LSU recruited three tight ends last year: Jordan Corbin, Alex Russian, and Mitch Joseph. I need to put together their profiles for my website. I'm definitely going to talk about the versatility of tight ends, and how they can be converted to OL, DL, LB, fullback, or even wideout in certain circumstances. Like with Kentravis Aubrey, however, I know very little about these guys individually other than what is available on their profiles at Rivals and Scout. By the way, there are only 7 players left to profile, and I want to get it all done before Fall Practice. I have to hustle on getting them out. Also not done yet: Drake Nevis, Jarvis Jones, Terrance Tolliver, Ron Brooks. I know what to say about Brooks and Tolliver. I'm just saving them for the end. I think I know what to say about Nevis (his decommitment from Ole Miss is fertile writing ground), but I also know very little about Jarvis Jones.
Jarvis Jones dominated the Texas-La game on the line....one of only 2 or 3 players on the TX team that looked like they belonged out there. He went up mostly against Wilfred Journet (Auburn) and shut him down...everyone he went against got taken out of the game. Showed great hustle and finishing, and has extremely long arms that lock a defensive player out when he gets them on you.
I'm really high on Corbin. He was the #1 TE out of Florida, even though he was injured his entire senior season. Before the injury, I thought he stood a good chance of jumping into the Rivals 100. He's healthy now & his strength/conditioning stood out among the incoming freshman. There is some speculation that Corbin will be moved to LB, but I don't think so. I heard really good things about Alex Russian as an all-around good athlete. Mitch Joseph is more of a blocking TE, which he's great at, but in Crowton's offense he'll need to work on his pass catching. At least one of these guys is going to have a lot of PT this year. Right now, we really only having Zinger & Dickson. Zinger is more of a blocker while Dickson is good at catching the ball. Crowton will quadruple our TE production from last year, which means we'll need another TE that can catch; enter Corbin.
Nevis commited to Ole Miss early because they were first program to offer him. As his senior year started playing out the LSU coaches started turning up the heat on him and we got him to switch his commitment. We wanted this guy bad. He's similar to Dorsey, in that he's a little undersized but good technique and a "motor that never stops". I expect him to RS this year, but he'll be good for us down the line.
Jones was said by some scouts to have the most potential out of any OT from Tx last year. He has great strength & measurables with a good work ethic, but he needs to add weight & improve his technique.
Just rewatched the Rivals films this morning after seeing your post, and here's my take for what it's worth. (Sorry if a bit repetitive..) Alex Russian will be a big surprise at TE IMO. Some people who don't watch the films, think he was only brought in because he is a good Deep Snapper. No way. Russian might be the fastest of the 3, and has tremendous hands. Rivals says: "Russian was one of the best kept secrets in the Lone Star state". Believe it. He's looks is a decent blocker, but seems to excel more at defeating his man, and then getting open for lots of 20-30 yard pickups. Moves extremely well after the catch. Great athlete with an SPARQ score of 84.54 Jordan Corbin also looks fast (Corbin might be as fast as Russian, but to me Russian looked a tad faster) & also looks to have great hands. Caught several really nice long passes for TDs. Moves very well after the catch. He's also looks pretty good as a blocking TE. His defensive skills on the films should be noted. Corbin looks like he could move to DE if he wanted to. He was getting into the backfield, blowing up plays with relative ease. Checked out his stats, 24 TFL's as a Sophmore in HS. What's amazing to me is that these films are old..from his Sophmore & Junior seasons and he was Dominant. Mitch Joseph is a tremendous Blocking TE. Looks excellent at driving players backwards. I mean like 5-8 yards backward if he doesn't pancake them. Looks more quick than fast. He seems to have pretty good hands as well. He caught a few long & medium range passes. He's a big target who can move the chains. Doesn't have the escapability of the other 2, but can get open easily. If he changed positions, my guess would be that he'd move to OT. Miles did his homework on these guys: #1 ranked TE in FL, #1 TE in LA, #2 TE in Texas.
This is something I really would like to see. Going into last season, I thought with our wide outs, the tight end has to be open. Jimbo didn't use the tight end that much, and I wish he had done more of it. Make em cover you everywhere.
There are only so many snaps in a game/season. If the TEs get more touches, that has to come from somewhere. Who gets fewer? Keiland? Trindon? The #2 and #3 receivers? For every "more", there has to be a corresponding "less".
