Recruiting Process Hits New Lows; Tigers Blow Out Southeastern; Nothing New On Football Coaches Yet
Content provided by Bayou Bengal Blog.
I feel like I wasted a good part of my weekend watching high school all-star games, and I'm not overly happy about it.
Don't get me wrong, I got to see as many as a dozen or so players who could end up at LSU, and that part was productive for me as an LSU football fan.
But I also got to see some of the most ridiculous, low-class and shameful displays of "commitments" by high school recruits that I'll ever see. And it irritates me that as a fan and a follower of LSU and college football and the recruiting process that is so vital to it I'm probably going to have to wade through more of this crap in the next month and on into the future.
I want to make it clear that I'm not just griping here about the fact that William Campbell and Andre Debose committed to Michigan and Florida, respectively, or that LSU also didn't get kids like Xavier Nixon, Jon Bostic, John Martinez, Dyron Dye or Ray Ray Armstrong. That latter group contained not one player LSU had a real shot at, regardless of what was presented by NBC and ESPN. As it turns out, the Tigers probably got played by Campbell and Debose so as to provide drama for an otherwise ho-hum commitment to their in-state schools.
And while it's about as attractive as a Tabasco enema to think of Debose at Florida the next 3-4 years, at least he seemed to handle his commitment to the Gators with a degree of class. I can live with that, as awful as it is.
But if you saw Campbell's bizarre act before committing to Michigan Saturday on NBC during the Army All-Star game, you might have felt as I did a sense of relief that he's not going to LSU. Campbell proceeded to display a few muscle-man moves as soon as the camera was put on him, then did one of those hat-fake deals which are becoming de rigeur in these commitment announcements before donning a Michigan hat. This after "eliminating" Michigan just a few days before the announcement.
Campbell's father was standing next to him while all this was going on.
If you're a reader of this blog, you'll probably recall that one of my axioms about recruiting is that the kids who put on circuses while being recruited are usually the ones who turn into big fat busts while in college, and I can offer countless examples to prove that axiom. Campbell was definitely a circus clown, and what's more he really didn't impress in the Army game. I saw him get beat repeatedly both on offense and on defense (he played both ways in the game), and it looked like he lacked a motor. This guy has bust written all over him - and I would say that if he had committed to LSU, although I'll admit probably in a more understated fashion.
The Armstrong and Dye commitments to Miami Sunday night were even worse, though part of that was the Jerry Springer fashion in which they were conducted by ESPN. Armstrong looks like a pretty good player, but I couldn't quite decipher anything he said - it was absolutely not any form of English I'm familiar with. And Dye's pronouncement that "Imma MACHINE" was pretty embarrassing. I guess he's not aware that if you're going to "Da U" you gotta be a f$@&ing soldier, not a machine.
I am fully aware that these are high school kids, and I am also aware that I was an assclown of considerable magnitude when I was in high school myself. But I also wasn't on TV displaying my immaturity at that age, and to a large extent NBC and ESPN are to blame for putting these degrading displays on national television and insuring that high school recruits in the future will think up dumber and more embarrassing ways to commit to a school - until such time as folks like me, the audience for this garbage, will finally throw our hands up and watch the Food Channel or the fight scene from Troy on Starz instead. That time is coming unless some adult supervision is finally applied to this process.
For the football side of these all-star games, I can offer the following about LSU's commitments and remaining recruiting targets:
QB Chris Garrett, Offense-Defense game (Friday): I thought Garrett really looked pretty good even though his team was clobbered and the offense didn't move much when he was in there. Garrett showed a lot better mobility than advertised, which was a good thing because his offensive line at Tupelo High School was probably better than the group he played with this past weekend. He's got a live arm and he's pretty accurate, and he also has pretty good presence in the pocket. Based on what I saw Friday I'd say he's going to redshirt here, but there is no reason to believe that down the road he won't be a fine SEC quarterback.
QB Russell Shepard, Under Armour game (Sunday): Shep's numbers weren't great - I think he was only 2-for-6 in the game - but he accounted for both his team's touchdowns; one on a 92-yard bomb to Andre Debose, after which he told the ESPN cameras "he's gotta commit to LSU after that" and another on a 15-yard run that showed off some lightning quickness which ought to scare the hell out of SEC defensive coordinators. Against probably the best competition of all the all-star games this weekend Shepard was the most dangerous player on the field when he was in the game, and that indicates he's more than capable of fulfilling at least a Ryan Perrilloux 2007 role in the LSU offense next year. His passing needs some work; he made a few throws where he didn't plant his feet properly, but on the other hand I think the coaches for the Black squad did a lousy job of trying to make him a dropback passer in that game when that's not what he does best. He should have been rolling out or running spread option every play, not making himself a pillbox.
RB Dexter Pratt, Offense-Defense game: Pratt played with the same line Garrett did for the Red team in the Offense-Defense game, and as a result he wasn't really able to show all his stuff while getting hit in the backfield half the time. But on a couple of possessions in the second half he was featured as a runner and in those opportunities he got some openings and really looked good. Pratt has something of a Charles Scott-type style as a runner, but he's got better speed than Scott and he's capable of getting to the outside. Billed as a great receiver, though, he dropped a pass from Garrett in the flat. I expect he'll redshirt, but I can definitely see why LSU's coaches jumped on him early - he was the best running back I saw in that game, and he looked a cut above Montrell Connor, who was in the Under Armour game.
OL Chris Faulk, Army game (Saturday): Faulk wasn't exactly dominating, but I thought he acquitted himself well playing guard for the White team. I didn't see him get beat or stood up, and he seemed to do pretty well in pass blocking. One thing is for sure - he is a thick, well-built kid whose body looks ready for college ball. I'm sure he could get stronger and improve his conditioning just like every other high school kid getting ready to play college football, but if Faulk doesn't play as a freshman it's going to be due to technique or the mental aspects of the game and not due to a need for more physical development.
OL Stavion Lowe, Under Armour game: Lowe was playing right tackle for the White team Sunday night, and he got beat on a speed rush once. Otherwise he looked very good. He's a prototype college tackle, with great height and long arms, though I think he could maybe add some bulk to his frame, and I thought he showed pretty good feet. Lowe seems like a guy who could play early at LSU, though I'm not sure there will be a need for him to play as a freshman.
DT Chris Davenport, Army game: Davenport is supposedly hobbled by a knee injury he suffered at midseason at Mansfield High, and I can believe it. To be honest, he didn't look all that good. He clogged the line a few times, and that's going to be his major job as a defensive tackle at LSU (think Charles Alexander or Howard Green rather than Booger McFarland or Glenn Dorsey), but he also seemed to have a tendency to stand straight up at the snap and on at least one occasion the result was that he got pancaked. I'm not down on the kid, though, because if that knee needs rest and rehab we're not seeing an accurate picture of what he can do - and playing at little bitty Mansfield is hardly good preparation for SEC football. He was always going to need a lot of coaching before he'd be ready to contribute.
DT Josh Downs, Under Armour game: By contrast to Davenport, Downs looked like he could have started for LSU this year, which was a major surprise given that the Bastrop product was largely unknown when he committed to LSU back in February of last year. Downs isn't what you'd call big for a college defensive tackle; I'd make him maybe 6-2 and 270 or so, and he's going to need to add 15 pounds or so if he wants to play this fall. But in terms of a guy who dominates a game from start to finish and in terms of a guy who doesn't take any plays off, you won't find a kid better adjusted to the requirements of college football. Downs is cat-quick inside, he rushes the passer extremely well, he has great leverage and comes off the ball fast, he pursues plays to the sideline, he's a good tackler, he doesn't give up on plays, he'll turn around and chase when the pass is released - which virtually ZERO high school defensive tackles will do, and he's got excellent technique. He's also strong as an ox for a guy who's a little undersized at the position.
Downs was the biggest surprise of all in the game; I've considered him something of an afterthought as a recruit the whole time since he's been committed despite the recruiting services bumping him up from a three-star player to a four-star player over the course of his senior year, but I am now completely aboard with him. He's clearly the best defensive lineman in the state of Louisiana this year and I see so much Glen Dorsey in this guy I can't even believe it.
DE Sam Montgomery, Under Armour game: Montgomery, who still says LSU is his leader but who might well melt away as defensive line coach Earl Lane moves on in a week or so, would be a really nice addition to this class. He's rail-thin for a defensive end right now, but there's no doubt he has the frame to be one of those 6-4, 260-pound edge rushers who clobber quarterbacks from the blindside. In fact, he did just that to Shepard in the second quarter of the game, causing a fumble that the White team picked up and returned for a touchdown. He'd be a great pickup if the Tigers could close him; hopefully they'll get the defensive staff straightened out soon and get somebody on him hard before Signing Day.
LB Barkevious Mingo, Army game: Mingo didn't do much in the game. He got beat by a running back out of the backfield for a touchdown late, though he had no safety help, but he also had a 40-50 yard return of a blocked kick in which he looked awfully good with the ball in his hands. Mingo has serious speed, though, and with a 6-5, 210-pound frame it's not a surprise he's a highly-rated recruit. This is a guy whose value comes from a projection rather than where he is now; he's got to add 40 pounds of muscle before we'll know what kind of player he is or even what position he'll play. My guess is he ends up at defensive end rather than linebacker and he's going to be a very scary edge rusher.
LB Jelani Jenkins, Under Armour game: I don't know if Jenkins is serious about LSU after all. ESPN did a pretty in-depth report on him and his recruiting process and the Tigers weren't even mentioned, though Rivals and Scout have both had repeated reports on him in which LSU was supposedly a finalist. What that means I have no idea. What I can say, though, is that this guy can flat-out play. He runs sideline to sideline, and he hits like a truck. He's also pretty good in pass coverage, and while he needs to add a few pounds he looks like he's big enough that his size wouldn't prevent him from contributing next year. The only weakness I saw was he doesn't play off blocks quite as well as you'd like.
S Craig Loston, Under Armour game: Watching Loston is like watching LaRon Landry all over again - for good and bad reasons. Like Landry, Loston will absolutely knock the crud out of people, and because of his physicality he plays a good bit bigger than he actually is. Like Landry he also has unbelievable speed and gets to the ball extremely quickly. Of course, like Landry he also has no compunction about drilling guys late or talking smack, so that part needs to be coached a little. The intimidating persona for a free safety is there, though, and he backs it up with his play. Loston may actually have better ball skills than Landry as well. I would say this guy is absolutely capable of coming in and contributing if not starting as a freshman.
S Darren Myles, Under Armour game: While Loston was every bit as good as advertised, Myles struggled. He arrived late on a pair of touchdown passes the White team threw, one a slant route to Marlon Brown (who apparently isn't interested in LSU any more from what he says and who seems like he's going to Tennessee) who ran right by him on the way to a score, and the other a lollipop pass down the field that resulted in Myles hitting the receiver late five yards in the end zone. But that having been said, Myles did have a few really nice open-field tackles in the game. He's not a big guy, but he's pretty tall and he looks like he can fill out to 200 pounds at least without dramatically altering his body. He's also a physical guy. So if he can be coached to take better angles to the ball and improve his recognition I think Myles can be pretty good - I'm not sure he's ready to play as a freshman, though. As to his college choice, there's no news. Word is LSU is in the lead, but he won't let on publicly what he's thinking.
Hoops Looks Really Good Against SLU: Saturday night a pretty solid Southeastern Louisiana team came into the PMAC and took a 90-61 beating at the hands of Trent Johnson's LSU club. It was a strong performance by LSU, as SLU had taken Arkansas to overtime earlier in the season and had also played Auburn and Minnesota to their heels during the season as well. But after struggling a bit with the Lions in the first 10-12 minutes of the game the Tigers took control, and the second half was masterful for LSU.
Marcus Thornton had 33 points for the Tigers, a season high, and it is now no longer a silly proposition that Thornton might play in the NBA. I would say he's the best player in the SEC at this point and I'm not sure it's a close comparison. Thornton plays defense now, he rebounds well, he's a ballhawk, he takes much better shots than he did last year and if he's open he's going to score. With Thornton and Tasmin Mitchell giving the Tigers something of an inside-outside game offensively (Mitchell had 24 points Saturday) and Bo Spencer adding a third option (Spencer had 17), LSU seems like they've got a puncher's chance against the good teams. Add Garrett Temple's ability to shut down the opponent's best offensive player, which he did once again to SLU's Kevyn Green, and you've really got the makings of a nice club.
Or at least you would have those makings if you had anything at all in the post. Chris Johnson was terrible again Saturday, playing lousy defense and failing to contribute anything at all on the offensive end. Quinton Thornton was actually a lot better than Johnson when the latter was in the game, and at this point you'd probably have to go with Thornton over Johnson in the starting lineup. Thornton isn't going to give you any more than the six points he had Saturday, and with Temple not being much of a scoring threat you hate to play 3-on-5 when you're on offense. But at least Thornton brings you some bulk in the paint and he can be easily backed down under the goal. He's also a decent rebounder and he can set screens. It might also be time to experiment with Storm Warren in the post; Warren is out of position as a center at 6-7 and 220 pounds, but he's at least athletic and he plays hard. He's also coming back next year and needs playing time.
Wednesday, LSU pays its respects to Utah, and I'm sure the Tigers will thank the Utes for the entertainment of seeing them spank Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. That's a blog update all its own, particularly on the topic of Nick Saban attempting to pass the loss off on the fact that he's still building a program (how many recruiting clases will you need before you can match up with Utah, Nick?) rather than the fact he was badly outcoached, but I digress.
I don't know that the Utes will be any more SEC-friendly in basketball than they were in football. Utah has had some rather inexplicable losses this year, but they also trounced Gonzaga last week and they're a horrible matchup for LSU. Utah has a 7-2, 265-pounder in the middle in Australian Luke Nevill, who leads them with 17.6 points and eight rebounds a game. But they also have five guys in double figures on the season - so LSU can't just sag down into the middle on Nevill.
To win this game, which is doable but very difficult, the Tigers are going to need to get out in transition more than they've done so far this year. They're also going to need Thornton and Spencer to shoot the lights out from beyond the arc. And it hasn't happened all year, but LSU will also need Johnson to finally start making some shots from 10-15 feet so that they can pull Nevill out from under the goal; Mitchell is going to get totally closed down on his patented running jump hook across the lane if Nevill camps out under the basket.
After Utah comes the SEC. LSU is almost ready, I think.
The Coaching Carousel: There isn't much new going on with respect to coaches, or at least nothing definitive I've heard since the last update - though the Times-Picayune reports that we might finally have some sort of announcement on the subject later today.
After a day or so of hearing a whole lot about Bill Johnson as LSU's prospective defensive line coach, the new name being thrown around is Brick Haley, the defensive line coach for the Chicago Bears who might be getting moved out so that Lovie Smith can hire his buddy Rod Marinelli for that job. Haley is being made the scapegoat for the Bears not making the playoffs at 9-7 this year; the criticism is that Chicago didn't have enough of a pass rush. I can't offer much of an opinion on that since I didn't see them play a whole lot this year; a year ago Haley was supposedly the best up-and-coming defensive line coach in the NFL.
What I do know about Haley is that when he was at Mississippi State for Sylvester Croom's first three years (2004-06), he did a sensational job. Haley turned Willie Evans and Titus Brown into all-SEC caliber players, which was a very difficult feat of coaching to perform. His guys totally overachieved there, and as a result Mississippi State actually had a pretty good defense despite one of the worst offenses around. He's also known as a very solid recruiter with good connections in Mississippi.
Haley isn't the only name in the hopper for the defensive line job. Supposedly Miles is also talking to Bo Davis, the former Tiger player and strength coach who currently serves as Alabama's defensive line coach. Davis has just finished his second year coaching the defensive line for Saban, which would make him ripe to leave and go somewhere - Kevin Steele is already gone off that defensive staff, as he's the new defensive coordinator at Clemson, and rumors of a mass exodus on Bama's coaching staff are beginning to pile up. But Saban gave Davis a shot to coach a position when Miles would not; Davis was up for the LSU d-line job when Miles took over at LSU in January of 2005 and again when Karl Dunbar left in December 2005, and that resulting loyalty might well mean he can't be had now.
Tony Hughes, who we've discussed in previous updates, is still being talked about as a potential addition to the staff in some capacity. What I'd initially heard about Hughes was that he was an appendage to an Ed Orgeron hire, but it seems LSU's interest goes deeper even without Orgeron's involvement in this staff. Word over the weekend was that LSU's pursuit of Vance Joseph as the secondary coach has forced the San Francisco 49ers to redouble their efforts to keep him, and it looks like Mike Singletary is going to hold on to Joseph.
I feel like I wasted a good part of my weekend watching high school all-star games, and I'm not overly happy about it.
Don't get me wrong, I got to see as many as a dozen or so players who could end up at LSU, and that part was productive for me as an LSU football fan.
But I also got to see some of the most ridiculous, low-class and shameful displays of "commitments" by high school recruits that I'll ever see. And it irritates me that as a fan and a follower of LSU and college football and the recruiting process that is so vital to it I'm probably going to have to wade through more of this crap in the next month and on into the future.
I want to make it clear that I'm not just griping here about the fact that William Campbell and Andre Debose committed to Michigan and Florida, respectively, or that LSU also didn't get kids like Xavier Nixon, Jon Bostic, John Martinez, Dyron Dye or Ray Ray Armstrong. That latter group contained not one player LSU had a real shot at, regardless of what was presented by NBC and ESPN. As it turns out, the Tigers probably got played by Campbell and Debose so as to provide drama for an otherwise ho-hum commitment to their in-state schools.
And while it's about as attractive as a Tabasco enema to think of Debose at Florida the next 3-4 years, at least he seemed to handle his commitment to the Gators with a degree of class. I can live with that, as awful as it is.
But if you saw Campbell's bizarre act before committing to Michigan Saturday on NBC during the Army All-Star game, you might have felt as I did a sense of relief that he's not going to LSU. Campbell proceeded to display a few muscle-man moves as soon as the camera was put on him, then did one of those hat-fake deals which are becoming de rigeur in these commitment announcements before donning a Michigan hat. This after "eliminating" Michigan just a few days before the announcement.
Campbell's father was standing next to him while all this was going on.
If you're a reader of this blog, you'll probably recall that one of my axioms about recruiting is that the kids who put on circuses while being recruited are usually the ones who turn into big fat busts while in college, and I can offer countless examples to prove that axiom. Campbell was definitely a circus clown, and what's more he really didn't impress in the Army game. I saw him get beat repeatedly both on offense and on defense (he played both ways in the game), and it looked like he lacked a motor. This guy has bust written all over him - and I would say that if he had committed to LSU, although I'll admit probably in a more understated fashion.
The Armstrong and Dye commitments to Miami Sunday night were even worse, though part of that was the Jerry Springer fashion in which they were conducted by ESPN. Armstrong looks like a pretty good player, but I couldn't quite decipher anything he said - it was absolutely not any form of English I'm familiar with. And Dye's pronouncement that "Imma MACHINE" was pretty embarrassing. I guess he's not aware that if you're going to "Da U" you gotta be a f$@&ing soldier, not a machine.
I am fully aware that these are high school kids, and I am also aware that I was an assclown of considerable magnitude when I was in high school myself. But I also wasn't on TV displaying my immaturity at that age, and to a large extent NBC and ESPN are to blame for putting these degrading displays on national television and insuring that high school recruits in the future will think up dumber and more embarrassing ways to commit to a school - until such time as folks like me, the audience for this garbage, will finally throw our hands up and watch the Food Channel or the fight scene from Troy on Starz instead. That time is coming unless some adult supervision is finally applied to this process.
For the football side of these all-star games, I can offer the following about LSU's commitments and remaining recruiting targets:
QB Chris Garrett, Offense-Defense game (Friday): I thought Garrett really looked pretty good even though his team was clobbered and the offense didn't move much when he was in there. Garrett showed a lot better mobility than advertised, which was a good thing because his offensive line at Tupelo High School was probably better than the group he played with this past weekend. He's got a live arm and he's pretty accurate, and he also has pretty good presence in the pocket. Based on what I saw Friday I'd say he's going to redshirt here, but there is no reason to believe that down the road he won't be a fine SEC quarterback.
QB Russell Shepard, Under Armour game (Sunday): Shep's numbers weren't great - I think he was only 2-for-6 in the game - but he accounted for both his team's touchdowns; one on a 92-yard bomb to Andre Debose, after which he told the ESPN cameras "he's gotta commit to LSU after that" and another on a 15-yard run that showed off some lightning quickness which ought to scare the hell out of SEC defensive coordinators. Against probably the best competition of all the all-star games this weekend Shepard was the most dangerous player on the field when he was in the game, and that indicates he's more than capable of fulfilling at least a Ryan Perrilloux 2007 role in the LSU offense next year. His passing needs some work; he made a few throws where he didn't plant his feet properly, but on the other hand I think the coaches for the Black squad did a lousy job of trying to make him a dropback passer in that game when that's not what he does best. He should have been rolling out or running spread option every play, not making himself a pillbox.
RB Dexter Pratt, Offense-Defense game: Pratt played with the same line Garrett did for the Red team in the Offense-Defense game, and as a result he wasn't really able to show all his stuff while getting hit in the backfield half the time. But on a couple of possessions in the second half he was featured as a runner and in those opportunities he got some openings and really looked good. Pratt has something of a Charles Scott-type style as a runner, but he's got better speed than Scott and he's capable of getting to the outside. Billed as a great receiver, though, he dropped a pass from Garrett in the flat. I expect he'll redshirt, but I can definitely see why LSU's coaches jumped on him early - he was the best running back I saw in that game, and he looked a cut above Montrell Connor, who was in the Under Armour game.
OL Chris Faulk, Army game (Saturday): Faulk wasn't exactly dominating, but I thought he acquitted himself well playing guard for the White team. I didn't see him get beat or stood up, and he seemed to do pretty well in pass blocking. One thing is for sure - he is a thick, well-built kid whose body looks ready for college ball. I'm sure he could get stronger and improve his conditioning just like every other high school kid getting ready to play college football, but if Faulk doesn't play as a freshman it's going to be due to technique or the mental aspects of the game and not due to a need for more physical development.
OL Stavion Lowe, Under Armour game: Lowe was playing right tackle for the White team Sunday night, and he got beat on a speed rush once. Otherwise he looked very good. He's a prototype college tackle, with great height and long arms, though I think he could maybe add some bulk to his frame, and I thought he showed pretty good feet. Lowe seems like a guy who could play early at LSU, though I'm not sure there will be a need for him to play as a freshman.
DT Chris Davenport, Army game: Davenport is supposedly hobbled by a knee injury he suffered at midseason at Mansfield High, and I can believe it. To be honest, he didn't look all that good. He clogged the line a few times, and that's going to be his major job as a defensive tackle at LSU (think Charles Alexander or Howard Green rather than Booger McFarland or Glenn Dorsey), but he also seemed to have a tendency to stand straight up at the snap and on at least one occasion the result was that he got pancaked. I'm not down on the kid, though, because if that knee needs rest and rehab we're not seeing an accurate picture of what he can do - and playing at little bitty Mansfield is hardly good preparation for SEC football. He was always going to need a lot of coaching before he'd be ready to contribute.
DT Josh Downs, Under Armour game: By contrast to Davenport, Downs looked like he could have started for LSU this year, which was a major surprise given that the Bastrop product was largely unknown when he committed to LSU back in February of last year. Downs isn't what you'd call big for a college defensive tackle; I'd make him maybe 6-2 and 270 or so, and he's going to need to add 15 pounds or so if he wants to play this fall. But in terms of a guy who dominates a game from start to finish and in terms of a guy who doesn't take any plays off, you won't find a kid better adjusted to the requirements of college football. Downs is cat-quick inside, he rushes the passer extremely well, he has great leverage and comes off the ball fast, he pursues plays to the sideline, he's a good tackler, he doesn't give up on plays, he'll turn around and chase when the pass is released - which virtually ZERO high school defensive tackles will do, and he's got excellent technique. He's also strong as an ox for a guy who's a little undersized at the position.
Downs was the biggest surprise of all in the game; I've considered him something of an afterthought as a recruit the whole time since he's been committed despite the recruiting services bumping him up from a three-star player to a four-star player over the course of his senior year, but I am now completely aboard with him. He's clearly the best defensive lineman in the state of Louisiana this year and I see so much Glen Dorsey in this guy I can't even believe it.
DE Sam Montgomery, Under Armour game: Montgomery, who still says LSU is his leader but who might well melt away as defensive line coach Earl Lane moves on in a week or so, would be a really nice addition to this class. He's rail-thin for a defensive end right now, but there's no doubt he has the frame to be one of those 6-4, 260-pound edge rushers who clobber quarterbacks from the blindside. In fact, he did just that to Shepard in the second quarter of the game, causing a fumble that the White team picked up and returned for a touchdown. He'd be a great pickup if the Tigers could close him; hopefully they'll get the defensive staff straightened out soon and get somebody on him hard before Signing Day.
LB Barkevious Mingo, Army game: Mingo didn't do much in the game. He got beat by a running back out of the backfield for a touchdown late, though he had no safety help, but he also had a 40-50 yard return of a blocked kick in which he looked awfully good with the ball in his hands. Mingo has serious speed, though, and with a 6-5, 210-pound frame it's not a surprise he's a highly-rated recruit. This is a guy whose value comes from a projection rather than where he is now; he's got to add 40 pounds of muscle before we'll know what kind of player he is or even what position he'll play. My guess is he ends up at defensive end rather than linebacker and he's going to be a very scary edge rusher.
LB Jelani Jenkins, Under Armour game: I don't know if Jenkins is serious about LSU after all. ESPN did a pretty in-depth report on him and his recruiting process and the Tigers weren't even mentioned, though Rivals and Scout have both had repeated reports on him in which LSU was supposedly a finalist. What that means I have no idea. What I can say, though, is that this guy can flat-out play. He runs sideline to sideline, and he hits like a truck. He's also pretty good in pass coverage, and while he needs to add a few pounds he looks like he's big enough that his size wouldn't prevent him from contributing next year. The only weakness I saw was he doesn't play off blocks quite as well as you'd like.
S Craig Loston, Under Armour game: Watching Loston is like watching LaRon Landry all over again - for good and bad reasons. Like Landry, Loston will absolutely knock the crud out of people, and because of his physicality he plays a good bit bigger than he actually is. Like Landry he also has unbelievable speed and gets to the ball extremely quickly. Of course, like Landry he also has no compunction about drilling guys late or talking smack, so that part needs to be coached a little. The intimidating persona for a free safety is there, though, and he backs it up with his play. Loston may actually have better ball skills than Landry as well. I would say this guy is absolutely capable of coming in and contributing if not starting as a freshman.
S Darren Myles, Under Armour game: While Loston was every bit as good as advertised, Myles struggled. He arrived late on a pair of touchdown passes the White team threw, one a slant route to Marlon Brown (who apparently isn't interested in LSU any more from what he says and who seems like he's going to Tennessee) who ran right by him on the way to a score, and the other a lollipop pass down the field that resulted in Myles hitting the receiver late five yards in the end zone. But that having been said, Myles did have a few really nice open-field tackles in the game. He's not a big guy, but he's pretty tall and he looks like he can fill out to 200 pounds at least without dramatically altering his body. He's also a physical guy. So if he can be coached to take better angles to the ball and improve his recognition I think Myles can be pretty good - I'm not sure he's ready to play as a freshman, though. As to his college choice, there's no news. Word is LSU is in the lead, but he won't let on publicly what he's thinking.
Hoops Looks Really Good Against SLU: Saturday night a pretty solid Southeastern Louisiana team came into the PMAC and took a 90-61 beating at the hands of Trent Johnson's LSU club. It was a strong performance by LSU, as SLU had taken Arkansas to overtime earlier in the season and had also played Auburn and Minnesota to their heels during the season as well. But after struggling a bit with the Lions in the first 10-12 minutes of the game the Tigers took control, and the second half was masterful for LSU.
Marcus Thornton had 33 points for the Tigers, a season high, and it is now no longer a silly proposition that Thornton might play in the NBA. I would say he's the best player in the SEC at this point and I'm not sure it's a close comparison. Thornton plays defense now, he rebounds well, he's a ballhawk, he takes much better shots than he did last year and if he's open he's going to score. With Thornton and Tasmin Mitchell giving the Tigers something of an inside-outside game offensively (Mitchell had 24 points Saturday) and Bo Spencer adding a third option (Spencer had 17), LSU seems like they've got a puncher's chance against the good teams. Add Garrett Temple's ability to shut down the opponent's best offensive player, which he did once again to SLU's Kevyn Green, and you've really got the makings of a nice club.
Or at least you would have those makings if you had anything at all in the post. Chris Johnson was terrible again Saturday, playing lousy defense and failing to contribute anything at all on the offensive end. Quinton Thornton was actually a lot better than Johnson when the latter was in the game, and at this point you'd probably have to go with Thornton over Johnson in the starting lineup. Thornton isn't going to give you any more than the six points he had Saturday, and with Temple not being much of a scoring threat you hate to play 3-on-5 when you're on offense. But at least Thornton brings you some bulk in the paint and he can be easily backed down under the goal. He's also a decent rebounder and he can set screens. It might also be time to experiment with Storm Warren in the post; Warren is out of position as a center at 6-7 and 220 pounds, but he's at least athletic and he plays hard. He's also coming back next year and needs playing time.
Wednesday, LSU pays its respects to Utah, and I'm sure the Tigers will thank the Utes for the entertainment of seeing them spank Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. That's a blog update all its own, particularly on the topic of Nick Saban attempting to pass the loss off on the fact that he's still building a program (how many recruiting clases will you need before you can match up with Utah, Nick?) rather than the fact he was badly outcoached, but I digress.
I don't know that the Utes will be any more SEC-friendly in basketball than they were in football. Utah has had some rather inexplicable losses this year, but they also trounced Gonzaga last week and they're a horrible matchup for LSU. Utah has a 7-2, 265-pounder in the middle in Australian Luke Nevill, who leads them with 17.6 points and eight rebounds a game. But they also have five guys in double figures on the season - so LSU can't just sag down into the middle on Nevill.
To win this game, which is doable but very difficult, the Tigers are going to need to get out in transition more than they've done so far this year. They're also going to need Thornton and Spencer to shoot the lights out from beyond the arc. And it hasn't happened all year, but LSU will also need Johnson to finally start making some shots from 10-15 feet so that they can pull Nevill out from under the goal; Mitchell is going to get totally closed down on his patented running jump hook across the lane if Nevill camps out under the basket.
After Utah comes the SEC. LSU is almost ready, I think.
The Coaching Carousel: There isn't much new going on with respect to coaches, or at least nothing definitive I've heard since the last update - though the Times-Picayune reports that we might finally have some sort of announcement on the subject later today.
After a day or so of hearing a whole lot about Bill Johnson as LSU's prospective defensive line coach, the new name being thrown around is Brick Haley, the defensive line coach for the Chicago Bears who might be getting moved out so that Lovie Smith can hire his buddy Rod Marinelli for that job. Haley is being made the scapegoat for the Bears not making the playoffs at 9-7 this year; the criticism is that Chicago didn't have enough of a pass rush. I can't offer much of an opinion on that since I didn't see them play a whole lot this year; a year ago Haley was supposedly the best up-and-coming defensive line coach in the NFL.
What I do know about Haley is that when he was at Mississippi State for Sylvester Croom's first three years (2004-06), he did a sensational job. Haley turned Willie Evans and Titus Brown into all-SEC caliber players, which was a very difficult feat of coaching to perform. His guys totally overachieved there, and as a result Mississippi State actually had a pretty good defense despite one of the worst offenses around. He's also known as a very solid recruiter with good connections in Mississippi.
Haley isn't the only name in the hopper for the defensive line job. Supposedly Miles is also talking to Bo Davis, the former Tiger player and strength coach who currently serves as Alabama's defensive line coach. Davis has just finished his second year coaching the defensive line for Saban, which would make him ripe to leave and go somewhere - Kevin Steele is already gone off that defensive staff, as he's the new defensive coordinator at Clemson, and rumors of a mass exodus on Bama's coaching staff are beginning to pile up. But Saban gave Davis a shot to coach a position when Miles would not; Davis was up for the LSU d-line job when Miles took over at LSU in January of 2005 and again when Karl Dunbar left in December 2005, and that resulting loyalty might well mean he can't be had now.
Tony Hughes, who we've discussed in previous updates, is still being talked about as a potential addition to the staff in some capacity. What I'd initially heard about Hughes was that he was an appendage to an Ed Orgeron hire, but it seems LSU's interest goes deeper even without Orgeron's involvement in this staff. Word over the weekend was that LSU's pursuit of Vance Joseph as the secondary coach has forced the San Francisco 49ers to redouble their efforts to keep him, and it looks like Mike Singletary is going to hold on to Joseph.
