CANDIDATES FOR THE TIGERS' LEFT TACKLE SPOT

by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

@LonnPhillips

In the wake of starting LSU left tackle Dare Rosenthal entering his name into the transfer portal and taking off for Kentucky, a flood of serious concern swept throughout LSU nation: OL Coach Brad Davis must now take a serious look at his unit for a solution; While Davis and other members of Orgeron's staff tried to work with the program's stingy compliance department to toss out Rosenthal's positive urinalysis test, Dare finally left the program after 3 years of false starts.

Regardless of Are You Serious Sports and Mike Scarborough reporting that Rosenthal would return to the program (which obviously never materialized), the Tigers must now move forward with the players who are available....the guys who haven't left the team multiple times.

Someone will justifiably cry out, "which guys?!" and while that makes plenty of sense at left tackle, only a few Tigers left on hand to fill the position, there are still some fiercely talented, competitively driven, multi-faceted pieces along Coach Brad Davis' intriguing Tigers trench.

We geaux through each option for the left tackle spot:

The stout, experienced tackle featured in 6 games throughout LSU's 2019 surge for the title, appearing in 9 this last campaign, including time at both right guard and left tackle.

During 2020, Cam also appeared as a starter for the injured / absent Dare Rosenthal or Chasen Hines in a few games, with mixed overall results...though which Tigers OL didn't have mixed results last year?

From the collected group left on roster, Wire has the best chance at understanding / mastering Offensive Coordinator Jake Peetz's tempo protections, mostly due to his two year stint at LSU, of course headlined by a season in the Ensminger/Brady juggernaut offense.

Judging by what I've heard from LSU, Cam is one of our best conditioned linemen as well, with four different support staffers believing Wire already possessed a major shot at winning the left tackle spot even if Rosenthal had stayed on.

Wire is not perfect, but he's a player who'll grow throughout fall as he gathers more starting reps under his belt; Upgrading to OL Coach Brad Davis will also see Cam placed in the best possible position to succeed in the anchor role he'd always pushed for at LSU.

Coming into the program slightly undersized as an early enrollee, Dellinger has beefed up nicely under the ruthless physical direction of Coach Tommy Moffitt, yet I wonder....is it possible for a freshman to come all the way down from Michigan and start in the SEC?

Dellinger holds claim to the right tools, both physically and mentally, boasting a promising football IQ to go alongside stunning bouts of aggression and a limber athleticism that makes him more prone to one-on-one victories....you could bend him a little, but you couldn't really break this guy at the high school level....

Garrett was a phenomenal defensive end / tackle at Clarkston High, forming a bruising, bitter tandem next to Notre Dame freshman Rocco Spindler, another OL playing double duty as a defensive lineman.

On both sides of the ball, "vicious" would be too tame of a word to describe Dellinger's nasty exploits as a junior or senior: bullying edge rushers as a left tackle, blowing past / bulldozing through opposition linemen as if their bodies consisted of Nutella & tomato paste.

After witnessing Garrett's "adventures in violence" at Clarkston High, as well as seeing him hold his own during some Spring scrimmage reps, I know Dellinger can continue to be a master of aggression on the interior or edge....

However.... will his quick fighter's hands or leverage dominion transfer to the SEC in only his debut campaign?

Dumervil was one of the most highly prized offensive linemen from 2020's class, and LSU pulled off a major coup when previous OL Coach James Cregg sealed the deal for the Florida-native trenchman....even his high school teammate Marlon Martinez followed him to LSU, starting a brilliant pipeline at St Thomas Aquinas that stretches to the current day (2022 Julian Armella & Mason Taylor).

But game time on the field failed to follow Dumervil to Baton Rouge, although somewhat predictably....how many freshmen start at offensive line in the SEC?

Very few.

Regardless of his chances, Dumervil is one of the biggest names and most high profile talents remaining on Brad Davis' roster, one who is expected to produce...and though he's more suited to right tackle than he is on the blindside, his pedigree suggests Marcus could easily make the switch.

I think the criticism is unfair...especially when Marcus had a near anonymous freshman campaign, forced to sit and watch while our starters were mauled out there....only taking the field once at the end of a 52-24 evisceration vs South Carolina (alongside Xavier Hill, Kardell Thomas and Aquinas teammate / close friend Marlon Martinez).

I believe in Dumervil's talents, despite the criticism from a few random low life guggenheims on the outskirts, LSU nation is extremely positive on the young man's future as a Tiger.

Two things he must do to hit that ultimate potential:

In 2021, I feel we'll watch Dumervil take on a more expansive role within our offensive line setup, becoming a great depth asset...though I don't anticipate the second year tackle being called upon to fill the blindside role right now.

He's the wild card of the group for me:

After a year on the sidelines as a freshman, appearing once during the 52-24 beat down of South Carolina, the Mississippi-native found rare opportunities under prior OL Coach James Cregg...however, I expect Xavier Hill to erupt under Brad Davis, cashing in on his massively underrated potential.

Out of Olive Branch (a high school teammate of fellow Tiger Jalen Shead), Hill was rated as a 3 star prospect, though his early scouting returns have displayed far more potential.

Mentioned by Orgeron as an offensive lineman he's looking at during this transition period, you'd have to think the highly adaptable utility-man will get every opportunity;

Originally recruited to play guard, Xavier also owns the physical traits to make a star turn at left tackle more than possible:

To ensure his chances at playing either tackle or guard, Hill has shown a brutal work ethic since his arrival on campus, dropping from 325 pounds to 315 in the off-season before his freshman debut, and now he's shaved off a further 8 pounds to round out at 307 (a source tells me Hill is at 303 lbs).

Towering at 6'3, Hill also retains enough leverage and low center of gravity to dictate terms to edge rushers....but can he produce this at the SEC level following a season in which he only made one on-field SEC appearance?

I will bet on Xavier Hill becoming a prime contributor and mainstay name along the LSU trench, although starting at left tackle may not be his true future Tiger calling.......but if a move to left tackle is on the cards, watch out for this young man's savage iron will.

Despite being tremendously versatile when needing to fill up places at center or guard, Turner may not have the height or girth to play left tackle.

While it's abundantly clear Charles can help out the Tigers' O-Line in a myriad of ways along our interior, any suggestions of Turner assuming the left tackle position are overblown.

Still, I don't count the former IMG lineman out 100% from playing left tackle at some future point, but this season seems to be more about whether Charles can win a right guard job or battle Liam Shanahan for center, let alone providing Coach Davis with another solid, National title / Joe Moore-winning 2019 character to lean on.

Turner will play some important role, though will that be left tackle?

PREDICTION:

Cam Wire and Xavier Hill become the first and second string left tackles, though Dellinger & Dumervil shine and push for reps.

Wire is the guy LSU's quarterbacks must rest their hopes upon.....even if Dare stays.

Rosenthal can always leave again....

LSU need to be prepared.

by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

@LonnPhillips

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