Kevin Minter on the LBs: "We have to step it up as a linebacker corps"

We haven't had good linebackers since the old Cameron Vaughn Brady James era.. Even Derry Beckwith wasn't at that caliber..

 

Agree with that. Having said that Riley and Shepard were fine by me, but you are still correct. I expect Minter to join the club. But we are still talking...what, 4 good LBers in the last 6 or 7 years? LSU is certainly in no danger of being called LBer U. In fact, I would put them well below the midpoint of the SEC...below a team like Ole Miss for example. I think Chavis is changing that...he certainly had them in bunches at Tennessee.

 

Les on the LBs:

"I think at linebacker that Kevin Minter, who's so veteran and played so well through the end of last season, I think he's just going to give us great play. I think Lamin Barrow , Tahj Jones, those guys in the perimeter and this young freshmen class at linebacker just keeps getting bigger and better. I think Lorenzo Phillips gained 20 pounds between his last game in high school and the scrimmage this year and looks really good. I wouldn't be surprised [Tahj] Jones and Kwon Alexander will play very significant roles. I think our linebacking corps is better and will be much better as we go forward. The linebackers have improved with the freshman class"

 

Man, it's funny to think that, as dominant as our D was last year, the LBs just weren't contributing very much. If that unit on our D improves substantially, then good lord we are gonna punish some fools.

On offense, we lacked a reliable QB. On defense, we lacked consistent LB play. Yet we were still the best team possibly ever through the first 13 games. Wow...

 

Chavis on the LBs:

"We were productive at linebacker last year. We were not outstanding, but very productive. It helps when you have a great front and a great back end. There will be young people at linebacker that will have an opportunity to play and play often.

Tahj Jones, Kevin Minter, Lamin Barrow and Luke Muncie are the guys that have played a role here. Beyond those four, we won't have a guy that has taken a snap. Today it is not etched in stone what guys will be giving us some playing time. I would say there will probably four freshmen that will be able to take the field and be productive for us.

-Deion Jones is the youngest guy on our football team. He is still a puppy, still 17 years old.

-Kwon Alexander is a very talented guy.

-Lamar Louis is a guy that benefited from being in spring practice.

-Lorenzo Phillips is a guy that is very talented and will have an opportunity to go to the field.

We are going to be able to provide some outstanding depth. We are going to need some time with the young guys to get them mature, but we think Tahj Jones is a consistent playmaker. (Kevin) Minter played half the time last year. He did a very adequate job, he has improved his game. He is becoming a leader for us, he is a physical guy that can run. Lamin Barrow and Luke Muncie are both capable. I look at the linebackers as a group much like I did as the secondary two years ago. Two years ago who would have known what we would have gotten out of Tyrann Mathieu , Eric Reid and Tharold Simon as true freshmen. That year in the Cotton Bowl, we had four takeaways. Those true freshmen accounted for the four takeaways."

 

With out a doubt. I always find LSU makes that turn though. I remember before Nick Saban came to LSU we couldn't find a cornerback to save our life. When I saw Travis Daniels come in for the 2001 SEC championship game I knew our defensive backfield would struggle no more. Then came LaRon Landry one of the most explosive football players to ever come out of the state of Louisiana. There is no excuse for not having a strong linebacking corp in the toughest conference in the country.

 

The ONLY minor excuse I would make is that LA in general over the last several years has had about the same deficiency in HS LBer talent that it has at QB. When was the last LA HS QB who could play QB in major college and look really good? Several years to say the least. Think about the LBers I talked (and I think you would talk about well)....Minter - GA, Riley - GA, Sheppard - GA. Hell, if it hadn't been for the Peach state, LSU would probably have had the worst LBer corps in the nation the last 5 years! The 2012 LA HS class produced of course 4 LBer signees for LSU and this year 1 verbal, but for the most part, LA has been a dry hole for QB and LBer talent compared to RBs, WRs, OL, DL, and DBs. Don't keep up with LA HS football so I have no idea why that is.

Of course, that means LSU has had to go OOS a lot...for example lately at QB with Chris Garrett, Zach Lee, Liggins, Rettig, Jennings. I guess the last LA scholarship QB signed was our friend Jordan Jefferson and with none in 2013 that will make a 5 year drought. LBers for the most part the same problem.

 

btw, riley is getting tons of hype in the dc area. he'll be a starter with over 100 tackles.

 

Well, he's doing a heck of a job for Alabama in the LB department !!!

 

To be a little fair, Alabama going back decades has had a tradition at LBer that LSU really hasn't had. Just like Stanford and Miami (formerly for the latter) had a tradition of great QBs. LSU has a pretty darn good tradition of secondary guys, defensive linemen, running backs, and wide receivers. IMO, LSU does not have a very good history of great QBs, OL, or linebackers....just the way life is. I don't really expect the QB or the OL to change into a common occurence of great ones but with hopefully some more years left in "the Chief", I can certainly see LSU upping the quality at the LBer position just like he built that tradition of great LBers at Tennessee.

Also, Alabama is closer to Georgia than LA (when at LSU) is, and so far, little Nicky has done pretty much squat in LA unless Collins pans out. Lacey, thanks but no thanks...I saw nothing special that would put him in the top 4 RBs at LSU. Same with the WR Kenny somebody...we know what happened to Robby Green (booted off the team after a couple of years). Didn't he sign Sentimore and he ended up at JUCO and then somewhere else? So far, little Nicky has really not hurt LSU in LA (once again, unless LC does something big), hasn't gotten much of a MS, and is really having trouble recruiting Alabama (see FSU last year and this year and Auburn this year). He has done well in GA, particularly well in Florida, and strange places like Virginia or some such. Then again, IF LSU gets Gilmore, that will have been Montgomery, Neal, and Gilmore from NC for LSU.