LSU Tigers: Greg Gilmore
From Georgia Tiger Fan (from Tuesday's chat): How close is LSU to winning another national championship?
Gary Laney: A nice broad question. LSU is going to be in a position in the next two years where, if it plays well and catches a couple of breaks, it could put itself in position to be in the serious national championship conversation in mid November, which is all anybody can ask for.
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Here's how we see them fitting in.
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As LSU prepares to begin spring practice March 14, GeauxTigerNation will take daily looks at aspects of the spring camp. This is the third in the series:
BATON ROUGE, La. -- If you watched the NFL combine, you saw former LSU defensive linemen and defensive backs lining up to take their turns in drills.
So you want to know the areas of need as we head to the spring?
The combine gave you most of the answers.
Defensive end
Players lost: Barkevious Mingo, Sam Montgomery, Lavar Edwards, Chauncey Aghayere
Experience returning: Jermauria Rasco
Other candidates: Danielle Hunter, Jordan Allen, Justin Maclin.
Outlook: LSU won't have all of its candidates until August, when a trio of true freshmen arrive. But it'll be interesting to see who emerges out of the four veterans. Rasco worked his way into the top four last season and Hunter was a nice special teams player. Allen is coming off a knee injury. Any strong play from these four would be great news in the spring.
Defensive tackle
Players lost: Bennie Logan, Josh Downs
Experience returning: Anthony Johnson, Ego Ferguson
Others: Quentin Thomas, Mickey Johnson, Christian LaCouture.
Outlook: LSU is a little more solid here than at end because Johnson and Ferguson have seen plenty of snaps. Ferguson needs to step his game up though. There's a lot of talk that Thomas is a guy who might step up and earn significant playing time, possibly even challenging Ferguson for a starting spot. True freshman Maquedius Bain and Greg Gilmore will arrive in August. Another freshman, LaCouture, is already on campus.
Derick E. Hingle/US PresswireLamin Barrow is one of several options that LSU has to replace Kevin Minter at middle linebacker.Middle linebacker
Player lost: Kevin Minter
Experience returning: Lots of players, but are there any natural MLBs?
Outlook: This position is more a matter of finding the right guy than finding a guy. Does LSU move weak linebacker Lamin Barrow there? Does D.J. Welter, who was second team in the Chick-fil-A bowl after missing the season for academic reasons, get a shot? How about young Ronnie Feist? There are no shortage of candidates. It's just a matter of finding the right fit.
Left tackle
Player lost: Chris Faulk, Josh Dworaczyk
Experience returning: La'el Collins (could be moved from left guard), Vadal Alexander (could be moved from right tackle).
Others: Jerald Hawkins, Evan Washington, Jonah Austin, Ethan Pocic.
Outlook: Like middle linebacker, there are candidates here, but which one is the best fit? Collins was a highly-regarded prospect coming out of high school, but he got comfortable at left guard as a sophomore and there could be a reluctance to move him. Hawkins is a talented redshirt freshman, but do you really want a redshirt freshman blocking quarterback Zach Mettenberger's blind side? Alexander, last year's starter at right tackle, could be an option as well, but that would leave the Tigers having to find a new starter for two positions.
That’s true literally -- after Bower’s letter of intent arrived, LSU coach Les Miles said the Tigers are done signing players for the 2013 class -- but also in a geographical sense.
Bower, from just outside of New York in Somerville, N.J., gave the Tigers’ class a northeast presence, filling the one region of the country that was previously missing from what Miles described as the “most geographically diverse class in school history.”
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Well, maybe.
We’ve yet to see where Priest Willis will go or whether Tevin Lawson will accept LSU’s grayshirt offer instead of choosing a conventional scholarship offer elsewhere. And, for that matter, there still might be a scholarship awaiting defensive back Jeremy Cutrer, who did not sign Wednesday because it was unclear whether he will qualify academically.
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Team needs: LSU was decimated on the defensive line by graduation and early NFL draft entrees.
The Tigers will be without six of the nine defensive linemen who played the majority of the snaps, including three potential first-round NFL draft picks, led by lightning-quick speed-rushing end Barkevious Mingo.
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Think again.
The new ESPN 150/300 and team rankings came out, and while the Tigers remained at the same spot, No. 8, in the team rankings, the player rankings had some significant shuffling.
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Yet, it was a huge, huge game for LSU recruiting.
LSU landed its two biggest commits in its 25-man 2013 class at the Under Armor game as defensive tackle Maquedius Bain, ranked No. 43 in the ESPN 150, committed Wednesday. Kendell Beckwtih, ranked No. 19 by ESPN, then committed during the first quarter of the game Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
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Vitals: DT Maquedius Bain, Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University School of Nova South, 6-foot-5, 285 pounds
Committed: Jan. 2, 2013
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With trio of departures, LSU DL has holes 
Sources told ESPN's Joe Schad that Tigers junior defensive linemen Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo and Bennie Logan will all leave the Tigers a year early for the NFL draft. Their departures will increase LSU's growing list of defections to eight, but they are hardly the most surprising on the list.
All three have been projected as first-round picks since last spring, so the feeling for most of the 2012 season was that it would be the last for the trio of juniors. With senior Josh Downs holding down the fourth starting defensive line spot for most of the season at defensive tackle next to Logan, that means LSU will be looking to break in an entirely new starting defensive line next season.
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Bain, the No. 6 defensive tackle in the ESPN 150 and the highest-rated of the Tigers' 24 commitments, figures to play at LSU early. And he'll play a position where the Tigers have a tremendous recent track record for getting players to the NFL. Part of the reason there is a need for defensive tackles in this LSU class (Bain is one of four DT commitments in the class) is the presumed early departure of junior Bennie Logan to the NFL.
If Bain does play immediately, it will continue an LSU trend: Tiger freshmen should come ready to play because many of them will play. LSU used 15 true freshmen in the 2012 season, including four who started and a fifth who was a special-teams starter.
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In Bain they add a prospect with some promising upside. He possesses good raw tools to develop as the big man is strong and can move well for his size. He shows flashes of being a disruptive defender but needs to strive for more consistency in all areas, including pad level and hand usage.
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LSU finished playing football before the year even ended with Monday's last-second, 25-24 loss to Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, a downer of an ending to a 10-3 season.
Scott Drucker/IntersportLSU fans will get an early look at DL commit Greg Gilmore at the Under Armour All-America Game.Despite that, there's plenty to look forward to in the next five-plus weeks.
It is prime recruiting season, after all.
There will be all-star games, visitation weekends and even an early jump on 2014 recruiting for LSU and its prospects, all capped by national signing day Feb. 6.
Here's what's on the agenda and what to watch from an LSU perspective:
Friday
Under Armor All-America Game: LSU targets Maquedius Bain and Kendell Beckwith will announce their commitments at the game. Targets Robert Nkemdiche, Priest Willis, Josh McNeil, Antonio Conner, Artie Burns and Tim Williams are also playing in the game. Also playing are LSU commits Jeryl Brazil, Greg Gilmore and Ethan Pocic are also playing.
Semper Fidelis All-American Game: LSU commits Jeremy Cutrer and Christian LaCouture will play in this game.
Saturday
U.S. Army All-American Bowl: LSU fans will be able to take a glimpse at the Tigers' offensive future with LSU commits Hayden Rettig (quarterback), Desean Smith (tight end), John Diarse (wide receiver) and Josh Boutte (offensive line) all on the same team. LSU commits Tre'Davious White and Frank Herron are also in the game on defense.
Jan. 12
Boys from the Boot Day: Top 2014 players from Louisiana will be invited for unofficial visits designed to get them familiar with the recruiting process and to jump-start their relationships with LSU coaches.
That will be a huge day for LSU, considering Louisiana, perhaps the nation's most prospect-laden state on a per-capita basis, looks particularly strong in 2014. Among the players who might attend are running back Leonard Fournette, Cameron Robinson, Gerald Willis, Speedy Noil, Trey Quinn and several others.
Jan. 14
Spring semester begins: Early enrollees will begin classes, letting us know what players will get a jump on their classmates with spring practice.
Jan. 19-21, 26-28
Visit weekends: Players who haven't visited yet can set up visits on these weekends.
Feb. 6
National signing day: The culmination of the recruiting season.
Countdown to signing day: Greg Gilmore
Vitals: DT Greg Gilmore, Hope Mills, N.C./South View, 6-foot-4, 285 pounds
Committed: Nov. 8, 2012
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ESPN 150 DT Bain: LSU clear favorite
- Maquedius Bain
- Defensive tackle
- 2013
- Uncommitted: List
“Getting to know Coach [Les] Miles was my favorite part of the visit,” Bain said. “He made me and my mom feel real welcome and said he would love to have me because they need me. It’s a place I feel real comfortable about playing at.”
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ABOUT GEAUX TIGER NATION
Gary Laney
Gary Laney joined ESPN.com in 2012 after spending a year and a half as online sports editor of the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate. Before that, he covered LSU sports for the Advocate. He has also been the sports editor at the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise and covered McNeese State athletics for the Lake Charles (La.) American Press. Laney currently lives in Baton Rouge. Email him at glaneyespn@gmail.com