THE 5 GREATEST OFFENSIVE LINEMEN IN LSU HISTORY

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by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

    Join us as we go through LSU's illustrious history to name our top 5 greatest LSU Tiger O-linemen, 1 player for each spot:

(LT) ANDREW WHITWORTH

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   Regarded as one of the greatest, if not the greatest Louisiana OL of all time, Big Whit takes his customary left tackle spot along our best ever OL.

   His 52 starts ranks 2nd all time in NCAA Division I history, including a big performance setting RB Justin Vincent free during LSU's 2003-04 BCS National Championship Game victory over Oklahoma.

   In that fabled 2003/04 campaign, Whit played over 1,000 snaps (1,008), made more than 100 key blocks (105), and knocked down opponents 82 times; Throughout his final year in 2005, Whitworth didn't allow a sack as he led the Tigers in snaps for the third consecutive season.

    Whitworth was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft and has since sustained a Super Bowl-winning / Hall of Fame-bound legacy of durability and reliability, with 2022 seeing him named the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year next to victory in his second Super Bowl appearance for the LA Rams, intriguingly enough vs Joe Burrow's Bengals.

(LG) ALAN FANECA

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   Faneca was a major part of LSU's mid 90s rushing attack, named Second Team All-American in 1996 followed by a First Team All-American season in 1997, finishing among three finalists for the Outland Trophy.

    Committing 210 pancake blocks and only allowing a single sack in his entire LSU career, Faneca started his final 36 games for the Tigers leading up to his 1st Round selection by the Steelers.

    Leading Hall of Fame running back Kevin Faulk to consecutive 1,000 yard seasons in 1996 and 1997, while RB Rondell Mealey also eclipsed 600 on the ground across both years respectively, Faneca played a key role in Faulk attaining the SEC's all time yards mark.

   Winning Super Bowl XL with Pittsburgh, named to 9 Pro Bowl teams, and voted into the NFL's Hall of Fame this past year, Faneca echoed his LSU achievements at the next level.

(CENTER) LLOYD CUSHENBERRY

   NFL Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae could take this spot, as could the legendary Todd McClure (though Mawae spent most of his time at left tackle for LSU, only starting 3 games at center, among other stops at left guard and even long snapper).

   However, keeping things pure, we must pay tribute to Lloyd Cushenberry's absolute dominance at the spot throughout 2018 and 2019, delivering consecutive 1,000 yard seasons from his starting backs (Nick Brossette & Clyde Edwards-Helaire) leading the G.O.A.T offense from the trenches as Edwards-Helaire rushed for over 1,500 yards and 17 TDs, as the entire team rushed for 32 scores and Joe Burrow's high flying receivers caught 60 touchdowns, Cushenberry made everyone along that 2019 O-line look better than they were.

   His reliability and relationship with Joe Burrow will be etched in Tiger lore forever, and now, watching him become a day 1 starter for the Denver Broncos, it's obvious Cush's success was no 2019 fluke.

   At one of LSU's most historically lean positions, Cushenberry succeeded above and beyond anyone's wildest expectations.

(RG) TRAI TURNER

    Helping the 2011 Tigers to an undefeated regular season, SEC Championship victory and birth in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, once again inside the New Orleans Superdome, Turner had an immense career at LSU...perhaps one which is far too overlooked.

    Participating in 559 snaps during LSU's title run, Trai earned 51 key blocks at the line of scrimmage, personified the word "consistency", finished his career in absolute style with 10 pancake blocks as LSU ran for nearly 250 yards against Iowa.

    Over his career, Turner played 1,416 snaps and destroyed defensive linemen for 115 total pancake blocks, an impeccable rate of production and "durability"....the word most associated with the best offensive linemen.

    Making 5 straight Pro Bowl teams as part of the Carolina Panthers, Turner continued his strong NFL career in Washington before signing for his hometown New Orleans Saints in 2023.

Only 3 days after signing for his childhood team, a full circle moment, Turner suffered a horrendous quadriceps injury during offseason practices that sent him to injured reserve for the entire year. Though never officially announcing his retirement from the game, it has been 3 years now since the NFL have seen Turner on a field.

(RT) LA'EL COLLINS

Versatility......brilliance.....longevity....all words to describe La'el Collins, a once in a decade local OL talent who flourished quietly before setting up a lengthy, decorated NFL career lasting til this day.

    Able to swing from left or right tackle, Collins featured as a freshman for LSU's iconic 2011 squad, but his sophomore year is when he began to catch a spark:

    Named to the All-SEC team in 2012, Collins supplied 64.5 knockdown blocks from a whopping 836 snaps, gobbling up all opponents before him.

    In 2013, he switched to left tackle full time; As a senior, Collins led LSU offensive linemen with 88 knockdown blocks and 843 snaps, all on his way to winning the SEC's top blocking award (Jacobs trophy), another Second Team All-American selection, and a likely 1st Round Draft choice as the Tigers rushed for 224.5 yards per game, the program's most since the heyday of Faneca & Faulk in 1997.

    Instead, due to a controversy Collins was cleared of, the murder of a pregnant woman Collins had once been with, GMs wouldn't budge and the sure-fire 1st Round pick went undrafted completely after word spread of Collins speaking to Louisiana police. Despite full cooperation, Collins' NFL career was always followed by the specter of his past.

    Collins would turn it all around after the Cowboys' gave him a chance, spending 7 straight seasons as Jerry Jones' key left tackle. Starting 71 of his 74 total appearances for Dallas, the Cowboys possessed a consistently strong rushing offense behind Collins.

Next, La'el blocked for the G.O.A.T Joe Burrow at Cincinnati, however, despite starting 15 straight games in 2022 and playing high caliber football among a really awful offensive line, Collins went down in Week 16 with a torn ACL and MCL, narrowly missing a playoff run that led all the way to an AFC Championship Game repeat showdown vs Kansas City.

With Collins, the Bengals could barely protect their franchise quarterback.

Without Collins, there was no chance, and yet Joey B still led the Bengals to the AFC title game...but what if??? I wonder, what if??? Because, with Collins covering his blind side, Ja'Marr Chase destroying defenses, and Burrow delivering magic as he always has and likely always will, the Bengals looked like the best team in the NFL that year and should've made a return trip to the Super Bowl....but without Collins, it was a bridge too far behind that disastrous offensive front.

by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

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