LSU Tigers

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Leading up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, we'll take a daily look at a key LSU player. We'll examine how he has done and what his challenges are for the Clemson game.

Odell Beckham, WR, Sophomore

Accomplishments: Beckham emerged as LSU's primary big-play threat, catching 40 passes for a team-high 673 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He had the team's long catch of the year, a 56-yarder. An elusive speedster, Beckham's talents translated to special teams, where he returned two punts for touchdowns. His 89-yard return for a score against Ole Miss was a key play in The Tigers' come-from behind win, salvaging senior day for LSU. Beckham averaged 9.7 yards per punt.

Shortcomings: Even after the departure of Rueben Randle, Beckham did not become a significantly more prolific pass catcher in his sophomore season. He hauled in 40 passes as a true freshman starter for the Tigers, but only had one more catch in his 12-game sophomore season, though his yards-per-catch average increased. He went through an early slump, particularly in the season's second game where he struggled with fumbles and drops against Washington. He seemed to regain his confidence late in the season.

Against Clemson: While LSU's passing game surged in the last four games of the regular season, Beckham didn't see much increase in production as Jarvis Landry seemed to be a the main beneficiary of Zach Mettenberger's new-found passing proficiency. He had 27 catches for 420 yards in the first eight games and 14 for 253 in the last four. He'll look to become a bigger part of the Tigers' resurgent passing game in the bowl.

 

BATON ROUGE, La. -- In the season's first six games, LSU wide receivers have caught 65 passes -- not many when one considers that the Tigers have dropped close to 20.

Still, wide receiver Jarvis Landry doesn't want to portray the group as "struggling."

"We're not struggling at all," Landry said. "We're just trying to put [quarterback Zach Mettenberger] into a rhythm."

It seems, right now, each part of LSU's passing game is dancing to its own song, perhaps a step off the beat. The offensive line has struggled to protect Mettenberger, both in terms of physically handling assigned blocks and getting to the proper block. Receivers have struggled to consistently run the right routes or run them well, and have struggled to hang on to catchable throws. Mettenberger tries to do too much and turns the ball over.

It adds up to a passing game that is 12th in the SEC (195.7 yards per game) and eighth in pass efficiency.

One would think the Tigers need to drastically improve to have any chance to rebound from last week's 14-6 loss to Florida. The Tigers continue to face a gantlet going forward, starting with Saturday's home game against South Carolina and continuing with games against Texas A&M and Alabama.

South Carolina leads the SEC in sacks, while A&M has the SEC's individual sack leader (Damontre Moore). Alabama has the nation's best defense.

It's hard to imagine LSU being able to simply run at any of the three. And if the Tigers are to balance the run with the pass, they will have to be much more in rhythm with each other than they have been, particularly recently.

The problems, they say, are largely ones that are correctable, which had many of those involved in the passing game frustrated a bit this week.

"We're so close to being a good offense," Mettenberger insisted.

What keeps it from happening?

"Little things," Landry said.

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BATON ROUGE, La. -- In the second quarter Saturday, with LSU's offense trying to climb out of a miserable funk, Odell Beckham, Jr., got open behind the Towson defense.

The only receiver out for a pass on the play-action throw, he got free on a post pattern anyway and ran with nobody near him toward the back of the end zone, just in front of, and smack in between, Tiger Stadium's iconic double goalposts. The pass from Zach Mettenberger wasn't perfect -- Beckham had to turn and extend over his head to make a stumbling catch -- but he did haul it in nicely for a 27-yard touchdown, his first of the season.

With it, the dark clouds over Tiger Stadium and the LSU passing game seemed to lift.

He added another touchdown on a 53-yard bomb from Mettenberger in the fourth quarter of the 38-22 win, capping a night in which he seemed to put the troubles of a bad game a few weeks earlier against Washington behind him and, perhaps, shook LSU's passing offense to life.

"It's definitely a confidence builder," said Beckham after he caught five passes for a career-high 128 yards and also added a 30-yard punt return. "You have to take it as a learning experience and keep working every single day."

Beckham has had to learn to deal with the humility of a bad performance this season. Coming off a freshman season where he was second on the team in receiving with 41 catches for 475 yards and two touchdowns, the New Orleans native had struggled since the season's second game, when he fumbled the opening kickoff and dropped three passes during the Tigers' otherwise near-flawless 41-3 blowout of Washington.

The Towson game was the first all season where Beckham led the Tigers in receiving, a sign that he was getting back to his old self.

"Receiver, it's all about confidence," Metterberger said. "He had a great week of practice. He came into the week with confidence."

Self-confidence is not something that had been lacking for Beckham. He quickly made a name for himself as a true freshman in 2011, passing by many older receivers to become the Tigers No. 2 receiver and the starter opposite Rueben Randle. He was a reliable secondary target for both Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee when defenses focused their attention on Randle.

Mettenberger said Beckham's natural self-confidence was part of his freshman success and he saw it again against Towson.

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When the Dallas Cowboys drafted LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday, he became the latest to prove that where one is ranked on the recruiting boards in high school does not predict where one will eventually be on draft day.

In fact, a disconnect between how players are ranked -- and even what position they’ll eventually play -- is what marks the early picks in LSU's NFL draft class. Of the two LSU players picked in Thursday’s first round and the ones who might go in the second round, two were unheralded and only one plays the position he was projected to play coming out of high school.

Take Michael Brockers, who was projected as a defensive end coming out of high school, but emerged Thursday as a first round pick as a defensive tackle at No. 14 to the St. Louis Rams. Or safety Brandon Taylor, who will likely go in the second or third round today after projecting as a cornerback by recruiting services out of high school.

Claiborne was an unheralded recruit coming out of Fair Park High School in Shreveport, La., in 2009. A high school quarterback, Claiborne became a dominant corner for his home-state Tigers, showing NFL scouts not just speed and good size, but impressively fluid hips and ball skills.

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Mercifully, draft day has dawned.

It's been a winding road of workouts, interviews and speculation in the more than 100 days since Morris Claiborne and Michael Brockers announced their intentions to enter the 2012 NFL draft on Jan. 12. With the draft finally beginning Thursday, the pair that helped anchor LSU's Southeastern Conference championship defense look like a lock to be selected in the opening round.

ESPN's Mel Kiper has projected Claiborne, the Thorpe Award-winning cornerback to be a top-six pick. Brockers' stock has been a little more volatile, as he's jumped from No. 27 to No. 8 before falling to No. 15.

As Brockers is quick to point out, none of that matters now.

"It's in God's hands right now," the defensive tackle said. "It's in the hands of the GM's and the coaches and whatever they think is the best fit for their team."

That relaxed attitude is easy to talk about, but perhaps a bit harder to follow through on. From the day of their announcement, through the NFL combine to LSU's pro day workouts and everything in between, LSU's first round prospects have gone through the gauntlet of media and league scrutiny. At the start of this final week, Brockers said he was doing his best to avoid the talk.

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Pro day is a process that takes hours, but for a trio of top NFL draft prospects, success in Thursday's LSU pro day could be measured in tenths of a second.

Because for cornerback Morris Claiborne, wide receiver Rueben Randle and defensive tackle Michael Brockers, the highlight of their day came in the critical slivers of a second they all cut off the 40-yard dash times recorded at the NFL combine in February at Indianapolis.

The hope is that the improvement will translate to another productive first day for LSU in the NFL draft in April. If nothing else, there were a lot of Tigers hoping for a career playing for pay. Twenty-one Tigers off the 2011 team, plus a handful of former players, worked out on Thursday.

And the biggest attraction there showed the scouts, GMs and three NFL head coaches in attendance - the Vikings' Leslie Frazier, the Jets' Rex Ryan and Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin - that his measurables are indeed better than what they were in Indianapolis.

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LSU receiver Rueben Randle will also make himself available for the NFL draft, Randle's father told The Baton Rouge Advocate.

That means the Tigers are losing an SEC-high four underclassmen to pro football. Cornerback Morris Claiborne and defensive tackle Michael Brockers announced their intentions on Thursday to enter the draft. Receiver Russell Shepard has tweeted that he's leaving LSU.

Randle was LSU's leading receiver this season with 53 catches for 917 yards and eight touchdowns. Randle averaged 17.3 yards per catch and was one of the top big-play receivers in the league. Randle and Shepard were the only two players on the team who caught more than two touchdown passes this season, meaning rising sophomores Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry will be counted upon to assume much larger roles next season.

Here's the most up-to-date list of SEC underclassmen declaring for the draft. The deadline is Sunday:

• LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers
• Georgia tight end Orson Charles
• LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne
• Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox
• South Carolina cornerback Stephon Gilmore
• Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower
• Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick
• South Carolina receiver Alshon Jeffery
• LSU receiver Rueben Randle
• Alabama running back Trent Richardson
• LSU receiver Russell Shepard

For those of you hoping you’ve heard the last of Les Miles and his LSU Tigers, think again.

While LSU came up short with a poor performance in its 21-0 loss to Alabama in the Allstate BCS National Championship Game Monday, the Tigers won’t be going anywhere.

In fact, they might be right back in the national title picture next season.

LSU returns most of the talent that helped the Tigers get to New Orleans, so that trip to South Beach for next year’s championship game is very much in play.

The quarterback position should receive an upgrade with Zach Mettenberger taking over, top receiving threats Rueben Randle and Odell Beckham return and LSU’s defense should return mostly intact.

“When you look at that you think we pretty much have the same team,” said sophomore defensive tackle Michael Brockers, who had 54 tackles, including 10 for loss last season. “There are little voids in our team, but they can be filled. That’s the best part about it.”

What might be the scariest part about LSU is the fact that along with Brockers, defensive linemen Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo and Bennie Logan were sophomores in 2011. So were defensive backs Tyrann Mathieu and Eric Reid, along with linebacker Kevin Minter.

Offensive players around the SEC all just shuttered at once at the thought of that, but it gets worse. Cornerback Tharold Simon, who defended 12 passes and had two interceptions, will be a junior, and defensive linemen Anthony “Freak” Johnson, Ego Ferguson and Jermauria Rasco will only be sophomores.

Offensively, LSU brings back all four members of its bullish running team. Spencer Ware, Michael Ford and Alfred Blue were all sophomores last season and combined for 2,002 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. Oh, and freshman Kenny Hilliard might have the most talent of any of his running back partners. He came on late and rushed for 336 yards and eight touchdowns during his first season.

Beckham appears to be a real budding star in the SEC. He was second on the team with 41 catches for 475 yards and two touchdowns. He showed deep threat ability along the way, but has tremendous hands. He can really go up and get passes.

Also, keep an eye on rising sophomore receiver Jarvis Landry. He only caught four passes this season, but he flashed some pretty good speed at times in 2011 and with his 6-foot, 190-pound frame, he’ll be able to get pretty physical with opposing defensive backs.

With the recruiting class Miles hauled in 2011, there will naturally be more names that emerge in 2012, and this year's recruiting class looks to be another stellar one for The Hat.

Monday was rough for the Tigers, but Mathieu said there is hope for the immediate future. There is certainly motivation in the loss to the Crimson Tide after what was turning into a truly historic season, but the Tigers will have no problem picking their heads up in 2012.

“Those guys are ready to get on the field, ready to make their mark,” Mathieu said. “That’s something to lean on right now.”

“We gotta get the ball back rolling and be in the same position next year and hopefully win it.”

NEW ORLEANS -- We still haven't seen a touchdown between these two teams, but Alabama leads 9-0 over LSU at the half in the Allstate BCS National Championship.

Stat of the half: LSU, which is notorious for pounding the ball on the ground against its opponents, has just 17 yards on 10 carries in the first half. Alabama defenders said they wanted to make sure they won the line-of-scrimmage battle, and so far the Crimson Tide is. Alabama has also totally taken Jordan Jefferson' rushing ability out of this one, especially on the outside.

Best players in the half: AJ McCarron sure hasn't looked like a first-year starter at quarterback. He has been calm in the pocket and extremely efficient, passing for 156 yards. He hasn't made the mistakes that a young quarterback should make in such a big game, and he's beating LSU's secondary right now. For LSU, the only star has been punter Brad Wing. Without his leg, LSU might be down even more. He has averaged 50.6 yards on five punts, including a long of 59 yards.

What Alabama needs to do: The Crimson Tide should be thrilled about their nine-point lead, but they should have more points. Alabama failed to get Trent Richardson involved in the red zone. That can't continue. Making plays in the red zone was a major issue for the Tide last time they played LSU. We've seen LSU get on runs, and while Alabama's defense has been outstanding, you can't count out a team that has rebounded from double-digit deficits in back-to-back games.

What LSU needs to do: The Tigers couldn't move the ball whatsoever in the first half. LSU might want to get Jefferson going with some short passes and slants. They were effective at times during the first half and that should open up the running game. Rueben Randle also has to be more of a factor. He's LSU's best receiver for a reason. LSU can't win this game with Jefferson's arm, but it has the running backs to get the Tigers in position to score.