les Miles was happy to see the Tigers have success on special teams. "He sure did look like he was comfortable back there, didn't he?," Miles said. "I think we're going to use him back there again. "We've been working with him. He jumped in this thing about three weeks ago, maybe earlier. He's getting better. I still think we have to have every able body ready to contribute in that aspect of the game." Miles says Davis brings a sense of "ball security" to the position and obviously has the speeds and vision to make big plays. "I think he handles the ball well," Miles said. "I think there's a ball security thing with him as an offensive player that is kind of key. And if we can give him a little seam, I think he can run pretty well." Davis had a seam on his 27-yard return in the second quarter and had the LSU contingent standing on its feet. Davis was tripped up by T.C. Drake in the open field. "It was a shoestring tackle that tripped me up," Davis said. "The wall was completely there, but when some guys don't run down the field as fast, it doesn't develop as quick. "They had a couple of guys that were behind the wall and they were in the right place at the right time." Link To Original Article
