Odds & Ends

BASEBALL
After a disastrous home series against Tennessee a week ago, coach Paul Maineri decided to shake things up by changing LSU's lineup. Leon Landry went to the bench and freshman shortstop Austin Nola was inserted into the everyday lineup. The team responded by going 5-0 last week, and they recorded a much needed sweep at home against Auburn. The Saturday and Sunday games were both decided by 1 run which shows me that this team is beginning to show a bit of mettle in proving they can find different ways to win the close game. The team had to play against Auburn without first baseman Sean Ochinko, who was sidelined with a tweak to his hamstring. He should be ready to go against Tulane on Wednesday.

Jared Mitchell, who had been slumping badly, had a nice weekend by going 5 for 13 with a big HR on Saturday. Mitchell's great speed, high on-base percentage, and ability to draw walks makes him the ideal guy on LSUs' team to hit in the leadoff spot. However, he also has a tendency to strike out a lot. While slumping badly, Maineri moved Mitchell down in the order. It will be interesting to see who leads off tonight.

The big story coming out of the weekend was the emergence of Chad Jones as a pitcher. It's been no secret that with the exception of freshman closer Matty Ott, LSU hasn't been able to find any consistency from their bullpen, especially from left-handers. Jones, who pitched in high school but was recruited as an outfielder for college, was given an opportunity. After some strong bullpen outings, Maineri brought Jones into the ballgame on Sunday with two men on base and nobody out in the 8th inning. After giving up a single to load the bases, Jones struck out the next two batters which had Alex Box stadium buzzing. While it's easy to get excited about the possibility of Jones playing a major role on this team for the stretch run, I caution people to remember that he's only faced 3 batters all season. He'll certainly get more opportunities though.

LSU has just one mid-week game this week before traveling to Arkansas to face the Hogs in the biggest series of the season. Winning the series at Arkansas would be monumental in LSU's efforts to win the SEC regular season title and to secure a Top 8 national seed for the post season. The Tigers currently share the SEC lead with Georgia with a 14-7 league mark. Arkansas is one half game behind at 13-7. Ole Miss and Florida are just a game back at 13-8. LSU has 11 games remaining on the season: 9 SEC games and 2 mid-week games against Tulane and Centenary. My thinking is that if LSU can go 8-3 in those games, winning the mid-week games and going 6-3 in the SEC, that it should be enough to secure a Top 8 seed with at least a decent showing at the SEC Tournament. That would put LSU at 41-15 with a 20-10 SEC mark. I think that will get it done assuming a solid performance in Hoover. Rivals.com's projections this week put LSU as the #7 national seed. Though LSU is ranked in the Top 5 this week, their RPI ranking is at #17. That is due to some very poor losses to teams such as Tulane, USL, and Nicholls St.

FOOTBALL
We found out a few weeks ago that sophomore defensive back Phelon Jones decided to leave LSU's program. That wasn't a huge shock seeing as how Jones was running with the 3rd string and younger players passed him on the depth chart. He apparently didn't "mesh" well with new defensive backs coach Ron Cooper. LSU is still a bit over the 85 scholarship limit and Jones was a good candidate to be one of the guys who looked elsewhere. No real surprise. What IS a surprise to many is that Jones was granted a full release by LSU, and is now going to sign with Alabama and play for Nick Saban. He'll have to sit out the 2009 season, but then he'll have 2 years of eligibility remaining.

The book on these situations says that you never release a player who wants to transfer to a rival school. The thinking is that if a rival thinks the player can help their team, then you don't do anything to facilitate the improvement of that rival. Most coaches will grant a player a release to any school other than to one in the same conference. The rule is that when a player transfers, they must sit out a year before playing. If they transfer without the release from their current school, then they must sit out two years. So why did LSU let Jones transfer to Alabama? There's no telling, but here's what I think:

First, LSU's staff obviously doesn't think too highly of Jones as a player. That's evident by his placement at the bottom of LSU's depth chart. So Les Miles isn't too concerned with Phelon Jones hurting LSU in the future, and if Bama wants to use up a scholarship on him, then fine. Could Jones develop and flourish in a different system? Sure. It's possible. And that's the risk you take.

Second, I think Miles is a little bit above some of this stuff. It's very likely that Miles legitimately wishes the kid the best and wants him to be able to play wherever he wants. Jones's family got a bad deal after Phelon signed with LSU (and not Alabama) a couple of years ago. His Dad, a coach, was suddenly let go from his job and the family was basically blackballed by the pro-Bama community. It's understandable if Les Miles is sympathetic to that situation and doesn't want to give the family any more run-around than they've already dealt with.

When it's all said and done, this will probably amount to very little. Bama will have themselves a solid backup and special teams player and LSU frees up a scholarship.

RECRUITING
On the recruiting front, LSU received a visit from Texas QB Zach Lee. Lee is one of very few QBs who holds an offer from LSU. He originally planned to visit LSU for the spring game but bad weather prevented him from doing that. Instead, he made the trip this week. After reading several stories on the visit, things look very positive for LSU right now. Lee is 6'4" 200 pounds and is pretty mobile. His skillset will remind a lot of people of Matt Mauck or Matt Flynn. He's not quite the runner of Jordan Jefferson, but he's able to move the chains with his feet and keep defenses honest on a zone-read running play. He also holds offers from Alabama, Ole Miss, Arizona, Texas Tech, Arizona State, and Nebraska.

Lee is also a big-time baseball prospect as a pitcher, and he was able to take in Saturday's baseball game and talk to head coach Paul Maineri. LSU takes some extra risk if Lee ends up being the QB for the Class of 2010 because of the Major League Baseball draft. It's quite possible that Lee could go play pro baseball and never go to college, leaving LSU high and dry. With two sophomores and two freshmen on the roster at the QB position, this would be the year to take any kind of a risk while recruiting the QB position. Early reports indicate that Lee is quite interested in attending college and playing both sports. Les Miles also has to ask himself if he wants his QB missing spring practice due to baseball.

LSU is also looking forward to evaluating in-state prospects Munchie Legaux and Terrance Broadway at camp this summer. Those guys may receive an offer with a good camp showing.

For now, I'd have to say it looks like Lee is the top candidate to be LSU's QB in this class, simply because he's the only one with an offer showing legitimate interest.

NFL Draft Preview

It's NFL Draft time and once again, and LSU will be very prominent on Draft weekend. LSU has a whole lot of people that may get drafted, but I only see 3 that I would say will definitely get selected. The LSU record for most players drafted in one year is 7, which has happened 3 times since 2004. I'll go over each guy and give you a quick rundown on where I think each will be picked.

LSU has had at least one first round draft pick in each of the last 5 years. Here are LSU's 1st rounders during that span:

2004 - Michael Clayton Pick #15 Tampa Bay
2005 - Marcus Spears Pick #20 Dallas
2006 - Joseph Addai Pick #30 Indianapolis
2007 - Jamarcus Russell #1 Oakland, Laron Landry #6 Washington, Dwayne Bowe #23 Kansas City, Craig Davis #30 San Diego
2008 - Glenn Dorsey Pick #5 Kansas City

LSU has the second longest streak of consecutive #1s in college football. Miami leads the way, although it looks like their streak will come to an end this year. Will LSU's streak continue? It certainly looks that way. Does a streak like this mean a lot? Not really. But it's a valuable tidbit that the coaching staff can use on the recruiting trail. Every recruit wants to eventually play in the NFL, and something like this indicates that LSU can be a good path to the league.

DE Tyson Jackson has been a 3 year starter at LSU and has found his way onto some All-SEC teams. Outstanding against the run and at times a force rushing the passer, Jackson finds himself shooting up the draft charts. After the season, most considered Jackson to be a marginal first round prospect, but now most most drafts have him going anywhere from #3 to #12 overall. At this point, I'd be downright shocked if Jackson didn't go in the first round. Jackson has found himself a hot prospect because he's a bit of a niche player for the NFL. With great size at 6'5" 290 pounds, he's got the prototypical, and very rare, size as a defensive end to play in a 3-4 defense. For teams that run a 3-4, a guy like Jackson is very valuable and hard to pass up. Not many guys exist with his skillset. Do I see Jackson as a Mario Williams or Julius Peppers sack machine in the NFL? No. Not at all. But I think he can be a multi-year starter in the right system, and he should make himself a lot of money.
Prediction: First half of 1st round

LB Darry Beckwith had a very solid showing at the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine, and at LSU's Pro Day. He has helped himself after a sub-par senior season at LSU. To Beckwith's credit, he has battled injuries his last two seasons in college, and he seems to be healthy right now. To me, he always looked more effective as an outside linebacker, but he was switched to middle linebacker after his sophomore season. To my surprise, the NFL wants him to play in the middle. Beckwith has been projected anywhere from the 2nd round to the 5th round. Odds are, he'll fall somewhere in between there. It's also interesting to note that LSU has only had 1 LB selected in the draft since 1990, and that was Bradie James in 2003. Beckwith looks like he'll change that this year. I think Beckwith is certainly a guy that can make an NFL roster and have a solid career.
Prediction: 3rd round

OL Herman Johnson was thought to be one of the top offensive linemen in this entire draft after the season. However, Johnson had a poor showing at the Senior Bowl where he showed up overweight. The coaches there also had Johnson playing right tackle, when his most effective position is at offensive guard. His stock dropped dramatically after that. For LSU's Pro Day, he shed the extra pounds and had a very nice performance. His projection has held pretty steady as a 3rd or 4th rounder recently. Like Jackson and Beckwith, Johnson was a 3-year starter for LSU.
Prediction: 4th round

FB Quinn Johnson spent the season demolishing linebackers while clearing the way for a sensation season for Charles Scott. He is the prototypical NFL fullback, and he has held steady as the #1 fullback in the draft. Fullbacks generally don't get drafted high. But the first NFL team that decides they're ready to address their need at fullback will take Johnson, and he'll probably play in the NFL a very long time. I don't think Johnson will get picked high, but I do think he'll get picked somewhere.
Prediction: 6th round

DT Ricky Jean-Francois is as talented as anyone LSU has in the draft. But a very disappointing 2008 season and ho-hum workouts for the NFL scouts has dropped his stock quite a bit. He's now considered a late round pick at best. Jean-Francois suffered, as did all of LSU's defensive linemen, from substandard coaching last year. He probably would have benefited a LOT by coming back to school for his senior year and made himself a lot of money. However, Ricky and schoolwork apparently didn't get along too well, and I'm not sure he even had a choice. NFL Scouts do recognize his talent, and he'll likely get selected somewhere in this draft. But I don't think it will be as high as he had hoped.
Prediction: 6th round

S Curtis Taylor is yet another defensive player who had a good 2007 season but struggled mightily in 2008. Taylor's reputation was that of a big, hard-hitting safety who had some deficiencies in coverage. At LSU Pro Day, Taylor run a sub 4.5 in the 40 and erased some of the concerns about his speed. Taylor is a late round pick at best, but he has a chance to have his name called too.
Prediction: 7th Round

WR Demetrius Byrd was likely going to get selected in the mid to late rounds of the NFL draft. Byrd has elite speed, and some NFL team will take a chance on him because of that. Unfortunately, Byrd was involved in a serious car accident on Sunday and he's in pretty serious condition. His status has been pretty tight lipped, but some reports have leaked out that he's not doing that good. Obviously, those who represent Byrd don't want word to leak out that he may be injured as they head to draft weekend. Regardless, the uncertainty around his situation probably means that Byrd won't get drafted. I'll admit that I was pretty ticked off at Byrd for most of his senior season. I thought he gave a pretty half-assed effort once the season turned south. I didn't think he hustled, and he dropped way too many balls. But Byrd had SO many big catches in 2007 for LSU that it's hard not to root for the guy to be successful. I hate that this happened to him right before the draft, and I hope that he is OK and can have a successful career.
Prediction: Undrafted

DE Kirston Pittman was another defensive lineman that struggled for LSU in 2008 after a very good 2007 season. I was very surprised when Kirston Pittman did not receive an invite to the NFL Combine. Therefore, Pittman knew he had to really impress at LSU's Pro Day. He did just that. He was LSU's most impressive player that day, and he made himself known. After that, he has a chance to get drafted now. I don't think it's likely, but Pittman may get his name called in the 6th or 7th round.
Prediction: Undrafted

C Bret Helms was a 3-year starter for LSU and maybe the most valuable guy on the offensive line. Helms is very light for an offensive lineman, especially one trying to play in the NFL. He hovered around 280 pounds his whole career. Helms proved his worth with outstanding technique and a fiery attitude. He was also very adept at making all the calls at the line and pointing out the defensive alignment. I can see Helms as being a backup interior offensive lineman in the NFL, but I'm not sure an NFL team is going to take a chance on him because of his lack of size.
Prediction: Undrafted.

DT Marlon Favorite & K Colt David are practically locks to go undrafted, but they'll likely sign free agent deals and try to win a spot on an NFL team.

Spring Football Recap

I can't provide a first hand report of the spring game because I decided not to go due to the huge wave of thunderstorms that were bearing down on Baton Rouge Saturday afternoon. Of course, it didn't rain a drop during the game. To those who did go, you can thank me. I'm convinced the moment I decided not to go, it clinched the fact that it wouldn't rain. Had I decided to attend, all of you would have gotten wet.

Regardless, I've watched all the highlight videos, read all the articles, and gotten some reports from those who were in attendance. So while I can't give a first hand account, I have a few comments on the game as well as a recap of spring football in general.

First, the game. Everything went about as well as you could expect. Most importantly, LSU suffered no injuries. The players who you were hoping would perform well did perform well. Jordan Jefferson was 8 for 10 passing and looked sharp running the offense. Charles Scott led the game in rushing with 70 yards and scored 2 TDs on the day. Brandon Lafell had 5 receptions. For the starters on defense, they notched a shutout against LSU's 2nd team offense. Patrick Peterson and Perry Riley both nabbed interceptions with Peterson taking his all the way back for a touchdown. In other words, the stars shined.

A lot of people were looking to see what Russell Shepard could do as the 2nd team QB. Most came away pretty impressed. Shepard was 7 for 12 passing on the day, but he also dazzled onlookers with some impressive runs. But, he also proved he's a true freshman by throwing an interception and losing a fumble. Also showing his stuff is the "other" true freshman QB, Chris Garrett. Garrett showed off his big arm and looked sharp on the day, completing 8 of 14 passes. However, he also threw an interception. I thought it significant that Jarrett Lee only had 6 passing attempts.

Some other things to note:

- Wide Receiver Chris Tolliver had a nice day, leading all LSU receivers with 6 catches on the day. That's a nice bullet on his resume in his efforts to get into the mix for playing time this fall. For some reason, Tolliver is one of my favorite players and I think he'll do big things for LSU one day. He has big-time speed and I think he'll really shine once he gets his chance.

- Karnell Hatcher worked with the first team defense at strong safety. Most figured Ron Brooks would be that guy, but Hatcher is making his bid to take over Harry Coleman's departed spot.

- It's also interesting that Jai Eugene started at cornerback opposite Patrick Peterson. For most of spring, Chris Hawkins held down the starting position. But Hawkins played with the 2nd team on Saturday and Eugene got his chance. I'm in the minority here, but I thought Eugene outplayed Hawkins last year and I thought it should have been Hawkins to get replaced by Peterson midway through last season. I like Eugene and Peterson as the starters at cornerback.

- Danny McCray and Chris Hawkins were the only scholarship seniors to play with the 2nd team (purple) on Saturday.

- Speaking of Harry Coleman, he apparently looked pretty natural playing linebacker, especially for only having practiced there one week. He gives LSU a speedy option at LB against a spread offense where Kelvin Shephard can play middle linebacker and Coleman plays on the outside.

- T-Bob Hebert played with the first team offensive line at center, and he played without a green no-contact jersey on. He reportedly did very well and is looking like LSU's guy at center next year. Due to his knee injury, he's been out of the weight room for a while. He needs to re-gain that lower body strength to avoid getting pushed around in the fall.

- Deangelo Peterson looks like a keeper and a matchup nightmare as a receiving tight-end.

That's about it for the game, but here are some spring game photos, courtesy of Tiger Sports Digest:

As for spring practice as a whole, here are 10 overall observations:

1) Les Miles may say that we have an open competition at QB, but he's lying. Jordan Jefferson is LSU's starting QB. Period. End of story.

2) LSU's defense will have a much different attitude in 2009 than they had in 2008. You'll see the best 11 players on the field, unlike last year.

3) Pep Levingston really stepped up and has left no doubt as to who should be the starting left defensive end. He looks ready to have a very nice year. He had two sacks in the spring game.

4) Russell Shepard is an electric football player and a difference maker. LSU's coaches can get very creative in how they use him. Jarrett Lee may be the true #2 QB, but Russell Shepard will log more snaps at QB than Lee. If Jefferson were to get injured, Lee may be the guy they turn to, at least early in the season. But otherwise expect Shepard to get more snaps as both a change of pace guy and in mop up duty.

5) LSU's offensive line probably won't be as good as last year and as a result, expect to see more rollouts from the QBs.

6) The biggest improvement on the team may come from the linebackers, who are getting some serious coaching from John Chavis.

7) Ron Brooks played his way from a guy barely in the 2-deep to a guy who will likely start at safety. Only a sophomore, Brooks has a very bright future in LSU's secondary. He'll also return kickoffs this year. LSU's safeties will be playing deep a lot more this year; therefore, they'll be running towards the line of scrimmage to make big tackles or to intercept passes. Brooks is a playmaker, and he'll do well in this scheme.

8) Expect the D-line to play much, much better than the last 2 years. Brick Haley is a monumental improvement over Earl Lane as the defensive line coach. Al Woods and Drake Nevis have both been frequently named as guys that were difficult to block this spring. They are your starting defensive tackles.

9) Patrick Peterson will be the best cornerback that LSU has had since Corey Webster, maybe even before.

10) With LSU's O-line and fullback not as good as a year ago, short yardage situations may be more complicated in 2009. Expect to see LSU running the ball from the shotgun, 1-back set a lot more.

That's about it for football for a while. Unfortunately the end of spring football marks the beginning of "Jackass Season", where the only good football news is bad football news. Past jackass seasons have brought us Ryan Perriloux counterfeit rumors, yelling at Kona Grill wait staff, and ultimately getting dismissed from the team for apparently failing a drug test. We've also seen things such as Rohan Davey blow out his knee playing pick-up basketball, Shomari Clemons shoving a cop, Kyle Anderson punching some frat boy at Freds and getting kicked off the team, Chase Pittman knocking someone out at Bogies, Derrick Odom stomping the hood of some poor girl's car because she had the nerve to ask Odom to get out of the middle of the road, etc. Jackass season also brings us the news that certain recruits haven't academically qualified and thus won't be joining the team in the fall. Hopefully, we'll avoid all of those things this summer.

As the season approaches, I plan on doing a lot of preview stuff. Since I did real in-depth position previews leading up to spring, I'm not going to re-do them before the fall. For the most part, not much has changed. Instead, I'll focus my efforts on previewing the rest of the SEC. Each year, I say that I'm going to do both and I never get around to finishing before the season starts. So this year, I'll only focus on the other teams since we already did LSU before spring.

Tomorrow or Thursday, expect another update on LSU Baseball's recent woes (though they eeked out a win tonight), and also an NFL Draft preview. I'm a huge NFL Draft guy, and will give my thoughts on all the LSU players expecting to get drafted this weekend.

Recruiting Update - Spring Game Weekend

LSU hosted a number of top prospects on campus this weekend for the spring game. A lot of recruits that were scheduled to visit ended up not making it due to a variety of reasons.

The big news is that Texas linebacker Luke Muncie gave LSU his verbal commitment. Muncie came out of nowhere as he wasn't on anybody's radar as a guy LSU was recruiting. I didn't even know he was visiting this weekend. Muncie looks like a very solid prospect though, and I think LSU got a good one. He's 6'3" 210 pounds and plays both safety and linebacker for his high school. He projects as an outside linebacker and fits the mold of the speedy type of linebacker that John Chavis likes. He had offers from Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Arizona, and Oklahoma State.

West Monroe defensive end Jordan Allen was on campus for yet another visit which reportedly went well. This was Allen's third trip to LSU this year, and LSU is sitting right where they need to be. I don't think LSU's coaches are worried about losing Allen to someone else. Allen maintains that he's not ready to commit and that he wants to take his visits. My thought is that West Monroe's coach, who has been around the block a few times in terms of having highly recruited players on his teams, doesn't want his players committing anywhere if they want to take their visits. After Luther Davis lied to coaches about taking a visit and got his LSU offer pulled a couple of years ago, I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see any early commitments from West Monroe players again.

Virginia wide receiver Justin Hunter visited LSU this weekend after claiming that LSU was his leader earlier in the week. Hunter is a very intriguing prospect because he's 6'4" 180 pound with 4.4 speed, but he's also one of the most coveted recruits in the country for track and field as a high jumper. So he's looking at schools that have successful programs in both football and track and as a result, LSU and Florida State are at the top of his list with LSU in the lead. A guy like that would be deadly in the red zone. Hunter is on the early Rivals 250 list and has offers from Florida, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, Penn State, and just about everyone else. His visit reportedly went very well, and he's now on the list as a guy we'll follow very closely.

Little Rock tight-end Garrett Uekman visited LSU this weekend. Uekman is a receiving tight-end and currently has an offer from LSU. He left speaking VERY highly of LSU and is certainly a possibility. He admits that he grew up an Arkansas fan, and it sounds to me like he'll ultimately end up a Hog. LSU already has Nick Jacobs in the fold at tight-end and is still heavily recruiting Travis Dickson.

Capitol High School QB Terrance Broadway was on campus for the spring game and got to spend some time with LSU's coaches. LSU has yet to offer Broadway, but they are heavily recruiting him. LSU wants to get a better look at Broadway in person at their camp this summer and may offer after that. The most interesting news regarding Broadway's recruitment this weekend is that Alabama unexpectedly received a commitment from Virginia dual-threat QB Phillip Sims. Bama was thought to be the leader for Broadway, but with Bama finding their QB elsewhere, Broadway is as open as ever.

Thibodaux wide receiver and Louisiana's top prospect Trovon Reed was on campus for the game. It's good that Reed continues to show his face on LSU's campus.

Houston area linebacker Shaun Lewis made the trip to Baton Rouge for the spring game and reportedly had a good time and got to speak with Les Miles and the other LSU coaches. Lewis is a guy I really want in this class.

Newman defensive back Ronnie Vinson wasn't able to make it to LSU this weekend, but his parents did make the trip and they were able to meet with some of LSU's coaches. LSU is in great shape right now with Vinson.

Texas quarterback Zach Lee was planning on visiting LSU this weekend but wasn't able to make it in.

Karr QB Munchie Legaux was planning on attending but couldn't work out the transportation. Legaux plans to attend LSU's camp this summer.

Georgia running back Storm Johnson who had a great visit to LSU a couple of weeks ago visited Florida this weekend for their spring game. He now says that Florida and LSU are tied for his leader.

St Pauls defensive end/linebacker Houston Bates was at LSU for the spring game. He had a meeting with Les Miles, Brick Haley, and John Chavis but it doesn't appear he received an offer.

Virginia linebacker Chase Williams made his second trip to Baton Rouge this weekend. Williams is the son of new Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams. Williams doesn't have an offer from LSU yet, but the staff is very interested in him.

Lake Charles defensive tackle Rissean Broussard committed to Tennessee over the weekend. Broussard didn't have an LSU offer, but he was someone LSU was taking a hard look at. He didn't play football his junior season, so LSU wanted to see more of him before extending an offer. Broussard was probably the only defensive tackle in the state worth offering this year, and it's a shame he wasn't more patient to see if LSU would have ultimately offered. Based on some of his positive comments regarding LSU, I think LSU could easily get back on Broussard if they decide to offer at a later date. For that reason, I'll keep him on my list.

A number of the state's top prospects for the Class of 2011 were in attendance as well. I'm not quite ready to get into the Class of 2011, but it looks like it will be one of the best years Louisiana has ever had.

Lastly, Shreveport athelte Jarrett Fobbs is indicating that he's close to making a decision. The problem is that he doesn't have an LSU offer yet. Fobbs is a guy that would likely end up with an LSU offer when it's all said and done, so he'll hopefully remain patient for now. He does have offers from Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Tennessee.


COMMITMENTS:
ATH Tharold Simon (WR or S) -- Eunice
TE Nick Jacobs -- Many
WR Mike Davis -- Dallas, TX
FB Brandon Worle - LaGrange, GA
LB DJ Welter -- Crowley Notre Dame
S Eric Reid - Dutchtown
LB Luke Muncie Klein, TX
OL Jamarcus Hardrick (JUCO)


PROSPECTS:
QB
Terrance Broadway -- Capitol
Sam Carter -- Houston, TX
Taylor Burch -- Neville, Monroe
Jake Heaps -- WA
Munchie Legaux -- Karr
Zach Lee -- McKinney, TX (Dallas area)

RB
Lache Seastrunk -- Temple, TX
Dontae Williams -- Houston, TX
Storm Johnson -- Loganville, GA (Atlanta area)
Michael Dyer -- Little Rock, AR

WR
Trovon Reed -- Thibodaux
James Wright -- Belle Chase
Justin Hunter -- Virginia Beach, VA
Martavious Lee -- CA (JUCO)
Kevin Johnson -- Houston, TX
Shedrick Davis -- Central Baton Rouge
DeAndrew White -- Galena Park, TX (Houston area)
Solomon Patton -- Mobile, AL
James Louis -- Delray Beach, FL
Demarco Cobbs -- Tulsa, OK

TE
Travis Dickson -- Ocean Springs, MS
Naquan Lee -- Crockett, TX
Xavier Grimble -- Las Vegas, NE
Garrett Uekman -- Little Rock, AK

OL
Luke Charpentier -- John Curtis
Evan Washington -- DeSoto, TX (Dallas area)
Chad Lindsay -- Houston, TX
OC Brown -- Memphis, TN
Wes Rea -- Gulfport, MS
Adam Shead -- Cedar Hill, TX (Dallas area)
Daryl Williams -- Corinth, TX
James Stone -- Nashville, TN

DT
Rissean Broussard -- Washington Marion Lake Charles (Tennessee commitment)
Churphy Stewart -- Breaux Bridge
LaCraig Brown-- Monroe

DE
Jordan Allen -- West Monroe
Houston Bates - St Pauls Covington
Rashad Givens -- MS JUCO
Joseph Okafor -- Houston, TX
Zach McCray -- VA
JR Ferguson -- MD
Benay Pryor -- MS JUCO
Walker Ashburn -- John Curtis
Brandon Willis -- Duncan, SC

LB
Justin Maclin -- Memphis, TN
Kurt Killens -- Round Rock, TX (Austin area)
Shaun Lewis -- Missouri City, TX (Houston area)
Pat Swilling Jr. -- Brother Martin New Orleans
Gerald Christian -- West Palm Beach, FL
Corey Nelson -- Dallas, TX

CB
Tony Hurd -- Missouri City, TX (Houston area)
Jonathon McKnight -- John Curtis

S

ATH
Ronnie Vinson (CB or S) -- Newman New Orleans
James Haynes (CB or WR) -- Orange, TX
Jarett Fobbs (CB or WR) -- Huntington Shreveport
Gavin Webster -- Lutcher
Curtis Carter -- North DeSoto

K
Cade Foster -- Dallas

Busy Weekend for LSU Sports

LSU Athletics are in for a very busy weekend with the baseball team hosting Tennessee and the football team having their spring game.

BASEBALL

LSU Baseball is sitting right where they need to be at this point in the season. They currently have a 27-10 record and a 10-5 SEC record, having won 5 straight SEC series all 2 games to 1. Only Georgia (1 game ahead) and Arkansas (a half game ahead) have better SEC records than LSU right now. While the Tigers are currently ranked #1 in the nation by several polls, you still get the sense that this team hasn't showed us everything they're capable of, especially at the plate. Other than for the first 10 games of the season, the team really hasn't been "hot" at any point this year. Hopefully, they'll get hot at the right time as the season nears an end. The team has also lost several games they have ZERO business losing. They've dropped games to USL, Tulane, 2 to Illinois, and one Wednesday night to Nicholls St. In baseball, you can't win them all. You just can't. And in a week where LSU has to play 5 games such as this week, a team's pitching wears thin. But there's no reason to ever lose to Nicholls. Ever! By the way, pitching wasn't the problem against Nicholls as LSU only gave up 3 runs. LSU may really wish they had paid more attention to those games when the Top 8 national seeds are being given out at the end of the year. LSU's RPI is only #15 right now and the losses to poor teams are a big reason why.

The good news is that LSU's bats have started to come around. Blake Dean is starting to hit the poop out of the ball again. Ryan Schimpf's batting average is up over .300 and he's tied for the team lead with 9 HRs. Even Leon Landry's batting average is on the rise. LSU's two freshman in the starting lineup, Tyler Hanover and Mikie Mahtook, are mashing the ball right now too. Hanover is hitting .330 and Mahtook is up to .357. And those two guys typically hit 8th and 9th in LSU's batting order, which makes LSU's lineup downright scary when a pitcher has to face #s 8 and 9 before going back to the top. Coach Maineri also seems to have finally settled on a lineup after tinkering with it all year. The only downside is that Jared Mitchell, one of LSU's most consistent hitters all year, is in an awful slump. He can't hit a beach ball right now. But as the leadoff hitter, I'm more concerned with Mitchell's on base percentage, and he's still got a fantastic number there at .486. Mitchell has the potential to be a good RBI producer too though. He's got some pop in his bat as evidenced by his 6 home runs this year. And with Hanover and Mahtook setting the table for him in the 8 and 9 spots, it would benefit LSU if he would go back to putting the bat on the ball. LSU is also about to get Chad Jones back from football. If Jones hits the ball like the coaches think he can, it will be interesting to see where he fits.

LSU hosts Tennessee this weekend who has the worst league record in the SEC. LSU has their best opportunity for a sweep all season, especially since Tennessee is 0-8 on the road this year. With Arkansas and Georgia facing off this weekend, LSU can conceivably be the SEC leader by Sunday evening. My only concern is that the Nicholls St. loss doesn't halt the momentum LSU was building and cause the guys to press some this weekend.


FOOTBALL

Let's look across Nicholson Drive to Tiger Stadium where the LSU football field will take the field on Saturday. I don't put a whole lot of stock into spring games because they really don't mean that much. Last year, we saw Richard Murphy give an MVP performance in the spring game. We talked all summer about how he'd be such a weapon in the fall. And then he was still the 3rd string running back. So I caution people not to freak out, one way or the other. However this year, we might be able to learn a few things from the actual game. Coach Miles has split the teams into what essentially amounts to the starters vs. the backups. So while we won't get to see any fun matchups such as Patrick Peterson trying to defend Brandon Lafell, we will be able to see the entire starting offense and defense work together. Therefore, if Jordan Jefferson gets sacked 5 times Saturday, that's a problem because the starting offensive line is playing together and they're going against the backups.


As far as any updates from spring practices this week, there's a few interesting things to report. First is that starting strong safety Harry Coleman has been moved to linebacker. This was a move that I've been wanting to see for over a year now. The emergence of Ron Brooks at safety has made this move possible and as expected, Brooks is working as the starter at Coleman's vacated safety spot. Coleman played linebacker in high school, so this isn't totally new for him. He's reportedly fared pretty well in his first week of practice. The starting linebackers seem pretty set for now. But we've heard that LSU may look to move Kelvin Shephard to middle linebacker to allow Coleman to play on the outside. I'm not sure if this is something the coaches are considering as a permanent move or if it's something they would use in passing situations to get more speed and coverage ability on the field. All reports this spring have been positive on middle linebacker Jacob Cutrera so I'd be surprised if he gets bumped to the bench. But there's no questioning that LSU would be better in coverage with Coleman out there in place of Cutrera.

Jai Eugene has also re-emerged as a contender for a starting position. At one practice, he was working with the starters while Patrick Peterson worked with the 2nd unit. I don't think for a minute that Peterson won't start, but it shows that the coaches are giving Eugene another serious look.

I'm excited to see how the newcomers and younger players perform. Of course, all eyes will be on the QB for the purple team, #10 Russell Shepard. Everyone wants to see what he can do. I'll be equally interested in seeing how Chris Garrett performs at QB. Freshman running back Drayton Calhoun will be one to watch. With all we've heard about Tim Molton, I'll have my eyes on him too. In general, I'm looking forward to seeing the defense, and they'll hopefully show some signs of significant improvement over last year.


RECRUITING

LSU picked up their 7th commitment of the 2010 recruiting class this week with junior college offensive tackle Jamarcus Hardrick. Hardick is a huge guy at 6'7" 315 pounds. Not highly recruited out of high school due to academic concerns, Hardrick is now one of the most coveted junior college players in the nation. He also had offers from Ole Miss, Nebraska, and Arkansas. Once he received his offer from LSU, it took him less than a day to realize he wanted to accept it. With Ciron Black graduating in 2009, it makes sense for LSU to go JUCO for an offensive tackle. Hardrick is set to graduate next fall and will be at spring practice next year. He'll likely compete with Greg Shaw and Chris Faulk to replace Ciron Black as LSU's left tackle. With LSU dismissing Jarvis Jones last year and losing Ernest McCoy this offseason, they had to fill in some of that missing depth.

LSU will be hosting a lot of recruits at the spring game tomorrow. Some of the biggest names on LSU's board will be on hand. Once I have a more clear idea of who will make it, I'll post another update for the recruiting junkies. That will hopefully be later today or tonight.

- Kris Brauner

Back Online!

After being distributed through e-mail only for the last several years, I'm taking my newsletter back online. I used to have a website some time ago but abandoned it because the maintenance was too time consuming. Well, these "blog" sites today make it very easy to manage a newsletter such as mine, so I've decided to give it a shot.

You can check it out here

It's not much, but it does offer a few things. First, you get a pretty snazzy animated header that I'm a little proud of. Second, all of my previous postings are archived along the right hand side so you can reference things I've written in the past. This could be good (or bad for me) to pull out some pre-season predictions I made after the season. I've already loaded up the site with my last 8 newsletters. This site also offers anyone the ability to comment on any of the newsletters. Often, people wanted to reply to my mass e-mails, but then others on my mailing list weren't crazy about being part of a discussion like that. So, this offers a forum to do some commenting and have some discussion. In fact, I've put this announcement on there, and I'd love to get some feedback, good or bad, on what you think. It can be a trial run of sorts for commenting. You just click on "comments" at the bottom of any post. Please do so if you have a minute.

Lastly, I know that many of you forward my newsletters to friends and family. While I encourage that and don't have a problem with it, it makes it hard for me to know exactly how many people read my stuff. The website has a feature where I can see how many people visit it each day, so I may be able to get a better handle on the size of my audience. The website is of course free. But one of these days, I may have the ability to make some cash doing this and going back online is the first step.

I even have my first sponsor in GeauxTigersArt.com. Check them out if you haven't seen them before. If you're interested in throwing up your business as a sponsor, let me know. Trust me, It's really cheap right now (i.e. free). But if I start realizing that my site is getting a lot of traffic, I may even have the ability to sell some other sponsorships.

I'm still going to e-mail each newsletter so if you're not interested in going to the site, you don't have to. In the future, I may consider just e-mailing a link to any new postings and having everyone read the newsletters there. If you have a preference, let me know and I'm glad to do whatever the masses prefer.

Thanks and hope you enjoy!

Kris Brauner

Recruiting Update

It's been several weeks since I've done a recruiting update. The LSU coaches have been pretty busy working the phones and hosting prospects on campus, and the results have been encouraging. This was a year when I wasn't expecting LSU to make a run at the nation's #1 recruiting class. It's a bit of a down year in the state of Louisiana and history shows that when LA is down, LSU isn't able to bring in a Top 5 class. But LSU's coaching staff is doing everything they can to attract top out of state talent, and we'll see where it takes us.

Since the last update, LSU picked up their biggest commitment to date in Dutchtown safety Eric Reid. Reid looks the part of a big-time safety, has multiple offers, and is highly rated by the scouting sites. He's in the first version of the Rivals Top 100 and just outside of Scout's Top 100. Reid's father ran track at LSU and now works for the university, so it's unlikely that we need to worry about Reid going back on his verbal commitment.

Here are some updates on guys we've already discussed or some new names to watch that we haven't discussed at all yet.

Oklahoma athlete Demarco Cobbs visited LSU's campus a couple of weeks ago and had really great things to say. LSU has dablled with recruiting the state of Oklahoma in the past, but with zero success. LSU has been on Cobbs for some time now and former coach Josh Henson was the main recruiter. With Henson leaving to go to Missouri, LSU fell off the radar for Cobbs but after his visit, LSU is back in the mix. He's probably a receiver in college and stands 6'1" 195 pounds. He has offers from Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, USC, and Arkansas. He was also in the initial Rivals Top 100. LSU appears to be a major player for Cobbs and he's a guy we'll add to the list and keep an eye on.

Georgia running back Storm Johnson visited LSU last weekend and came away extremely impressed. In fact, it looks that LSU is clearly the team to beat for Johnson right now. He did not commit publicly, but he may have done so privately. We'll see if he's still high on LSU once the luster from the visit wears off and he visits some other schools. Johnson is a big-time player though and has offers from major programs such as Florida State, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, and Penn State. He's also in the early version of Rivals Top 250 list. He's a bigger back at 6'0" 205 pounds. With LSU looking for at least 2 running backs in this class, Johnson would be a great start.

Houston area linebacker Shaun Lewis is saying very good things about LSU lately. Lewis is a speedy outside linebacker who holds offers from every major program that isn't burnt orange. He's current'y 6'1" and just 200 pounds but he has lots of speed. He's also in the initial Rivals Top 250 list. Lewis is apparently good friends with Tony Hurd, Lache Seastrunk, and Travon Reed. I'm going to start calling these guys "The Crew" because they seem to do everything together and they plan their trips together. It could be beneficial to LSU if they decide to play college football together. Lewis has been unable to visit LSU yet, but is trying to get on campus for the spring game.

Speaking of "The Crew", the rest of them visited LSU last week. Running back Lache Seastrunk and receiver Travon Reed are LSU's two most important recruits so it's good that they're continuing to visit LSU and continuing to do it together. I have a hard time believing that Travon Reed will end up anywhere but LSU. Seastrunk recently made some waves by stating that Auburn was his leader. While everyone believed that LSU, Texas, or USC would be Lache's final destination, Auburn came out of nowhere. Apparently the running backs coach at Auburn has a family connection which put Auburn in the picture. When everything shakes out, I think Auburn may get an official visit, but I don't think they'll be a serious player for him.

Cornerback Tony Hurd also visited LSU with Seastrunk and Reed. Hurd has made no secret that he thinks highly of LSU and that he's waiting on LSU to offer. He didn't receive his offer while on campus, but LSU's coaches encouraged him to come to camp in the summer and earn one. Hurd is small at only 5'9", but he's a real tough guy and he seems to win MVP awards at every camp he attends. The smart money is that Hurd earns his offer this summer and ultimately ends up at LSU.

Belle Chase receiver James Wright visited LSU this past weekend and left without an offer. To me, I think Wright has as good of film as any receiver LSU is recruiting. I don't understand the lack of an offer, but then again, his only offers are from Minnesota, Texas Tech, Stanford, and Tulsa. So I'm clearly just missing something. LSU has lots of players interested at the wide receiver position, so the staff is being smart and taking things slow.

Houston area offensive guard Chad Lindsay has stated that he's down to two schools, LSU and Alabama, and that he'll be making his decision in the next couple of weeks. Lindsay is a devastating run blocker and has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, FSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma ,Tennessee, and many others. If there's a negative with Lindsay, it's that he's a little stiff and not that great when moving laterally. But for straight ahead run blocking, I don't know that I've seen any better at the high school level. Lindsay has a sister at LSU and a parent who graduated from LSU, so conventional thinking is that the Tigers are the team to beat.

LSU is making a move on Las Vegas tight-end Xavier Grimble. Grimble is a very good looking prospect who is getting attention from a lot of big schools. He has offers from nearly everyone, but LSU looks to be near the top of his list along with Florida and USC. He's 6'6" 245 pounds and has great speed and athleticism. He's ranked as the #39 overall player in Rivals early Top 100 list. He reminds me of Oklahoma's Jermaine Gresham.

One surprise thus far in this recruiting year has been the lack of attention given to Capital High QB Terrance Broadway. We've been hearing about Broadway since his sophomore season, but he's just not getting the offers that most anticipated. Alabama, UCONN, Nebraska, and LA Tech are his only offers. LSU supposedly likes him as a safety more than a QB. Many thought Broadway would be one of the state's Top 3 prospects, but it doesn't look like that's the case at this stage.

While Broadway's star seems to be fading, LSU is still chasing some top QBs. Texas dual-threat QB Zach Lee is on LSU's wish list. Lee looks like a very good fit as a passer/runner in Gary Crowton's offense. He's 6'4" 200 pounds with a very strong arm. Lee is also a big-time Major League Baseball prospect, so that could be a factor in his recruitment. He has offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Texas Tech, and some smaller schools.



COMMITMENTS:
ATH Tharold Simon (WR or S) -- Eunice
TE Nick Jacobs -- Many
WR Mike Davis -- Dallas, TX
FB Brandon Worle - LaGrange, GA
LB DJ Welter -- Crowley Notre Dame
S Eric Reid - Dutchtown


PROSPECTS:
QB
Terrance Broadway -- Capitol
Sam Carter -- Houston, TX
Taylor Burch -- Neville, Monroe
Jake Heaps -- WA
Munchie Legaux -- Karr
Zach Lee -- McKinney, TX (Dallas area)

RB
Lache Seastrunk -- Temple, TX
Dontae Williams -- Houston, TX
Storm Johnson -- Loganville, GA (Atlanta area)
James Gillum -- Pearl River
Michael Dyer -- Little Rock, AR

WR
Travon Reed -- Thibodaux
James Wright -- Belle Chase
Martavious Lee -- CA (JUCO)
Kevin Johnson -- Houston, TX
Shedrick Davis -- Central Baton Rouge
DeAndrew White -- Galena Park, TX (Houston area)
Solomon Patton -- Mobile, AL
James Louis -- Delray Beach, FL

TE
Travis Dickson -- Ocean Springs, MS
Naquan Lee -- Crockett, TX
Xavier Grimble -- Las Vegas, NE

OL
Luke Charpentier -- John Curtis
Evan Washington -- DeSoto, TX (Dallas area)
Chad Lindsay -- Houston, TX
OC Brown -- Memphis, TN
Wes Rea -- Gulfport, MS
Adam Shead -- Cedar Hill, TX (Dallas area)
Daryl Williams -- Corinth, TX
James Stone -- Nashville, TN

DT
Rissean Broussard -- Washington Marion Lake Charles
Churphy Stewart -- Breaux Bridge
LaCraig Brown-- Monroe

DE
Jordan Allen -- West Monroe
Houston Bates - St Pauls Covington
Rashad Givens -- MS JUCO
Joseph Okafor -- Houston, TX
Zach McCray -- VA
JR Ferguson -- MD
Benay Pryor -- MS JUCO
Walker Ashburn -- John Curtis
Brandon Willis -- Duncan, SC

LB
Justin Maclin -- Memphis, TN
Kurt Killens -- Round Rock, TX (Austin area)
Shaun Lewis -- Missouri City, TX (Houston area)
Pat Swilling Jr. -- Brother Martin New Orleans
Gerald Christian -- West Palm Beach, FL
Corey Nelson -- Dallas, TX
LaDarius Owens -- Birmingham, AL

CB
Tony Hurd -- Missouri City, TX (Houston area)
Jonathon McKnight -- John Curtis

S

ATH
Ronnie Vinson (CB or S) -- Newman New Orleans
James Haynes (CB or WR) -- Orange, TX
Jarett Fobbs (CB or WR) -- Huntington Shreveport
Gavin Webster -- Lutcher
Demarco Cobbs -- Tulsa, OK

K
Cade Foster -- Dallas