Underrated assistant coaches in the SEC David Ching, SEC reporter Gary Pinkel and his Missouri staff have earned a well-deserved reputation as talent developers -- a facet of their jobs that is essential in building a program that wins consistently. Pinkel and Co. don’t sign classes loaded with five-star prospects, but look at what they have accomplished over the past two seasons. Mizzou posted a 23-5 record and won consecutive SEC East titles while more talented teams watched from home as the Tigers played in Atlanta. Every coach wants to think of himself as someone who gets the most out of his players, and there are heaps of SEC assistant coaches who do just that. Here are five who are certainly getting the job done, even if they are not the most well-known names outside of their respective fan bases: LSU defensive backs coach Corey Raymond: When even outsiders refer to your program as “DBU,” your secondary coach must be doing something right. Of course it helps that LSU’s defensive backs depth chart is annually stocked with talented players, but it’s not like they were all Patrick Peterson-type five-star prospects coming out of high school. LSU led the SEC and ranked third nationally in passing defense last season, surrendering just 164.2 yards per game. But out of the five DBs who handled most of the starts (cornerbacks Tre'Davious White, Jalen Collins and Rashard Robinson and safeties Ronald Martin and Jalen Mills), four-star prospect White was the only one whom ESPN did not grade as either a two- or three-star prospect. That means LSU does a good job evaluating DB talent and that Raymond knows how to develop those players once they arrive on campus.
LSU Tigers spring practice reset David Ching, SEC reporter BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU returns to the practice field after a 12-day hiatus for spring break. The Tigers will practice twice this week -- today and Thursday -- before concluding spring practice with Saturday's spring game. As LSU enters this final week of spring practice, here is some of what we've learned so far: Quarterback competition ongoing: LSU coach Les Miles maintains that Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris are making progress in their competition to become the Tigers' starting quarterback. Miles is not tipping his hand as to who truly leads the race, though -- possibly because there's nothing to tip yet. The most Miles has offered came after one spring scrimmage, when he said that Jennings had been a bit more consistent to that point. He added that Harris had his days, too, where he was the better performer. The two players will be easily the most heavily scrutinized performers in the spring game, just as they were a year ago when Harris easily outplayed Jennings. Jennings held the starting job for nearly the entire 2014 season, however, and said two weeks ago that his confidence continues to grow. He knows he must improve upon his 48.9-percent completion rate from last season, admitting, "I have to play better." Fournette most improved?: LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron told ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg two weeks ago that sophomore running back Leonard Fournette was the Tigers' most improved offensive player. He repeated that claim last week on local radio. If that's the case, look out. Fournette set LSU's freshman rushing record last season and put together one of the school's most impressive bowl performances in history with 264 total yards against Notre Dame. Fournette says he has learned a lot more about the Tigers' offensive scheme and how he fits into it -- beyond just being a runner. But most improved? That would be impressive. He was already pretty good to begin with. Pass rush an emphasis: After LSU's defense recorded just 19 sacks a season ago, new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and line coach Ed Orgeron clearly expect to increase that total this fall. Previous coordinator John Chavis' scheme didn't necessarily depend on sacks so much as creating consistent pressure and maintaining sound rush lanes. Regardless of whether we see it in the spring game, don't be surprised to see LSU add some creativity -- stunts, twists, blitzes, etc. -- to the pass rush in order to take down opposing quarterbacks more frequently. It will be interesting to see which Tigers play leading roles in that effort, though. With 2014 starters Jermauria Rasco and Danielle Hunter both gone, the competition at defensive end is wide open. Among the leading contenders to fill those roles are junior Lewis Neal and sophomore Maquedius Bain. O-line in good hands: Veterans Jerald Hawkins, Vadal Alexander and Ethan Pocic are locked into starting spots on LSU's offensive line. Whoever takes over the other two starting spots will be first-time starters -- and it remains to be seen who offensive line coach Jeff Grimes will insert into the starting roles -- but Alexander said recently that he was pleased with the contenders' performances this spring. “I think everybody will be pleasantly surprised by all the young interior linemen like Garrett Brumfield, Josh Boutte, William Clapp, Andy Dodd, K.J. Malone,” Alexander said. “Whoever's in the starting five's going to be real crisp.” Redshirt freshmen Brumfield and Clapp opened the spring as the first-team starters at guard, but Grimes has worked with a number of combinations this spring. It looks like he'll have several strong candidates for the two starting vacancies -- and his options will only grow when an all-star class of offensive line signees arrives in time for preseason practice. Chark emerging at WR: If you've followed LSU's spring practices at all up to now, you already know that sophomore receiver D.J. Chark has been one of the most buzzworthy Tigers. He didn't catch a single pass last season, but Miles has credited him with at least one touchdown catch in each of the Tigers' spring scrimmages so far. And multiple teammates named him as a leading breakout candidate for this fall. The Tigers look to be stocked at receiver, with their top four players at the position (Travin Dural, Malachi Dupre, John Diarse and Trey Quinn) all returning. But if Chark has the potential to add another speedy deep threat to the mix, which might help LSU's passing game become more productive following an underwhelming 2014.
Conversation with Brandon Harris; Part One: on season's worst day Posted: Apr 14, 2015 6:11 PM CST Updated: Apr 14, 2015 6:11 PM CST By Tatum Everett BATON ROUGE, La - LSU will play its spring game this weekend and it will be our first real look at live competition for the quarterbacks. Brandon Harris, as we remember, was never even given a first quarter snap, let alone a start his freshman year until that October game against Auburn at Jordan-Hare. In part one of our three part series with the rising sophomore, Harris opens up in a way we have not heard before on the worst day of his short college career and how it has helped shape him today. Saturday, October 4th. It was LSU's worse loss of the season, a 41-7 blowout against Auburn. As a true freshman Harris made his first collegiate start in hostile SEC territory and completed three of 14 passes for 58 yards before being replaced late in the third quarter. "Lost?” asked Harris this spring, “If you look at what the score indicated. It looks like together we just weren't there." LSU didn't convert one third down that game and their underwhelming performance had fans questioning whether or not Harris even knew what he was doing. "Plays that were scripted for me, I did, to be honest with you. But there's more to being a quarterback. If the defense stops these plays, there's a whole other element to playing quarterback here. In high school, you probably had about 65 plays compared to college where it's a system with hundreds of plays where there are out of different formations. You have to know where you're going with the ball." It's a day one would think the Bossier City native would choose to forget. But Harris says he'll wants to remember it. "You don't realize how glad I am that it happened. I've watched that film over and over again just to watch the ways that I can improve. When you have a guy like Cam that can sit down and show you what you're supposed to take on this route and this and that it al times up together. I'm just glad that I can go back and learn from that game." Harris admits he could have prepared better, but playing quarterback at a place like LSU, there's always going to be a lot of noise, including those who last year questioned his knowledge of the playbook. "I think if people have those questions, maybe they should ask me. And I get them all the time. Any time you're asking a freshman to do the stuff I have to do; normally, freshman quarterbacks redshirt. I looked at a statistic where 95 percent of NFL quarterbacks redshirted or something crazy like that. It's crazy statistic. And I came in early, not using any excuses. I put all this behind me and am ready move forward. I'm excited about the future here." Harris was one of the most highly recruited athletes out of Bossier City ever and committed to LSU before his senior season at Parkway. Despite possible rumors of transferring, Harris says he hasn't wavered in the conviction of his decision. "I'm from the state of Louisiana. I'm happy to be at LSU. I'm so happy to be at LSU. Have not thought about anything else. I'm excited to be here. I think the future is bright here. We have unbelievable talent here. Anything is possible with this team." Coming up in part two, we find out what Harris has been doing to improve and we'll hear from Les Miles and others on Brandon's learning curve.
Conversation with Brandon Harris, Part Two: on his improvement Posted: Apr 15, 2015 7:03 PM CST Updated: Apr 15, 2015 7:03 PM CST By Tatum Everett BATON ROUGE, La - Parkway's Brandon Harris had flashes of brilliance as a true freshman, such as leading the Tigers on seven consecutive touchdown drives against New Mexico State. But his only start was the disaster at Auburn and he didn't take a snap in the final three games. In part two of Tatum Everett's series, Harris says the one year since he first stepped on campus has been like night and day. With one year in the LSU system under his belt, Bossier City native Brandon Harris is ready to come into his own. The Parkway product says he can already see the improvement. "It's like doing calculus last year, and now it's easier and you can relax and have fun and play with the guys and have a smile on your face and not look so serious all the time. It's a great feeling," explained Harris. For now, we have to take Harris' word for it. Scrimmages are closed to fans as well as the media, but Harris says both he and the passing game has improved drastically. "Cam is coaching me extremely hard right now, especially my footwork and not leaving the pocket too soon and going through progressions. It has helped me out. It's like night and day. Not saying he didn't coach me like this last year, don't get me wrong, but just putting more emphasis on hey you've got to stay in there, look this guy's open, we've got to make that throw. It's just when you know where you're going with the ball, now compared to last year when it was like doing calculus. It's easier to go out and and get though your reads," said Harris. "I don't know how badly he learns calculus. It would be hard for me to figure that one. I can tel you that the adjustments that come from a high school career to an NFL career, or for that matter to a college career, take a lot of work. Probably a foreign language would be more appropriate," mused LSU head coach Les Miles. A season older has made Harris a season wiser. He says he's become a better student of the game and has watched every single snap of spring ball, fall camp, and the 2014 season in order to improve. "Knowing that I don't have to utilize my arm all the time, and showing that I can throw the ball this way and that way, get to my check downs, go through all my reads and act like I'm doing something instead of playing like a blind man so I think that's the most important thing," described Harris. "D you think they'll really notice the difference," asked Everett. "I think so. I think I'm a lot more focused in on it. I've studied hard this offseason to better myself as a quarterback," answered Harris. "He's got a season under his belt. He's more mature, communicating, doing the little things," added LSU receiver Malachi Dupre. "More vocal, more confident. Not making as many mental errors as you saw last year. He's stepping up to the plate," said LSU defensive back Tre'Davious White. "It's a different me and I just can't wait to show it," added Harris. And fans certainly hope so.
