SUBSCRIBE HERE TO SUPPORT LSUODYSSEY's MISSION IN PROVIDING TRAILBLAZING, CONSISTENT TIGERS COVERAGE
SUPPORT OUR FRIENDS @ EYECONIKBRAND.COM, LOUISIANA'S #1 STOP FOR CHAMPIONSHIP MENTALITY APPAREL
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
With sophomore Javien Toviano, LSU's starting cornerback in 3 of the Tigers' last 5 games, now suspended for Fall Camp, throwing his future on the team into doubt due to legal troubles, defensive coordinator Blake Baker & CBs Coach Corey Raymond are currently down a strong, proven on field presence who showcased all of the pedigree that made him a 5 star during his explosive start vs Florida last fall.
However, with Toviano now out of the equation for the foreseeable future, Coach Raymond is already looking at other options:
With Zy Alexander expected to be fully healthy and ready to (most likely) retain his starting spot from last year (7 PBUs, 2 INTs, 3 touchdowns allowed), it appears Ashton Stamps, PJ Woodland, JK Johnson, freshmen Wallace Foster, Michael Turner (WR turned CB due to Toviano's absence), and Bernard Causey III, plus nickel Jyaire Brown, while we know free safety Sage Ryan can also be counted upon at the boundary or nickel if necessary.
Looking at the names, their experiences or pedigree, on paper, Raymond's CBs room appears thin.
Short of experience outside of Alexander, lacking proven on-field depth (only Alexander, Stamps, and the suspended, embattled Toviano played snaps for LSU last season), as well as on field production (the entirety of Raymond's mostly inherited cornerback room combining for just 12 pass breakups, 8 forced incompletions through coverage, Alexander's pair of INTs, 1 forced fumble, and combining for 77 total tackles.....these stats include Brown & Johnson's Ohio State numbers).
Incredibly young, the Tigers won't be able to depend on 2022's luxury of veteran CB transfers, or the benefit of longtime stalwarts within the locker room for the youth to lean on & learn from.
Even the veteran of the room, Zy Alexander, just barely transferred to LSU last season, missed the final 5 games due to injury, and performed with a hot to cold duality each Saturday.
Allowing game-turning touchdowns, then intercepting throws or making critical tackles around the edge, breaking up passes via acrobatic brutality (jarring a trio of different would-be catches loose in 2023 with perfectly timed hits), or getting beaten for big 3rd down or red zone receptions, even Alexander can't be named the best cornerback on roster without question....which is usually the caliber of talent, pedigree, productivity & leadership you see emanate from the chief DBU veteran.
For the most part, despite Alexander's rising abilities and expected 2024 throne-claiming, this is a bare bones crew.
Although led by Zy, but due to his MIA through Spring Camp because of injury, Defensive Coordinator Blake Baker & CBs Coach Corey Raymond witnessed one of LSU's 4 freshman cornerbacks, PJ Woodland, step in & step up, kicking ass and taking names throughout April.
Locking down the best receivers on the team through strong, tenacious, relentless coverage, Woodland was hailed as "a competitor" by Defensive Coordinator Blake Baker amid a Spring press conference...using a tone of voice that told you Woodland didn't just impress due to his coverage prowess....he gained trust from the staff thanks to his mature, stoic, ambitious, aggressive mentality....the exact ethos Baker, Raymond, Peoples, Davis, and Olsen aim to build their 2024 LSU defense around.
Stamps is yet another sure-fire starter or main rotational option at corner, performing admirably as a true freshman in 2023. In fact, Ashton outperformed nearly every other corner on the 2023 squad, only just outdone by Alexander and Toviano.
We'll see if or when Toviano could return,
The young guys are on their own....and while that is worrying to a large degree, part of that image flickers inside my mind....shrouded in a cloak of ultimate DBU fantasy, imagining a true / red shirt freshman opposite Alexander on the other flank, actually scares me as much as it enthralls my dreams.....a very young true / red shirt freshman, ready to mark his destiny on the biggest stage in college football....right out of the gates.
No sideline standing for your first season, no rotating in here or there, none of this "easing you in", LSU need you now......and since the Tigers' options are at an all time low without Toviano, both Ashton Stamps and PJ Woodland possess a once in an LSU lifetime opportunity to carve out their own spot on this roster....and make it their own.
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2024 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
Hard to believe, but I think we have more depth at DT than CB. Coaches will have to really get some young talent ready.