LSU Tigers: Travin Dural
BATON ROUGE, La. -- GTN writer Gary Laney took your questions, which were so plentiful this week we decided to spread the mailbag over two days. Look for more on Friday.
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.
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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BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU finished its spring drills Saturday, capping 15 practices spread out over six weeks, and while a lot of the big names performed as expected, other names emerged.
Zach Mettenberger is solidly entrenched at quarterback, as is Jeremy Hill at running back. Linebacker Lamin Barrow has stepped into a leadership role on defense, as has defensive tackle Anthony Johnson.
But who took the biggest steps in the spring? Let's look at five.
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- After LSU's last football scrimmage, head coach Les Miles addressed a minor injury to wide receiver Travin Dural -- a "nick" in Miles-speak -- and added that Dural was "arguably one of the best receivers" on the team.
That may come as a surprise to those who follow LSU from arm's length. After all, Dural, a redshirt freshman, has yet to set foot on the Tiger Stadium turf in a game situation. For those who do follow the Tigers, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
When Dural went down with a knee injury during August drills last season, he was having a solid camp and appeared to be on course for playing time. When the 6-foot-2 Dural -- who has speed, good length and has flashed nice ball skills -- is healthy, it's not hard to envision him pushing for playing time.
Question is, at whose expense?
LSU returns its top four receivers from last year's team and has added junior college transfer Quantavius Leslie, the big receiver lacking in last year's group, and added three freshman receivers in its recruiting class, two who are already on campus as early enrollees.
Here's what Leslie, and freshman Kevin Spears, will be up against when they come to LSU this summer.
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Here are things to know as LSU starts spring practice:
Practice dates: March 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23 (scrimmage), 25, 26 and 28. After spring break, resumes April 9, 11, 13 (scrimmage), 16, 18 and 20 (spring game).
What's new: Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will install his new offense, and four new starters will man the defensive line.
What's old: The Tigers have eight returning starters on offense, led by quarterback Zach Mettenberger.
Offensive outlook:
Starters returning (8): QB Mettenberger, RB Jeremy Hill, FB J.C. Copeland, WR Jarvis Landry, WR Odell Beckham, LT La'el Collins (moved from left guard), LG Josh Williford (moved from right guard), RG Trai Turner, RT Vadal Alexander.
New starters: TE Dillon Gordon or Logan Stokes, C Elliott Porter. Key reserves -- QB Stephen Rivers, RBs Alfred Blue, Kenny Hilliard and Terrance Magee, FB Connor Neighbors, LT Jerald Hawkins, RG Fehoko Fanaika, RT Ethan Pocic, WR James Wright, Kadron Boone, John Diarse and Travin Dural, TE Travis Dickson.
Practice dates: March 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23 (scrimmage), 25, 26 and 28. After spring break, resumes April 9, 11, 13 (scrimmage), 16, 18 and 20 (spring game).
What's new: Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will install his new offense, and four new starters will man the defensive line.
What's old: The Tigers have eight returning starters on offense, led by quarterback Zach Mettenberger.
Offensive outlook:
Starters returning (8): QB Mettenberger, RB Jeremy Hill, FB J.C. Copeland, WR Jarvis Landry, WR Odell Beckham, LT La'el Collins (moved from left guard), LG Josh Williford (moved from right guard), RG Trai Turner, RT Vadal Alexander.
New starters: TE Dillon Gordon or Logan Stokes, C Elliott Porter. Key reserves -- QB Stephen Rivers, RBs Alfred Blue, Kenny Hilliard and Terrance Magee, FB Connor Neighbors, LT Jerald Hawkins, RG Fehoko Fanaika, RT Ethan Pocic, WR James Wright, Kadron Boone, John Diarse and Travin Dural, TE Travis Dickson.
Schedule: The Tigers open spring practice Thursday and will conclude the spring April 20 with their annual National L Club spring game at 3 p.m. ET in Tiger Stadium.
What’s new: Cam Cameron steps in as LSU’s offensive coordinator after spending part of last season in that role with the Baltimore Ravens. Cameron replaces Greg Studrawa as LSU’s play-caller on offense and will also coach the quarterbacks. Studrawa remains on staff and will coach the offensive line. Steve Kragthorpe will move into an administrative role after coaching the LSU quarterbacks the previous two seasons.
On the mend: Reserve quarterback Rob Bolden (knee) and defensive end Justin Maclin will both miss the spring while recovering from injuries.
On the move: Junior La’el Collins will get first shot at left tackle this spring after starting all last season at left guard. Senior Josh Williford will shift from right guard to left guard. Junior Terrence Magee is moving back to running back after playing receiver last season and catching just one pass.
Question marks: The Tigers are replacing five of their top seven defensive linemen. Junior tackles Anthony Johnson and Ego Ferguson and junior end Jermauria Rasco need to take that next step and become every-down forces up front. Head coach Les Miles said sophomore tackle Mickey Johnson has lost weight and had a promising offseason. Playing with more consistency at receiver will also be important. The Tigers had too many dropped passes last season and didn't make a lot happen down the field. Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry will be counted on to make big moves as juniors. LSU also has to find a new place-kicker and punter. Sophomore Jamie Keehn heads into the spring as the punter, while junior James Hairston will have to hold off redshirt freshman walk-on Colby Delahoussaye for the starting place-kicking job.
New faces: Junior-college newcomer Logan Stokes will battle for a starting job at tight end, while junior-college newcomer Fehoko Fanaika could factor in at offensive guard. At receiver, redshirt freshman Travin Dural will be one to watch after injuring his knee last season along with a pair of early enrollees -- Avery Peterson (Patrick Peterson’s younger brother) and John Diarse. Two more true freshmen, Anthony Jennings and Hayden Rettig, will be among a handful of players vying for the backup quarterback job. The Tigers have a total of six true freshmen on campus who will be going through spring practice as early enrollees. Redshirt freshman Dwayne Thomas is a prime candidate to be the Tigers’ third cornerback on passing downs.
Breaking out: In reality, senior linebacker Lamin Barrow has already broken out. He had 104 total tackles last season, but was overshadowed by Kevin Minter. With Minter leaving early for the NFL draft, Barrow will move this spring from weakside linebacker to Minter’s middle-linebacker spot. The 6-foot-2, 232-pound Barrow has everything it takes to become an All-SEC performer. If he sticks in the middle, it just makes the Tigers that much deeper at linebacker. Talented sophomores Kwon Alexander, Deion Jones and Lamar Louis can all play on the outside along with senior Tahj Jones, who returns after missing all but one game last season for academic reasons.
Don’t forget about: Senior running back Alfred Blue returns to give the Tigers one of the deepest backfields in the league. He injured his knee in the third game last season and was No. 2 in the SEC in rushing at the time. The 6-2, 220-pound Blue has excellent speed and also catches the ball well out of the backfield. He’ll team with sophomore Jeremy Hill to give LSU a dynamite one-two punch. The 6-2, 235-pound Hill had four 100-yard games as a true freshman and led the Tigers in rushing. Following a splendid freshman season, Kenny Hilliard was the forgotten man last season. He’ll be looking to regain his form this spring, while Magee will add some speed to the Tigers’ backfield.
All eyes on: Now that senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger has a season as a starter in the SEC under his belt, can he capitalize on the improvement he showed toward the end of last season? In particular, Miles wants to see Mettenberger get better at throwing the deep ball and understand all of the throws better. Mettenberger struggled early last season, but he didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers. The best news for Mettenberger was the hiring of a veteran offensive coordinator like Cameron, who’s tutored a ton of quality quarterbacks. There’s no question that LSU has to be more consistent on offense if it’s going to return to the SEC championship picture. How much Mettenberger improves from his junior to senior season will go a long way toward determining whether the Tigers will be a part of that equation.
What’s new: Cam Cameron steps in as LSU’s offensive coordinator after spending part of last season in that role with the Baltimore Ravens. Cameron replaces Greg Studrawa as LSU’s play-caller on offense and will also coach the quarterbacks. Studrawa remains on staff and will coach the offensive line. Steve Kragthorpe will move into an administrative role after coaching the LSU quarterbacks the previous two seasons.
On the mend: Reserve quarterback Rob Bolden (knee) and defensive end Justin Maclin will both miss the spring while recovering from injuries.
On the move: Junior La’el Collins will get first shot at left tackle this spring after starting all last season at left guard. Senior Josh Williford will shift from right guard to left guard. Junior Terrence Magee is moving back to running back after playing receiver last season and catching just one pass.
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New faces: Junior-college newcomer Logan Stokes will battle for a starting job at tight end, while junior-college newcomer Fehoko Fanaika could factor in at offensive guard. At receiver, redshirt freshman Travin Dural will be one to watch after injuring his knee last season along with a pair of early enrollees -- Avery Peterson (Patrick Peterson’s younger brother) and John Diarse. Two more true freshmen, Anthony Jennings and Hayden Rettig, will be among a handful of players vying for the backup quarterback job. The Tigers have a total of six true freshmen on campus who will be going through spring practice as early enrollees. Redshirt freshman Dwayne Thomas is a prime candidate to be the Tigers’ third cornerback on passing downs.
Breaking out: In reality, senior linebacker Lamin Barrow has already broken out. He had 104 total tackles last season, but was overshadowed by Kevin Minter. With Minter leaving early for the NFL draft, Barrow will move this spring from weakside linebacker to Minter’s middle-linebacker spot. The 6-foot-2, 232-pound Barrow has everything it takes to become an All-SEC performer. If he sticks in the middle, it just makes the Tigers that much deeper at linebacker. Talented sophomores Kwon Alexander, Deion Jones and Lamar Louis can all play on the outside along with senior Tahj Jones, who returns after missing all but one game last season for academic reasons.
Don’t forget about: Senior running back Alfred Blue returns to give the Tigers one of the deepest backfields in the league. He injured his knee in the third game last season and was No. 2 in the SEC in rushing at the time. The 6-2, 220-pound Blue has excellent speed and also catches the ball well out of the backfield. He’ll team with sophomore Jeremy Hill to give LSU a dynamite one-two punch. The 6-2, 235-pound Hill had four 100-yard games as a true freshman and led the Tigers in rushing. Following a splendid freshman season, Kenny Hilliard was the forgotten man last season. He’ll be looking to regain his form this spring, while Magee will add some speed to the Tigers’ backfield.
All eyes on: Now that senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger has a season as a starter in the SEC under his belt, can he capitalize on the improvement he showed toward the end of last season? In particular, Miles wants to see Mettenberger get better at throwing the deep ball and understand all of the throws better. Mettenberger struggled early last season, but he didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers. The best news for Mettenberger was the hiring of a veteran offensive coordinator like Cameron, who’s tutored a ton of quality quarterbacks. There’s no question that LSU has to be more consistent on offense if it’s going to return to the SEC championship picture. How much Mettenberger improves from his junior to senior season will go a long way toward determining whether the Tigers will be a part of that equation.
LSU passing game buoyed with 2013 class 
January, 30, 2013
Jan 30
8:00
AM ET
By
Gary Laney | ESPN.com
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The last time LSU had anything close to a high-powered passing offense was back in its last national championship season, 2007, with Matt Flynn at quarterback.
Since then, the Tigers have consistently had, at best, mediocre passing numbers, a trend they hope to snap next season in Zach Mettenberger's senior year at quarterback. Whether that happens remains to be seen. One thing that's clear, however, is that the Tigers have invested heavily to try to improve the passing game in the future.
The 2013 class will finish with four receivers, two tight ends and two quarterbacks, nearly a third of the class devoted to an improved ability to pitch and catch.
"It's exciting," said tight end DeSean Smith (Lake Charles, La./Barbe)," the highest-rated of the eight players by ESPN. "When we look at our class, we think we can do a lot with three wide receiver sets and maybe four and we can even get one or two tight ends in as part of that."
Since then, the Tigers have consistently had, at best, mediocre passing numbers, a trend they hope to snap next season in Zach Mettenberger's senior year at quarterback. Whether that happens remains to be seen. One thing that's clear, however, is that the Tigers have invested heavily to try to improve the passing game in the future.
The 2013 class will finish with four receivers, two tight ends and two quarterbacks, nearly a third of the class devoted to an improved ability to pitch and catch.
"It's exciting," said tight end DeSean Smith (Lake Charles, La./Barbe)," the highest-rated of the eight players by ESPN. "When we look at our class, we think we can do a lot with three wide receiver sets and maybe four and we can even get one or two tight ends in as part of that."
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Mailbag: In defense of Zach Mettenberger
January, 17, 2013
Jan 17
9:30
AM ET
By
Gary Laney | ESPN.com
We had such a great chat Tuesday that a bunch of questions remained unanswered when I ran out of time. I take some of them on here:
From Justin in St. Louis: When do you think people will finally realize that Zach Mettenberger is a good QB? In all the games I watched this season, when he was protected, he was on it. Also, when he's on, he's on. Example: Second half of the Alabama game.
Gary Laney: I also like Mettenberger Justin and will get called a homer by some for saying that. I do think there were issues with the passing game, but they were mostly systemic and sometimes resulted in Mettenberger's flaws sticking out more and made him sometimes take blame for things that weren't necessarily his fault.
From Justin in St. Louis: When do you think people will finally realize that Zach Mettenberger is a good QB? In all the games I watched this season, when he was protected, he was on it. Also, when he's on, he's on. Example: Second half of the Alabama game.
Gary Laney: I also like Mettenberger Justin and will get called a homer by some for saying that. I do think there were issues with the passing game, but they were mostly systemic and sometimes resulted in Mettenberger's flaws sticking out more and made him sometimes take blame for things that weren't necessarily his fault.
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LSU has numbers at all the positions where it is losing transfers, according to the roster the team updated Wednesday.
Commits: ATH Kendell Beckwith, ATH Melvin Jones.
Linebacker
Luke Muncie was one of four linebackers to start games at the strong side linebacker spot -- and the other three return.Tahj Jones, who was academically ineligible for the season after he emerged from last spring as the starter, is back in the fold and will battle rising sophomores Kwon Alexander and Lamar Louis for the starting job.Commits: ATH Kendell Beckwith, ATH Melvin Jones.
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU has eight new scholarship football players on its spring roster, with two players who are expected to be on the Tigers' spring roster facing a delay.
Quarterback Hayden Rettig and wide receiver Avery Johnson both got a late green light from the NCAA clearinghouse Wednesday, allowing them to join six other new players who enrolled for the spring semester.
"It's just a formality they had to go through," LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette said.
There were some nervous moments for LSU fans who recalled last January when highly-regarded quarterback recruit Gunner Kiel backed out of an LSU commitment in January and wound up signing with Notre Dame. Also, Johnson signed with LSU in 2012, but wound up not meeting academic requirements and he subsequently enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy for the fall semester. There were fears of more academic trouble for him.
Those fears now put to rest, LSU can look at an early enrollee class of eight.
They joined six other Tigers already on the roster: Tight end Logan Stokes and offensive guard Fehoko Fanaika (both junior college transfers) and high school recruits Anthony Jennings (quarterback), Ethan Pocic (offensive tackle), John Diarse (wide receiver) and Christian LaCouture (defensive tackle). All four graduated from their high schools early and were able to start a semester early.
Fanaika, like Johnson, initially signed with LSU last year, but had to return to junior college to complete his eligibility requirements.
While LSU brought in eight players, there were a handful of departures, most notably linebacker Luke Muncie, who started four games in 2012 before an illness forced him out of the lineup. He had 11 tackles and an interception.
Also no longer on the Tigers' roster are quarterback Jerrard Randall, wide receiver Paul Turner and offensive lineman Chris Davenport. Randall and Muncie will apparently transfer. Turner has reportedly transferred to Louisiana Tech and Davenport to Tulane.
Their departures leave LSU with unofficially 65 scholarship players on their roster, plenty enough to accommodate the 17 remaining committed players in the signing class plus three more. The NCAA limits teams to 85 scholarship players. If LSU were to add more than three players to its signing class, it would simply have whittle the scholarship counters to 85 by August.
Quarterback Hayden Rettig and wide receiver Avery Johnson both got a late green light from the NCAA clearinghouse Wednesday, allowing them to join six other new players who enrolled for the spring semester.
"It's just a formality they had to go through," LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette said.
There were some nervous moments for LSU fans who recalled last January when highly-regarded quarterback recruit Gunner Kiel backed out of an LSU commitment in January and wound up signing with Notre Dame. Also, Johnson signed with LSU in 2012, but wound up not meeting academic requirements and he subsequently enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy for the fall semester. There were fears of more academic trouble for him.
Those fears now put to rest, LSU can look at an early enrollee class of eight.
They joined six other Tigers already on the roster: Tight end Logan Stokes and offensive guard Fehoko Fanaika (both junior college transfers) and high school recruits Anthony Jennings (quarterback), Ethan Pocic (offensive tackle), John Diarse (wide receiver) and Christian LaCouture (defensive tackle). All four graduated from their high schools early and were able to start a semester early.
Fanaika, like Johnson, initially signed with LSU last year, but had to return to junior college to complete his eligibility requirements.
While LSU brought in eight players, there were a handful of departures, most notably linebacker Luke Muncie, who started four games in 2012 before an illness forced him out of the lineup. He had 11 tackles and an interception.
Also no longer on the Tigers' roster are quarterback Jerrard Randall, wide receiver Paul Turner and offensive lineman Chris Davenport. Randall and Muncie will apparently transfer. Turner has reportedly transferred to Louisiana Tech and Davenport to Tulane.
Their departures leave LSU with unofficially 65 scholarship players on their roster, plenty enough to accommodate the 17 remaining committed players in the signing class plus three more. The NCAA limits teams to 85 scholarship players. If LSU were to add more than three players to its signing class, it would simply have whittle the scholarship counters to 85 by August.
GeauxTigerNation recruiting writer David Helman is back with another GeauxTigerNation mailbag, taking questions about the Tigers' recruiting efforts this year.
From Alex in New Orleans: First it was Alex Hurst to get nicked up along the offensive line, and now Chris Faulk has a severe injury. Has LSU recruited the depth there to withstand all the injuries?
It certainly looks good that offensive tackle Vadal Alexander was LSU's highest-rated recruit for 2012, doesn't it? On top of that, Alexander was an early enrollee in January, which showcases how important it can be to get your most talented recruits onto campus as soon as possible. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound freshman has been working out and learning the playbook since the week after the national championship game. If Hurst can't stay healthy, or if the big senior moves to left tackle to replace Faulk, Alexander seems like a likely candidate to step onto the starting line.
From Alex in New Orleans: First it was Alex Hurst to get nicked up along the offensive line, and now Chris Faulk has a severe injury. Has LSU recruited the depth there to withstand all the injuries?
It certainly looks good that offensive tackle Vadal Alexander was LSU's highest-rated recruit for 2012, doesn't it? On top of that, Alexander was an early enrollee in January, which showcases how important it can be to get your most talented recruits onto campus as soon as possible. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound freshman has been working out and learning the playbook since the week after the national championship game. If Hurst can't stay healthy, or if the big senior moves to left tackle to replace Faulk, Alexander seems like a likely candidate to step onto the starting line.
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Zach Mettenberger threw for five touchdown passes Thursday night in LSU's second scrimmage of August camp.
But head coach Les Miles insisted it was the defense that carried the day in the 120-play scrimmage held inside Tiger Stadium.
"We had about five drives that started in the red zone, so there were a number of opportunities for us to score," Miles said. "I think the defense probably won the day."
But head coach Les Miles insisted it was the defense that carried the day in the 120-play scrimmage held inside Tiger Stadium.
"We had about five drives that started in the red zone, so there were a number of opportunities for us to score," Miles said. "I think the defense probably won the day."
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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