Just a quick question. I know some people may say that I shouldn't be looking ahead to next season with this season yet to be completed, but I just want to find out. With a lot of people saying that 2011 was the year we have a chance to make a run, I was hoping someone could give me a better idea as to where we stand player-wise. Who are we losing on Offense and Defense and who are the impressive players who are going to be stepping up to become our new playmakers and into the all important leadership roles? Also, who are some players that we haven't seen a whole lot of that you think are going to be big time players next season? Would be kinda awesome if we went to the BCS NCG next year. It would continue our 4 year pattern.......2004-check, 2007-check, 2011-here we come, 2015-???, etc
IF WE DON'T GET TO THE BIG SHOW THIS YEAR, WHO KNOWS, THE STUDS MAY BE BACK. THIS TEAM SURE LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE COMMITTED TO EACH OTHER. ALSO, I THINK MICHAEL FORD HAS BIG UPSIDE. STUFF BREWING IN NFL, ALSO. MIGHT KEEP A LOT OF GUYS IN SCHOOL.
i think the biggest loss for us will be Kelvin Sheppard. He is irreplaceable right now. Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that of our Big 3 on D who were expected to either graduate or leave early, Patrick Peterson would be the guy who was the most easily replaced.
Eh....... i'm gonna have to think about that one. I would say no because of his return ability, but i find it hard to believe that with all the athletes we have on our team we can't find 1 person who can return punts like he does. The thing about Sheppard, or at least the reason i think he is irreplaceable at the moment is because of the mental aspect of his game. He is the leader of that D and a coach on the field. I mean look at what happened to Bama after they lost McClain. Do they suck? No of course not, but they lost alot when that guy left for the NFL.
I think losing Nevis will be huge. Big shoes to fill. Sheppard is an unquestioned leader, but Baker is a damn strong LB and Chavis in a LB guru. Peterson is the best corner LSU may ever have, but Mo Claiborne on one side with T-Rex on the other doesn't bother me one bit. Simon and Reid really showed some skill in relief over the weekend, as well. Not too worried there. On offense, we know we have a long line of soon-to-be-great running backs waiting their turn. The QBs will be back and I hope to God they can let it fly in their senior years. Not sure who we are losing on the O-Line, but a lot of young guys are getting snaps this year with all the injuries we've suffered there, and there hasn't been much of a drop in performance. D-Pete will be back at TE. RR and RS will still be around to catch balls, and we've consistently pulled in 4 and 5 star talent at WR the past few years. Are we losing Jasper? That's a HUGE loss...but then again, we never thought we'd replace Colt David. Helton is a spectacular punter, IDK what class he's in, either. I think RR returns punts and RS returns kickoffs. Just a hunch there, really. And I'd be fine with that. Next year actually looks really, really good if we can somehow make up for the loss of Nevis on Defense and if the QB(s)/coaches can produce on offense. Anybody know what our rivals are losing/gaining next season? That's relevant, also.
Overall QB strength in the West should drop big time. Mallett, gone. McElroy, gone. Assuming no NFL lockout next year, Newton is almost certainly gone, and with it Auburn's entire offense (they also lose 4 senior O-linemen from this year's team). Not sure about Masoli's eligibility since he's in a graduate program. With a decent QB coach LSU would have been in extremely good condition with 2 senior QBs. If Crowton gets sent packing, that may yet happen.
AJ McCarron should be pretty good for Bama. Who knows what's going to happen with Olivia Newton, and that Wilson kid at Arkansas isn't much of a drop off. The experience leaves when Masoli, Mallett, and McElroy leaves, but the talent really doesn't fall off.
