When LSU brought on defensive
backs coach Ron Cooper in the offseason, Tiger fans knew change was on the
horizon. From the playbooks to the players, Cooper would bring life to a
down-and-out LSU secondary.
After spring camp, the
starting unit began to take shape. At cornerback, Patrick Peterson – following
a breakout freshman campaign – emerged as the leader of the group. Jai Eugene
and Chris Hawkins continue to battle for the second spot, while true freshman
Morris Claiborne - who tried his hand at wide receiver during the first week of
camp - has moved into the two-deep behind Peterson.
Junior Chad Jones found
his home at free safety – moving away from the nickel back role that he
occupied during his first two seasons in Baton Rouge. Harry Coleman is gone
from the safety position, becoming John Chavis’ first hybrid-linebacker
experiment with the Tigers.
Perry Riley is back at
strong side linebacker, with Jacob Cutrera in the middle and Coleman on the
opposite side. Kelvin Sheppard will back up Cutrera and Coleman.
Any questions as to
position depth seem to be relegated to strong safety. For now, Brandon Taylor –
the younger brother of former Tiger safety Curtis Taylor – has grabbed the top
spot.
“I have been running with
the first team throughout the spring, so I think that I am going to get the
start on opening day,” Taylor said. “I have lined up mostly with Karnell behind
me, and Chad has been the front man at free safety with Danny McCray behind
him.”
Hoping to shore up the
unit’s pass coverage, Taylor said, was Cooper’s main motivation for the switch.
A cornerback during his
freshman campaign, Taylor made the move to safety less than a month ago. In two
weeks time, he could be leading the secondary onto the field against
Washington.
“It has not been too big
of a shock for me to get thrown into all of this, because I feel like the
playbook is a lot easier to understand than before,” he said. “It is a lot less
complicated. I enjoyed playing cornerback, but I think I am a better fit in
this scheme at safety.”
Hatcher, who had a solid
special teams run during his freshman season, worked his way into action in the
secondary during the latter half of the 2008 season. In his biggest showing -
against Florida - Hatcher logged a career-high three tackles at free safety.
This fall, he will stick to strong safety.
“When I run, it is usually
with Chad and sometimes Danny,” Hatcher said. “I think that coach Cooper wants
to focus me in on the running plays with Brandon in on the passing plays. There
is still competition, but that is how things have started to shake out.”
With two bodies making a
run at one spot, Brooks is back at work with the cornerbacks.
“We are pretty young all
over the secondary, and we could use some more of the experienced guys at
corner, which is why Ron is back with that group now,” Taylor said.
Despite the early
shakings, the unit is confident that everyone will see significant action come
game time.
“All the defensive backs
were double trained to learn more than one position, and that will give each
guy a chance to make some plays,” Taylor said. “Coach Cooper wants to have at least
eight defensive backs ready to go each day, because our packages require that.
“When dealing with a team
like Florida, the coaches want to capitalize on speed,” he continued.
“Cornerbacks will start playing safety and safeties start playing linebacker. It
is a good look, because we can bring speed or strength.”