Toliver was the #2 WR coming out of high school. Maybe that's why I have expected more from him up until this point. Again though, I hope I am totally off base here...but I do not believe Randle will be so slow to develop. Toliver was the #2 WR THAT year coming out of high school. Doesn't really relate to how good Randle is. Randle was #1, and a far more polished athlete than Toliver was coming out of high school. I think he will contribute plenty this season. We run enough multi receiver sets to where he will get the PT. Hopefully he can learn quickly to block like an LSU receiver historically does. Hopefully, TT can learn that too...in this his 3rd year in the system.
Toliver likely would've been the #2 WR last year as well. Toliver probably has better measurables than Randle, but Randle is more physically ready and polished. It shouldn't take Randle as long, but then again they aren't on the same time line - Toliver has 2 years on him which gives him a big advantage. Toliver hasn't lived up to expectations yet, but that doesn't mean that he won't.
I agree...with both. 1) He hasn't lived up to expectations. 2) He still can. I think Randle will be far ahead of the pace that Toliver has been on...and I still maintain he will be a better contributor to the team by season's end. Sidebar---how can I pull up LAST season's thread to see how wrong I was then?
Well, Randle will definitely play, 5-stars are expected to. But he's not likely to walk in and become a starter quickly. I've watched true freshmen come in here every year since 1973 when AJ Duhe started game one as a freshman at DT and performed like a veteran from the get-go. 17 years old and already a man among boys. I just have to say . . . it just don't happen very often, amigo. Less than once a decade. Most of the freshman stars did not start in game one or split time until late in the season when they gradually took over. The ones that did start game one just totally whipped the competition in August practice, so we'll know very quickly when the next 900-pound gorilla emerges. The seniors will be talking about him in the first week of practice. I hope Randle is the next one, we're overdue, but I ain't holding my breath. It takes time for even the best athletes to learn a complicated new offense, to get used to everybody around him being pretty damn good, and especially to learn a new position. But most likely he'll be pushing the starters for most of this year. If he has the real stuff, he take a job away from one of them before the Bama game. If he has the Hot Chit, . . . he'll take the job away in the third week of August practice.
I totally agree with this post. Shocking, I know.:hihi: The parts of your post I highlighted is what I've been saying. I think BY THE END OF THE YEAR he'll bypass TT. Also, it's a little easier for a frosh to come in and contribute at WR than at some other positions. We use a lot of multi receiver sets, so he will get his chance on the field. Also, I realize some state Julio Jones shined because Bama didn't have much at receiver last season. It's true that they didn't have much, but he would've started for whomever he played for. I don't know if Randle= JJ, but I think it's closer than some realize. I don't think he'll pass Lafell by any means, but he will make his presence known...IMO.
You have to remember also, Toliver was #2 (thought he was #1 and DLo was #2 but I guess not) in what was said to be a very average prep WR class. RR was #1 in a great prep WR class. The guys ranked highly in this class were ranked as much on what they did as what they might do. But the fact that Toliver was ranked ahead of DLo, who had much more opportunity to prove it on the field (he was 4A offensive MVP and won a couple of National awards for best WR), is a testament to how much potential he had/has. RR has some clear advantages in preparedness and in brains (he's a super-smart kid), but Toliver has two years of playbook under his belt. I won't say RR is as ready as Julio Jones, AJ Green, and DeAndre Brown were, but all the scouts said he would've been right there in the conversation with them for #1 status coming out of high school if he had come out the same year as those guys. He's got to prove it on the field though...wish he had opted to get down there in January, but he hadn't picked a school yet and he wanted to play senior year baseball... Either way, this is a very good problem for LSU to have! Especially with the loss of Molton.
I agree with this. I just think his versatility will help him find the field even quicker than if he only played WR (no punt returning...no QB). Hell he even played safety a few times his junior (during Rayville game) and senior seasons (a few times because games were closer), LOL!
