Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Aug 11, 20215 min
by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
As camp moves from strictly cone work and light drills to blistering, frenetic team drills and situational strategy, there have been some highly entertaining battles between Tigers.
Much like the legendary Stingley vs Chase reps from 2019 and the 2020 off-season, there have been some moments throughout the first week of fall camp which are promising....not only from a team-talent standpoint, but from a purely competitive point of ascendancy.
To a man, every Tiger out there is ready to ball.
Let's geaux and check out which battles stuck out to us most after nearly a week of constant film study and grind:
Of course we have to start here.
Coach Orgeron challenged the duo to repeat the same competitive level from the Chase / Stingley battles the past two seasons, and the pair aren't disappointing.
Both players have gone back and forth during some testy reps, creating some intensified physicality and viciousness:
One play Boutte rose high above Derek and took the ball just off the scrape of the All-American corner's hand; On the next rep, Stingley Jr pounced on an out route and slapped the ball away.
One day, Stingley was the winner...only just; the next, Boutte made a few big plays on the #7....pissing off the best cornerback in America.
These two are making each other better by the rep, and it's showing:
There are plays throughout the Stingley vs Boutte saga where you feel as if it could be the National Championship game....and these are two of LSU's best players setting this kind of hard-nosed example in the first few days of Fall Camp....
You'd think they were walk-ons bleeding for a spot on the team if you didn't know any better.
These two are a riveting watch.......get the popcorn ready!
Quinton "Pig" Cage has been stunning thus far in camp, rocking the #38, keeping his head down, his eyes locked on the target, and he's been a human missile crisis of savagery.
As a JUCO transfer walk-on from Nicholls St (3 interceptions & a Jerry Rice Award finalist last year), Cage is a highly experienced former Rummel High Raider.
Not only does he know what it takes to guard the best, he pulled it off daily vs the best:
At Rummel High, Cage was a teammate of current Tiger WR Koy Moore and Top 5 1st Round pick Ja'Marr Chase, engaged in frequent battles during practices.
And he's taking that mentality to the gridiron of Fall Camp, already breaking up 7 passes from the collected footage I've seen, producing blanketed coverage over the cream of LSU's crop of receiving talent, even holding his own against the pace of Chris Hilton Jr, the height of Jaray Jenkins and the power of Devonta Lee.
This has been a battle which has tickled Coach O pink!!!
Above the din of fellow Tigers roaring from the sidelines as they watch the drills and situational work, the head to head engagement of violence between left tackle Cam Wire and defensive end Andre Anthony is a rip-roaring feature presentation:
Wire was overwhelmed throughout the weekend, getting caught off guard by Andre's rising pace cutting from outside to inside, brushing past Wire a few times.
Then, Cam responded and put Andre back on his ass the next play.
Anthony is helping Wire grow & adjust to the stunning new developments of taking over from former Tiger and current Kentucky Wildcat Dare Rosenthal, but he's beginning to respond.
A huge test for Cam was the pace of B.J Ojulari coming off the edge, although Wire was able to really box him into a few corners.....
Concerning Wire, Ojulari seemed to be a better matchup than the elder Anthony.
Andre is on fire so far in camp, calling out everyone and anyone who defies him....getting the practices started with blood-curdling war chants & proclamations of asskickage.
Both players are reaping the benefits from one another's strong play along the #LSU front....due to this, our earlier prediction that our #1 DL would help our struggling OL figure out their issues.
Little has been said about Liam Shanahan's development at center, however I'll be the one to say it:
Shanahan is a phenomenal snapper, especially from the shotgun (LSU's preferred formation). Yet, when it comes to his blocking abilities, specifically the running game, the Harvard graduate tends to struggle.
Against Joe Evans through the interior, Liam struggled for a few days.
Mean #94, the most violently uncompromising DL on LSU (outside of Roy, Anthony or Smith), continuously pushed Liam Shanahan to the brink....stress, pressure and football-induced near-insanity which will only help solidify the center's game.
There were plenty of moments where the two were frozen, grappling each other in a lockjaw vice grip of pain.....pushing and pushing long after the whistle.
We expected #94 would bring the pain, although when Liam used his hands to brilliantly slap Evans back & away, it was the first time we'd seen Shanahan get really mean.
You could hear a grunted laugh from Coach O's gritty Cajun approval.
Blocking Evans is never for the feint of heart: even the best centers or guards fail; but working, grinding and bleeding rep by rep vs such an aggressive, all-action force like Joe Evans will help Liam Shanahan immensely as we knock on the door of Week 1.
I hate to report this (as I am a huuuuuuge Eli Ricks fan), but LSU's lengthy freshman out of Walker High School, Brian Thomas Jr, got the best of Eli during some red zone practices this first week.
Thomas Jr used his basketball athleticism to tower above, riding Ricks' physicality and hand placement in order to pull down some beautiful grabs against the All-American.
This will do wonders for the freshman #11's confidence, but more than anything, it'll also force Eli Ricks to raise his game even higher....a scary thing after 4 interceptions as a freshman....
He won't like getting done by a freshman like that....no way, no sir.
Eli will probably demand Thomas during the next mano e mano drills.
The Clemson transfer is reading the QB's eyes and making some plays at Mic linebacker....and Blake Baker is more than relieved.
While Jones Jr will probably suffer a growing pain or two adjusting to his difficult new position, I'm really feeling like he's going to be a significant piece of LSU's defense.
Able to wrap up and make excellent stops in space, Jones Jr is changing his game from a ball-hawking, big-play hunting dynamo to a pure, primal, fundamental workhorse linebacker.
He's done everything to make the move possible, not only getting out from under Clemson's repressive thumb and heading to LSU, but also adding the weight / strength while working alongside Strength & Conditioning guru Tommy Moffitt;
Also, as the son of a former NFL player, Mike is a film junkie, locking in on piles of tape (including LSU's 2020 defensive frailties). Jones Jr has impressed me.
There's always time for the reality of evolution....and Mike Jones Jr's game will evolve.
Jones Jr is already spying QBs with swaggering anticipation, deflecting passes across the middle, stuffing the run with terminal velocity, and organizing his fellow teammates.
This is where Jones Jr will be most crucial....can he organize and lead LSU's 2021 linebacking unit?
by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
Copyright 2021 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
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