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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
As I have after every season of full coverage before, LSUOdyssey presents our Top 10 LSU Tigers of 2024 countdown for your Christmas enjoyment.
OUR PAST TOP 10s CAN BE FOUND HERE
10. GREG PENN III /
KYREN LACY
80 TACKLES (2nd)
18 QB PRESSURES (4th)
5 TFLs
2 FFs
1.5 SACKS
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866 RECEIVING YARDS (1st)
102 TARGETS (1st)
58 CATCHES (1st)
9 TDs (#1 SEC) (1st)
14.9 AVG
LSU outgoing senior WR Kyren Lacy led the SEC in receiving touchdowns with 9 and placed 5th in the conference for overall receiving yardage (866), leading the 2024 Tigers in receiving......so....
.....Why on earth is he placed at the 10th position?
Outside of the Ole Miss overtime touchdown winner, the 1st half touchdown vs USC, it's hard to find many game-turning moments from Lacy that helped LSU come back in a game or get over the line....
In fact, when the game hung in the balance, the ball often found it's way to Mason Taylor or Aaron Anderson instead of Lacy, a firm indictment of his penchant for dropping passes on critical downs (dropping 6 passes on the season, most of any Tiger).
Still, you must salute Lacy's ability to carve out numbers, just under 900 yards & nearly double digit touchdowns, and a repertoire of explosive plays, it all solidifies his NFL Draft status; But if you look deeper, a lot of his contributions didn't stand up against other more impactful offensive Tigers, at times through no fault of his own.
Most will probably scoff at our placement of Lacy, although I feel overall in-game impact, not merely an amalgamation of stats, remains the most important metric LSUOdyssey has always measured our Top 10 Tigers lists of yesteryear by......with that in mind, Lacy's 9 TDs and nearly 900 yards receiving simply didn't change games as much as it would appear, and yet I take nothing away from his career-best campaign, giving Nussmeier a dangerous athlete on the outside.
Sadly, our 2024 playcalling didn't find many opportunities or route combinations to unleash Lacy's YAC brilliance to its maximum potential.
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Greg Penn III certainly racked up the tackles for another year (2nd on the team for the 3rd consecutive season), playing his most hardnosed and calculated football of his LSU career.
Penn would place much higher on our Top 10 if it weren't for his poor stretch of games during LSU's 3 game slide vs A&M, Alabama & Florida. The former DeMatha High product was at times a culprit of defensive ineptitude (as were others), often exposed for his more traditional linebacker's pace.
Still, Penn was an undisputed starter, cornerstone leader, selfless #18 representative, and a damn solid linebacker for LSU over the past four years, developing into a tackling machine throughout his time wearing purple and gold, amassing 258 total tackles (119 as a solo artist), 18 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 4 PBUs, 3 FFs, 2 critical moment / big game INTs, and 1 fumble recovery.
Steady, always available, never one to shy away from a hit, Greg Penn III belongs on this list for his underrated, often overlooked impact at LSU, becoming a more aggressive version of his prior self this fall (once Whit Weeks was inserted alongside him in the lineup), playing his most complete football as a Tiger during his final year on campus.
A fitting finale for an ultimately underrated, unsung Greg Penn III, a #18 Tiger who often accomplished the dirty work that allowed defenders like Whit Weeks, Harold Perkins, Saivion Jones, and Bradyn Swinson to shine, a Tiger who definitely clocked the miles for LSU over 2,142 collegiate snaps.
#9 IS ON ITS WAY NEXT!
MERRY CHRISTMAS
FROM
LSUODYSSEY'S FAMILY
TO YOURS 🎅🥰❤️💜💛
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2024 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
I think your assessments were very balanced. Ranking them in the 10 spot makes sense.