THE
DEFENSE
The Defensive
Line:
Defensive Ends – Charles Alexander,
Tyson Jackson, Rickey Jean-Francois, Tremaine Johnson, Al Jones, Chase Pittman,
Kirston Pittman, Tim Washington, Ryan Willis
Defensive Tackle – Glenn Dorsey,
Marlon Favorite, Lyle Hitt
Our best guess (as the
starter to open the season):
Chase Pittman, Glenn Dorsey, Marlon
Favorite, Ryan Willis
Like the offensive line, the
defensive front is another major area of concern considering the fact LSU lost
three all-conference starters. Replacing Kyle Williams, Claude Wroten and Melvin Oliver will be tough, but the Tigers have the horses – especially at defensive
end. Chase Pittman is an animal as the lone returning starter on the defensive
front at defensive end. Stepping in for Oliver will likely be Ryan Willis for
the time being. Willis had some flashes of brilliance last season, but he will
be pushed by a talented cast of reserves. The well isn’t s deep at tackle as
Marlon Favorite and Glenn Dorsey list as the only possible replacements plus
newcomer Lyle Hitt. But true freshmen Al Woods and Charles Deas could make a
world of difference come the fall.
Linebacker:
Darry Beckwith, Dominic Cooper,
Jacob Cutrera, Ali Highsmith, Luke Sanders, Jason Spadoni, Josh
Stoltz
Our best guess (as the
starter to open the season):
Darry Beckwith, Luke Sanders, Ali
Highsmith
The linebacking corps returns lots
of talent and experience and will headlined by a headhunter like Ali Highsmith
and the hard-hitting Darry Beckwith. Sanders is a consistent player and the
addition of freshman Jacob Cutrera, who enrolled at semester, will make this
group even better.
Secondary:
Cornerback – Daniel Francis, Chris Hawkins, Chevis Jackson, Sammy Joseph, Curtis Taylor
Safety – LaRon Landry, Jesse Daniels, Keron Gordon, Jonathan Zenon
Our best guess (as the
starter to open the season):
Chevis Jackson, LaRon Landry, Jesse
Daniels, Sammy Joseph
The biggest victory for Miles in
the offseason was the ability to keep LaRon Landry at LSU. Landry decided to
return for his senior season, which should boost the LSU defense’s stock
considerably with a three-year starter back at free safety. Jesse Daniels is
back for his third year as a starter and is almost as vital as Landry. Many
eyebrows raised about Chevis Jackson after the first two games last season, but
he turned out to be a great cover corner and will be the Tigers closer now that
Ronnie Prude has departed. Sammy Joseph should step in on the other side and
finally be the contributor everyone thought he could be. This was considered the
deepest position on the team, that is until Nick Child and Jeffrey Jack got
booted from the team last month.
Specialists:
Chris Jackson, Ryan Gaudet, Colt
David, Patrick Fisher, P.J. Zimmerman, Trindon Holliday
Our best guess (as the
starter to open the season):
Chris Jackson (Kicker/Punter), Colt
David (PAT)
Chris Jackson shouldn’t have
a problem handling kicking and punting duties as he has done the past two
seasons. Colt David was steady on PATs and everyone can hardly wait to see
Holliday return kicks.