Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Sep 1, 20205 min
Where to begin....oh wait, did anyone else opt out or transfer from LSU in the last 5 minutes???
No???
Just the greatest wide receiver in our history opting out, only our most valuable defensive lineman heading for the NFL...oh and one of our promising sophomore defensive ends transferred....officially all in the same day, Monday August 31st....
We wrote just 20 hours ago about how topsy turvy this summer has been for Orgeron's LSU Tigers...we talked about a week full of deadly hurricanes, players' protests which emboldened the team as well as Ja'Marr Chase deciding to take his talents to the NFL, all on the cusp of the season opener on September 26th.
But what happened today was historic, for all the wildly wrong reasons if you cheer for LSU:
Not only did Chase make it official, Tyler Shelvin has now joined Chase, Farrell and Kary Vincent Jr's exodus to the NFL...and it's impossible to even speculate how big of a hit LSU's team will incur from these absences.
While Shelvin was struggling with keeping his weight down recently, #72 was earmarked as one of the most complete overall defensive linemen in the country and by far CFB's most intense interior specimen...when Shelvin was on that line, LSU always had a chance to win any down, especially with the best secondary in CFB in behind.
Ok....so we've lost 34 (??) guys now from the 2019 team....we knew 2020 would be a different team when Joe, Clyde and Justin left, however now we move into completely uncharted territory.
At the outset of the campaign, we had a big group of returning leaders from the 2019 squad in nearly every position:
At WR Chase and Marshall were the established leaders, in the secondary Stingley, Stevens, Harris and Vincent Jr led a #1 rated group, on the defensive line Shelvin, Thomas, Andre Anthony, Neil Farrell and Glen Logan were the anchors and at LB, Damone Clark and Marcel Brooks looked to lead the show alongside SEC newb Jabril Cox.
Now, we have to subtract some of our biggest leaders from the above list and figure out where our Tigers geaux from here:
First off, all 2019 bandwagon LSU fans, there's the door....we know you're regretting buying the jerseys and hats right now, just turn them into your nearest die hard Tiger and go back to cheering for Alabama....
The entire college football world is looking at LSU and wondering "WTF?!?!?" and mocking our program, saying "Ja'Marr opted out cause he saw a few practices with Brennan" or "Burrow and Brady left, so did their success...here comes a 5 win season"....
I refuse to listen to this noise.
If any team has the depth, the coaching staff and most of all, the resolve or mentality to overcome these losses, it's 2020 LSU.
We still have the SEC's top quarterback, we still have Steve Ensminger, the most innovative offensive coordinator in the game, we still have the best group of wide receivers in college football led by auxiliary head coach Mickey Joseph;
LSU still possesses three dynamic sophomore running backs poised for greatness, a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line (when most of them return from Covid isolation in a week) & we still hold a physical, unrelenting defense coached by Bo Pelini.
In lieu of Ja'Marr Chase, LSU will promote Terrace Marshall, Racey McMath & senior Jontre Kirklin as the dependable guys, backed by highly touted sophomores Trey Palmer, Jaray Jenkins, freshmen phenoms Kayshon Boutte, Koy Moore, Alex Adams as tight end / WR hybrid Arik Gilbert will be called upon immediately in his early LSU career.
TEs Coach Derek Shay can also deploy 6'7 monster Kole Taylor, LSU baseball player Nick Storz and Tory Carter in passing or blocking scenarios.
Along the defensive line, Shelvin's spot must be filled with Salt Lake City native sophomore Apu Ika, Jarrell Cherry or the freshman duo of Jaquelin Roy and Jacobian Guillory....with an emphasis on Roy / Guillory instituting their formidable Tiger Bash Bros brand far earlier than expected; also, now is the time for senior Glen Logan to have his greatest season, helping out anywhere he can on the line.
Since edge rushers McLendon and Farrell have departed, look for freshman sensations Phillip Webb and B.J Ojulari to be massively involved from day one, assisting Andre Anthony (one of the few key remaining veterans on the line) and Travez Moore: Webb and Ojulari's otherworldly athleticism & tombstone pace off the edge is huge for a team who already lacked a "headlining" pass rusher.
Well, here's how you find one...you play the games, you see who's going to fight...who's going to give it 150%...
In the secondary, Vincent's loss must be absorbed by sophomore Mo Hampton, freshman blitzkrieg Jordan Toles and the near fully fit junior Todd Harris; at strong safety Jacoby Stevens leads the unit and Cam Lewis provides another excellent championship-caliber authority, all while a sharp focus shifts primarily on to sophomore Cor'Dale Flott's maturity as a starting LSU cornerback;
Right behind Flott are even more ultimate freshmen phantoms Eli Ricks, Dwight McGlothern, Excalibur sophomores Jay Ward and Raydarious Jones...there's no shortage of options at the back end, it's ludicrous.
LSU are far deeper, grittier and intense than any mainstream analyst could understand unless you've watched this 2020 team in practice...if they'd seen what we have, they'd probably be wondering why more veterans aren't opting out from fear of the unbelievable freshmen in behind taking their spots.
At this juncture.... this surreal crossroads, LSU have two choices:
Either say "we had a nice run, let's see the writing on the wall and realize 2019 will never happen again"....
OR
"Well duh 2019 won't happen again, but this squad have every chance to win another championship...we have championship blood."
2020 was always going to be Coach Orgeron's toughest coaching job...just accepting the uncertain identity of a defending champion (after destroying every blue blood in college football) was always geauxing to require a new LSU, rocking an entire new set of 2019-fortified philosophies.
Don't be mistaken, Coach Ed Orgeron and his staff are finding solutions right at this moment, hell, they probably already had contingency plans, much like the candidates for starting spots we talked about above.
GEAUX TIGERS
BY LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
COPYRIGHT 2020 UNINTERRUPTED WRITINGS INC LLC