Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Apr 17, 202016 min
Updated: Jun 13, 2020
And so....it begineth
3. (PT.I)
-84 receptions from 106 total targets
-6 games of 2+ TDs (4 vs Vandy)
-10 3rd down conversions
-60 1st downs
-58 Gains of 15+ yards
-8 TDs of 50+ yards (NCAA record)
-6 TDs, five 120+ yard games
(vs 7 Top 10 teams)
-Championship Game record for receiving
-23 Catches After Creating Full Separation
-Made opp. Miss 18x after catch
-5 dropped passes
(1 dropped TD vs Clemson)
-6 passes (2 TDs) caught while Interfered
-Drew 9 PI flags
-21.2 yards per catch
How could anyone even begin to separate one from another out wide?
Like the conjoined receiving colossus twins that they are, Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson couldn't be taken from another, whether via the Top 10 Tigers of 2019 list or on the field:
They belonged together, pushing each other to the maximum of their abilities, attempting to out-do one another every play and best of all, while both were on the field, the tandem became unstoppable due to their sheer presence.
Like OBJ and Jarvis, Randy and Cris, Tory and Isaac, Jerry & T.O, Shaq and Kobe, or Woody Harrelson and a bong, Jefferson and Chase belonged as a combined force, becoming a two-headed beast, devouring entire secondaries, bending safeties into Cover 2 badlands, disfiguring the souls of cornerbacks across the country....all they needed?
A quarterback....
These guys didn't need Joe Burrow to be great 1st round NFL draft talents...they needed Jeaux Burreaux so they could explode as the greatest duel receiving duo of all time while finishing as champions.
In these virtuoso pursuits, Jefferson and Chase combined for 38 touchdowns, 3,320 yards, both caught 4 TDs in a single game (7 of those 8 total TDs arriving in the first half alone), they each eclipsed 18+ scores on the season, and when it mattered most, against the seven Top 10 teams we vanquished, Ja'Marr and Justin went off:
Chase caught 4 touchdowns as he clocked 5 separate 140+ yard appearances vs the seven Top 10 schools, while Jefferson grabbed 9 TDs and 5 games of 106+ yards in those ultimate battles.
Despite such a rich history of uber-freaks and WR geeks, LSU may have seen their greatest duo in 2019, with one member exiting out the door following one record-castrating quest for the infinite.
Though his freshman season will always remain a case of "What Could Have Been", Ja'Marr Chase's aerial abilities know no bounds...
During his highly entertaining recruitment, the battle raged on between Florida and LSU for Ja'Marr's empirical services.
Ever since his first visits in 2016, Les Miles attempted to sell Ja'Marr on his vision for him as "a cornerback".
As a great coach and recruiter, Miles still never understood how to utilize talent:
QB Jordan Jefferson would've been a better running back or receiver, Miles publicly ruined Russel Shepard's opportunities at QB, failing to give him a full shot in his new position out wide, either.
Ja'Marr sensed this bafoonery, scoffed at the idea of suiting up at corner, couldn't believe the in-state disrespect from Les, then wisely committed to Florida thanks to Miles' over-thinking and inability to get the most out of #7's rare skill set....turns out Miles nearly cost LSU another title.
"I knew once we lost receivers like D.J (Chark), Russell Gage, Travin Dural, Malachi Dupre, we had to reload," Coach Orgeron said in 2019, "Those guys were great competitors, had a lotta grit...they gave us everything you could've asked for, but we were too late in finding a system for them, we failed them. This next group wasn't gonna be let down...I was sure of that."
In 2017, things were dire for LSU's once proud receiving corps: only Chark's 811 yards and 35 receptions eclipsed the next best receiver's total of 330 yards...
Though he was a Louisiana kid, Chase had his mind set on Florida after an excellent pitch from Head Coach Jim McElwain.
Meanwhile at Rummel High in the first round of the state playoffs, senior Ja'Marr Chase enjoyed one of his greatest high school performances vs C.E Byrd....however, suffering followed:
With 126 yards, 9 receptions for 3 receiving touchdowns, 92 yards rushing while returning kickoffs for 56, Ja'Marr wickedly sprained the PCL ligament of his knee, ending his senior year on a heavy note and souring his recruitment...
This would end up as a serendipitous moment for Ja'Marr and LSU: unlike Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson or Ohio State, LSU never drops a recruit due to an injury.
Setting him up with the rehab and recovery staff under Tommy Moffitt, Shelley Mullinex and Dr. Bankston, Orgeron gathered wideouts coach (Nebraska quarterbacking legend) Mickey Joseph, the two selling Chase on catching passes from Myles Brennan.
Criminally ranked as the "15th best receiver in the nation and 5th overall player out of the Boot to represent the 2017 class", Chase arrived at LSU with pedigree from those who'd studied the tape:
As a senior, Chase grabbed 61 passes for 1,011 yards and 15 touchdowns with a single drop.
Regardless of his boundless talents, for many, Justin Jefferson was still the guy for 2018... Ja'Marr felt like a raw freshman...and his knee hampered his burst off the line.
At the time, we didn't realize we could be unstoppable using both simultaneously...we had no idea just how explosive the tandem's metamorphosis would be....we had no understanding of the match ups our offense could exploit using Chase and Jefferson's length, speed and size together....at least until after the Bama game.
As soon as the 29-0 embarrassment (in front of a funereal gobsmacked Death Valley), Offensive Coordinator Steve Ensminger and Coach Orgeron began plotting a freewheeling passing attack.
Ensminger (The Bayou Gandalf) took the reigns of the project, grabbed the Matt Canada / Cam Cameron / Strudrawa playbook and tossed it over an empty fire, dousing its charred profligate remnants with his jar of liquefied chew, then against the eerie midnight moonlight of the Bayou, Ensminger nodded in reverent silence towards the crackling archaic past.
Competition intensified in every position, the offensive line tightened up, James Cregg coaching up the line into an astounding, award-winning transcendence, and with Burrow, Brennan, those receivers, Thaddeus and Clyde, the uncompromising approach of the current LSU offensive dynasty was established.
Soon enough, Burrow found himself in the gun, flanked by 4 or 5 wide, this new additional WR personnel featuring Ja'Marr Chase, finally.
This'll sound simple, but it's the truth: before Joe Brady even dreamt of coming to Baton Rouge, Ensminger already recovered from Bama and innovated the offense, using stick routes and multi-option "choice routes" which favored Ja'Marr and Justin's deceptive movements or Joe Burrow's quick draw release.
Their feet would be aiming one way as they're running an out pattern, then suddenly their heads and shoulders would violently cut back and the DB is stranded...20-50 yards in front of #1 and #2.
Unpredictability in tempo, timing, route selection, and personnel elevated the already-superior athletic Tigers players over every opponent.
Joe would go back to the hot hand for three fast-draw McGraw plays in a row, then slow it down before the snap at random moments...wearing defenses down physically as well as psychologically.
Coinciding with Jefferson's skyrocketing production, Burrow tossed 9 of his 16 TDs during the same stretch.
While hardly (and harshly) used, throughout his vague sniffs of the field, Chase still stunningly acquired 5 gains of 21+ yards from 23 overall receptions as an injured freshman.
In bizarre, ultimate YAC pontification, against #8 Miami, Rice and Ole Miss, Ja'Marr caught only a single pass, however each time the catch went for 22-45 yards, including his one reception for a 45 yard touchdown vs Ole Miss.
In one of the nastiest collegiate games in a long time, UCF were flagged for 4 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the 1st quarter alone, while two players (UCF's Gibson, LSU's Alexander) were ejected in a manic first half.
While typical pre-2019 LSU offensive "dislogic" would tell us Chase's extra catches and attention would take away from Jefferson, we seemed to forget the boundless joys of premium LSU talent (Jefferson caught 2 TDs, his first multi-score appearance of 2018):
With Joe Burrow slinging the ball around, two ballers out wide and a deathcookie in the backfield (Clyde), we could do anything....everything all the time.
During the 2019 off-season, Chase, Jefferson and Burrow enjoyed their first full Spring and Summer on campus together, instituting WR Coach Mickey Joseph's "Summer of 10,000 Catches".
After the capture of unknown then-29 year old Saints analyst Joe Brady, Steve Ensminger's previous adaptation of NFL techniques, plays, formations and personnel groupings were further aided by the former William and Mary's wide out and Penn State assistant's youthful challenging of receivers Chase and Jefferson.
Joining the offensive geniuses leading the room, Brady recommended his Wiliam and Mary's wingman D.J Mangus, while Jorge Munoz became a dual-role analyst, both in Joe's ear and communicating to the booth.
Because of all this movement and influence, based on Orgeron's orders, LSU's offensive staff simultaneously grew as fast as their production on the field.
Ja'Marr began 2019 on a limited basis, used sparingly but still posting 2 brilliant catches for 21 yards and a TD vs Georgia Southern; However, once everything was on the line vs Texas in week 2, Jefferson, Chase, Moss, Marshall and Clyde Edwards-Helaire became the fortified cluster of primal devastation we'd all been waiting for.
The 3rd and 17 pass to Jefferson ignited the revolution, but it was Chase's constant work near the sidelines which opened the middle of the field for Burrow's exploitation thereof
Both Chase and Justin had career days, 8 for 147 and 9 for 163, 10 first downs, a trio of 3rd down conversions, and 4 touchdowns between the two (Jefferson even dropped a TD)....Terrace Marshall explicitly balled out too, his own levels rising thanks to inner-squad competition.
Following the bruising affair in Texas, there was yet another stoppage of play for Chase, injuring his ankle against the Longhorns and missing what would've been a stat-stuffing appearance vs Northwestern State.
Ja'Marr blew the black and tan side of Tennessee apart, catching 10 passes from 11 targets for 229 yards (7 for 199 and 3 TDs in the first half alone), a 4th TD in the second half, a leaping circus catch over a DB while being interfered, and three scores of 45+ yards, all capped by his electric 64 yard adventure across the middle of the field, making four men miss and taking it down the sidelines to the house...issuing a stern warning to all watching.
Next, LSU dueled the Gators' #1 ranked defense in a crazy game at Death Valley...a scenario tailored for a Ja'Marr statement.
Playing the school he'd initially committed to, #1 / #7 made four more men miss, converted five 1st downs, posted three gains of 15 yards or more during yet another 100 yard display, hauling in 2 more touchdowns and destroying Florida after the catch, punishing Gator defenders on the end of every hit (the offense scored 42 points from 48 plays).
Throughout the closest contest Orgeron's Tigers endured in 2019, Chase torched Auburn for 8 catches and 123 yards, averaging 15.4 a grab (four gains of 15+ yards), completing 7 first downs and converting a pair of 3rd downs en route to a 23-13 victory....(no Auburn fans....that is the true score).
In games vs Florida and Auburn, contests in which SEC rivals fostered marginal success, Chase reminded every draft analyst, 247 Sports hooligan, or independent hipster writer (me) that he was much more than a big play, up and over the top receiver...
Then, upon the biggest, most nightmarish stage of his career, Ja'Marr Chase revealed his championship heart.
Tuscaloosa, November 9th 2019: the entire world beckoned the best two teams in college football to the field...."PLEASE DECIDE THE CFP RIGHT NOW..."
The world witnessed the greatest college football extravaganza of all time: President Donald Trump was forced to kiss Hillary Clinton for a rare pair of tickets, McConaughey rambled around in a cowboy hat for hours until finally, he snuck into the shadows and put on a customized LSU jersey (Wooderson #420 on the back);
Vince Vaughn even stood for a sorority selfie, still smiling in excitement even after someone called him "that rapey guy from The Hangover".
All of this excitement built to a crescendo: first, Joe rockets a ball to Chase on a line between two corners and a safety, out of bounds, 1st down, 17 yards and just like that, the Ensminger/Burrow/Brady orgasm machine rolled along, the message had been sent:
Then, the release of 8 years of pent-up agony came when Burrow snapped the ball, took one split second to admire his offensive line's prowess, before dropping a dime into Chase's hands, the Rummel High Raider rising high and imperiously catching the pass, his movements and grace sending Trayvin Diggs into the annals of social distancing GIFdom
...after only minutes into the game, we'd already made a Saban team look foolish...we broke em right there...
Thanks to Jefferson and Chase occupying four or more Bama defenders on any given play, pockets of space opened on the ground / in the screen game (due to the run support being occupied 40-50 yards deeper while LSU's receivers are also steadfast blockers).
Since Nick Saban knew just what kind of #1 and #2 receivers we had, he believed his defense had the best chance by forcing Thaddeus Moss, Terrace Marshall and Clyde Edwards-Helaire to win the game
...so...they obliged.
While Clyde and Terrace amassed 5 touchdowns and Thaddeus Moss provided the catch of the year, Jefferson and Chase blasted holes through Saban's Swiss cheese game plan by taking any and all of his shameless defensive schemes and shoving them up his defeat-stained ass:
Saban thought he could negate Jefferson and Chase, but instead Joe hit his other options, Terrace Marshall walking into the end zone and Clyde embarrassing all-comers (Xavier McKinney is still trying to tackle him) for 7 completed spin moves and 4 touchdowns...
This success gained Chase even more room to maneuver and the Florida de-commit made Saban pay for even attempting to stop him, earning five 1st downs, 4 gains in excess of 15 yards, and averaging a disgusting 23.3 yards per catch as we humiliated, desecrated & annihilated Saban's defense for 46 points...but would we hit 46 without Ja'Marr?
Chase set another LSU record with his second 200 yard receiving day, completing a 64 yard near carbon copy replica of his long TD vs Vanderbilt, racking up the most scores by an LSU receiver.
The next week on senior night vs A&M, Chase was a stupid 3 measly yards away from another 200 yard game, tallying two more scores and a riotous 78 yard touchdown which made Jimbo voluntarily defecate.
As LSU geared up for the SEC title game vs yet another #1 ranked defense (the 3rd of 4 top defenses we institutionalized), Ja'Marr Chase turned into the #1 threat every DC keyed on.
The physicality of our receivers wore down the UGA outside contain, allowing Clyde 7 first downs, a variety of face-erasing jukes and one of his most dominant displays.
As LSU geared up to face Oklahoma in the CFP Peach Bowl, the Sooners' defensive coordinator Alex Grinch knew he'd have his hands full against this predatory offensive colossus...but once again coordinators continued to focus solely on limiting Chase, forgetting the bevy of other weapons at Burrow's disposal.
Due to Chase's expert routes (some purely as a decoy), selflessly grinding every snap, #1 presented his empirical value with or without the ball to the college football world...across the country, when many unaware fans or pundits looked him up online they still remained startled by the word next to his name....."Sophomore".
Thanks to his mere presence, tight end Thaddeus Moss enjoyed a career day, nearly hitting 100 yards (burning the Sooners for a 66 yard touchdown, the danger within Chase's first and second steps taking all attention from Randy's ultra-talented son);
Yet everyone will remember his cohort Justin Jefferson impersonated Isaac Bruce, catching 14 passes for 227 yards scoring 4 TDs by halftime (3 in the 2nd quarter alone).
Despite only receiving a few targets in Steve Ensminger / Joe Brady's tweaked game plan (3 catches for 69 yards, 0 TDs for the first time in five games) Chase still broke away for a 39 yard reception and even lined up in the backfield to run for a 5 yard first down....Ja'Marr swept aside any ReceivaDiva tags following these filthified efforts purely out of love for the team.
Later on, Justin even bragged to Ja'Marr, showing off the game ball and stoking the flames of their friendly competition, pushing each other even further. All season it was Chase taking off for 10+ catches, 200+ yards, and a ridiculous amount of touchdowns while our minds were left in disarray; by virtue of our familiarity with Jets, we all seemed to expect those breathtaking back shoulder catches vs Texas, NWState, Oklahoma or meticulous work in the middle of the field...
On the cusp of winning a national title in his home state (we were doing nothing but winning that game), Chase was taken aback...Jefferson meanwhile had already experienced the glitz and glamorous shine of an LSU title game at the Superdome (his brother participated in the ugly 2011/2012 title game)...Jets remaining unmoved and intense...poised like Burrow.
Ja'Marr on the other hand became a little nerve wracked...he now had to step up like a warrior...only as a sophomore, a kid from the Boot raised with the inherent work ethic, drive and ass kicking nature as any other Louisiana high school football player...but here he was... on the doorstep to ultimate glory.
While many Tigers were screaming, raging or looking like a cold gladiator ready for life's last fight, Chase silently looked out of sorts, seemingly shaky and anxious....which became an issue early on...one that was solved by Ja'Marr himself (why he'll be our #7 in 2020):
Under the hot Superdome lights, Chase tried to gain separation but couldn't fight off the jams early, or when he fought them off, Isaiah Simmons moved over to pop him one in the mouth, annoying Ja'Marr...
He wasn't anxious anymore...he was angry. Ja'Marr went straight over to Joe after the second fruitless drive, "they can't guard me one on one...gimme the ball."
Clemson were putting up points, too...an early duo of touchdowns caught the Tigers with their pants down...but once they saw what LSU were packing, Clemson gave up.
Ja'Marr started gaining separation with his oxen arms, rearranging A.J Terrell's face on a long 56 yard bomb to tie the game early at 7-7, the first response from the Tigers and Chase's 19th TD of the season....but we'd need much more from Ja'Marr to secure this title.
While peppering Brent Venables' lackluster linebackers with passes to #1 over the middle, Burrow found Ja'Marr for a large gain down the sidelines to set the Tigers up in excellent field position to take this game over, our sophomore fighting off A.J Terrell or Kendrick's flaccid attempts to keep him at bay.
Chase was challenged...but he answered the call...
Not against some joke, but mano e mano vs A.J Terrell, a 1st round NFL prospect with a national title already in his pocket and he started the game with physical pressure on Ja'Marr, smashing and jamming the sophomore at the line early and often before getting away with a few interferences.
However, Ja'Marr is the strongest receiver in college football and he decided the game in LSU's favor when he chose to haunt A.J Terrell's dreams for the rest of his mortal life, not just for his own production, but in the way his success freed up Thaddeus Moss for 2 touchdowns, Justin Jefferson for 106 yards on 9 catches (highlighted by a 35 yard dance where Justin put Clemson's Tanner Muse to sleep).
Chase's mere existence, not to mention his preposterous 24.6 yards per reception statistic, allowed Clyde Edwards-Helaire much-needed space in the previously defunct ground & screen game, also affording Joe Burrow time and space to rush for the 2nd quarter touchdown (initially dragging Orgeron's destiny-kissed Tigers back into the game).
Ja'Marr Chase is a straight up megalodon receiver...an eternally elemental Tiger, riding to the top and demanding the #7 jersey, wanting the responsibility and expectations which come from wearing the number.
It's hard to say...Chase doesn't have to top last year's 20 touchdown mark in order to improve upon last year, though his big play ability throughout the campaign set LSU above and beyond anyone else...
If Ja'Marr's insatiable streak continues, Myles Brennan won't have to be Joe Burrow for LSU to be a high octane offense once again in 2020...by the 3rd game, we'll forget he isn't.
PT.II JUSTIN JEFFERSON + MORE RECEIVER ANALYSIS COMING SOON!
THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU...BUT SPECIFICALLY A SHOUTOUT TO THE FIRST READERS....YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE BUT I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW:
@AG @Peggredd @aperkins2113 @Harold @BayouTigerGal @BayouBuga @tonytwobets @LSUDAN @nursekort @FredfromPlano @susanbrignac55 @DirtySouth @reneee @heatheraydell so many great people thank you for buying the ticket and taking the ride with me...I hope every piece takes you on an adventure, if it doesn't, lemme know!
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