While this season (not yet over!) is still fresh on the brain, what implications (good and bad) will 2009 have on 2010? Here are a couple random thoughts to get the juices flowing... Good: 1. Jordan Jefferson is no longer a young QB. He's bloodied and tested. 2. 9-3 and a bowl win against a Big 10 or Big 12 team will keep recruiting strong. 3. Offensive line should be better next year, especially if Ciron Black's replacement steps up. 4. Lots of redshirt freshmen from a very high quality class, including Loston, Ford, Davenport, Faulk, etc. 5. Key freshmen R. Randle and R. Shepard will hit Spring training with a little bit of veteran stink on them. That bodes well for next year, especially if the coaches figure out how to not look silly using Shepard... 6. Special teams are rockin' good and getting better. I hope we use Shepard to replace T. Holliday returning kicks/punts. Bad: 1. I'm not convinced LSU has a starting QB, even with Jefferson bloodied and tested. He should have the job in his pocket. I don't think it's quite that secure. 2. Depth at LBer next year. Baker, Minter, etc did not see a lot of PT this year. 3. Defensive line. The Tigers need a strong off-season and some huge play from some folks not currently getting PT. Because our DL, particularly the pass rush, has not been good.
We need guy's like Montgomery, Davenport, Brockers and Logan to step up on the d line or it could be trouble in that area again.
Losing senior RBs Scott and KW, it was nice to see that sophomore RB Ridley looks promising. 6.26 YPC for the season (not sure if that is updated to include the Arkansas game or not).
If Crowton is still here, I hope he can find some different ways to use Shepard. A tad predictable up to this point, I would say. :geauxtige
Possible implications for next season The good: -Jefferson settles down and becomes much more efficient at QB -Ridley and RS accept and welcome the role as one-two punch combinations running backs, capable of tiring out defenses in the first quarter -Crowton leaves -The offensive line, experienced now, beefs up, and provides effective, consistent blocking -The Defensive line, tired of not getting to the QB, gets faster and views the QB as a tiger views a steak -Chavis stays on, and his scheme becomes established in the starting defense -Linebackers get better at tackling and driving runners backwards -Defensive backs stop falling down, and Chevis uses them in blitz packages effectively The Bad: -Jefferson thinks it's all about him, and begins to tamper with the gameplan -Young receivers appear lost and out of touch after not getting too much playing time in the previous season -Crowton stays o: - Chavis leaves to go coach somewhere else, and an inexperienced coordinator is hired -Our OL does not receive any help from coaches or from the experience of the previous season -Miles leaves to go somewhere else, and a cheap coach is hired to replace him The ugly: -Nike uniforms that were supposedly just for the R-Kansas game become the norm for all home and away games
The biggest concern with recruiting is not our record, but losing our best recruiter (& possibly our 2nd best in McCarthy). Coaching changes will be very interesting to watch, as we will need to get some great recruiters - hopefully not at the expense of their ability to coach, like we've done before. Our OL & RB's probably won't be any worse. I expect OL to be better & our running game to be about the same - mediocre. We need a LT to step up, and that should be an interesting battle. Ridley is a good back, but beyond that who knows. Ford has played tentively at practice, we need him (& others, including Shepard & true freshmen) to step up. Jefferson now has a full year as a starter under his belt, and hopefully he improves during the offseason. IMO, the key will be for him to develop pocket presence & the ability to check down quickly. I know that Miles feels a veteran QB is the key to success, and that Jefferson can be that guy. I tend to agree & think that he can develop into a great QB. We lose lots of WRs, but only 1 difference-maker in LaFell. Toliver has been pretty good this year, and Randle has started to come on late. I think they will continue to provide LSU with 2 top WR's. Depth is a serious issue though, with basically nobody behind them. Hopefully somebody can step up. We're thin at DL, and have almost no established players at LB. DL shouldn't suffer much of a drop-off if we develop a few backup guys that can play 50% of the snaps. In particular, I think Montgomery, Davenport & Brockers should fill that roll because I was very high on them as recruits. Shepard will be back & man MLB, but the two outside spots are completely up for grabs. I like Chavis' ability to coach up LB's though. Our defensive backfield should continue to be one of the best in the country. I'll be curious if Loston can crack the line-up, especially with SS being our weak point. Now that Shepard has had a year in the system, I hope we can figure out how to use him effectively. This is probably the one thing I am hoping for the most next season, as he is our most dangerous weapon on offense. Overall, I'm confident that LSU will be a better team next year, but am concerned that the shedule may be tougher.
I've been thinking about QB. JJ does not have a lock on that spot next season, IMO. He should improve and he may win it, but I could see it go another way. Jarret Lee would be a long shot. When he got his second chance this season he showed little progress. Shepard, I don't really see him as our QB, we haven't seen much of his arm, but in high school and the spring game last April, he did not show me an SEC arm. That leaves Chris Garrett who will be a redshirt frosh next season. He was in town and went through spring practice last season, so this will be his second spring practice. It's a long shot, but JJ only has one more season in the program, but he does have a full season of game experience. If anyone else was going to win the QB slot, IMO it would be Garrett. I wish JJ had locked it up, but I think the door is open.
Well a lot can happen between now and next year. I think the biggest concern is we will always go into the season inexperienced because of our coaching mentality to not play the young guys when they can. I don't mean burn redshirts, I mean experience for the rsfr and sophs that will have to step up. The thing that can really impact this even worse is Toliver. This will probably be the last year of fat ass rookie contract in the NFL. If he leaves early we will be really thin at receiver. I think in most cases he would come back, but the coaching changes that are likely to come and the salary cap rules may make him chance it. Our Oline will probably be better. That is only because I don't think they could grade out this badly two years in a row. I don't know the real numbers but I have heard as a group their avg grade for the year is around 55. That means they only got it right 55% of the time. JJ will be fine with an improved Oline, which will add up to an improved running game. We gotta remove the option from our playbook. And Garrett has to play some. We have to get him ready. I don't think Lee will be on the depth chart. I think Deangelo Peterson will move back to receiver next year. He will be the best route runner on the team. This can only happen if Tyler Edwards steps up. Too bad he didnt get some reps this year. Ridley, Murphey and Ford will be a decent backfield.
If JL is not on the depth chart, we'll be very thin at QB. Only JJ, RS (if he's still a QB), Garrett, and incoming frosh Zack Lee. We won't play a true frosh, so that just leaves us 3, and just 1 with any experience to speak of. I'd sure like to see Seastrunk added to the RB mentioned. Murphy has never gotten it done, and coming back from his injury, there's considerably more doubt. We're thin at RB for next season.
Interesting point. Personally, I don't feel like he's had a big enough year to go pro, but if he did - our WR's would seriously hurt. We have JJ 2 more years, so the only way Garrett sees PT is in blow-outs, and that's only if Lee transfers, which I guess we all expect to happen. Doubt it. If Tyler Edwards were ready to be a receiving TE, he would've played this year. Peterson should be a great pass-catching TE for us next year.
