I recently got a request for music videos. I used to post a lot of music videos, mostly to classic alt-rock or alt-pop from the '80s and '90s. I just sort of got out of the habit once football season started and I didn't pick it back up when football season ended.
One of the things about being a mostly one-person operation is that I'm somewhat dependent upon the fickle whims of inspiration. I can really only do something if I have some desire to do it. For a while now, I haven't had the desire to seek out videos to the music I like, but I'm making an effort. I present to you "Every Day is Like Sunday" by Morrissey:
I'm not a big Morrissey fan at all. This is the only Morrissey solo song I'm actually familiar with, though I like some of what The Smiths did. I like the song, but primarily I'm posting it because it is an example of '80s and '90s music videos that were weirdly detached from the song.
The music video posted above is about a young woman, attractive in an '80s Madonna-ish sort of way, struggling to make sense of a world that she finds offensive or vacuous. She goes through town and is bothered by butchers selling meat and by people mistreating animals. She finds her inspiration in the Beavis-like good looks of Morrissey, and achieves some sort of peace knowing there are kindred spirits out there if she can just find them.
The song is not about that at all. It's about nuclear war. It's about how following the apocalypse, every day is pretty much the same and it gets kind of lonely.
I don't know why music video producers and directors so frequently strayed so far from the subject matter of the songs in designing a video around, but this is clearly one of the most egregious examples. Granted, the song is slow and kind of romantic sounding, so it doesn't exactly shout "I'M ABOUT THE HORRORS OF GENOCIDE," but the director had to know what it was about. Surely someone told him.
If you don't know the song, go ahead and click the video and listen. Despite its subject matter, it's actually a pretty catchy and melodic tune.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Moving Right Along
Obviously, we cannot keep this up forever. Eventually, this site has to move away from its slap fight with Tigerdroppings. After all, despite what you may have read recently, there are about 350 posts on this blog out of about 355 that do not mention Tigerdroppings at all. This blog is about discussing LSU sports and SEC sports, and those topics have been sadly neglected the last couple of days.
One topic sadly neglected, and not just in recent days, is the play of the LSU women's basketball team, which finished the season undefeated in SEC play and heads to the conference tournament as one of the favorites. Winning the SEC is a huge accomplishment, as we all know that the Tennessee program has been the 500 pound gorilla of this sport. Knocking them off was huge.
First up in the SEC tournament is Ole Miss. Unfortunately the game is at noon today, which means it is pretty much impossible for me to watch it, as I will be at work. And yes, I enjoy watching LSU women's basketball when the games get more important (against Tennessee, or in the tournaments). I am hardly an expert on the topic, but I know we are really good and we have an excellent chance to win this tournament.
I also need to talk about the LSU-Bama basketball game from the other night. I was a little distracted from this topic yesterday, as you may have noticed. Despite being outrebounded dramatically (36 to 24 according to ESPN's boxscore), we won that game on the strength of good shooting, and in particular good free throw shooting. Shooting 41% from 3-point range doesn't hurt either. Clutch shooting and clutch defense are also nice, and we held Bama without a field goal in the last couple of minutes, coming from behind by 1 point to win by 7.
My analysis of this game is handicapped a little by the fact that I did not watch it. It was not on television here. I know that Anthony Randolph, perhaps in another showcase for the NBA, scored a career high.
He and Marcus Thornton again carried the scoring load, getting 56 of our 80 points. I sure hope this kid comes back, and just based on what I've seen I have to be doubtful of the projections that he is a lottery pick. He has the height and length, and he has athleticism (but not Tyrus Thomas-level athleticism). He has moves and overall general skills. He just lacks so much strength, and it showed in his inability to fight Hendrix and Jemison for rebounds. Neither of those guys are as good as the players he'll meet in the NBA.
If he really is a lottery pick, I can't be mad at him for going. That's a lot of money to pass up. I just doubt those projections.
One topic sadly neglected, and not just in recent days, is the play of the LSU women's basketball team, which finished the season undefeated in SEC play and heads to the conference tournament as one of the favorites. Winning the SEC is a huge accomplishment, as we all know that the Tennessee program has been the 500 pound gorilla of this sport. Knocking them off was huge.
First up in the SEC tournament is Ole Miss. Unfortunately the game is at noon today, which means it is pretty much impossible for me to watch it, as I will be at work. And yes, I enjoy watching LSU women's basketball when the games get more important (against Tennessee, or in the tournaments). I am hardly an expert on the topic, but I know we are really good and we have an excellent chance to win this tournament.
I also need to talk about the LSU-Bama basketball game from the other night. I was a little distracted from this topic yesterday, as you may have noticed. Despite being outrebounded dramatically (36 to 24 according to ESPN's boxscore), we won that game on the strength of good shooting, and in particular good free throw shooting. Shooting 41% from 3-point range doesn't hurt either. Clutch shooting and clutch defense are also nice, and we held Bama without a field goal in the last couple of minutes, coming from behind by 1 point to win by 7.
My analysis of this game is handicapped a little by the fact that I did not watch it. It was not on television here. I know that Anthony Randolph, perhaps in another showcase for the NBA, scored a career high.
He and Marcus Thornton again carried the scoring load, getting 56 of our 80 points. I sure hope this kid comes back, and just based on what I've seen I have to be doubtful of the projections that he is a lottery pick. He has the height and length, and he has athleticism (but not Tyrus Thomas-level athleticism). He has moves and overall general skills. He just lacks so much strength, and it showed in his inability to fight Hendrix and Jemison for rebounds. Neither of those guys are as good as the players he'll meet in the NBA.
If he really is a lottery pick, I can't be mad at him for going. That's a lot of money to pass up. I just doubt those projections.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
More on Yesterday
Congratulations to the LSU basketball team on another win last night. That makes four in a row, and I think we've accomplished what we wanted to accomplish regardless of what happens with Mississippi State on Saturday. Am I getting way ahead of myself to think we might have a real shot at winning the tourney?
Anyway, the Tigerdroppings issue is still in my mind. Let me make one thing very clear. I do not begrudge Tigerdroppings its success, nor do I set out to pick a fight with it. Quite the contrary, every conflict that has ever arisen between this site and Tigerdroppings happened because the administration of Tigerdroppings did something that I thought was jaw-droppingly surprising.
Was I warned against linking to this blog? Yes. Did I follow that mandate 100%? No. Did I follow it mostly? Yes. Was I kicked off for linking? No.
To summarize this, it is perfectly within the rules of Tigerdroppings, and even encouraged, to start a thread with the topic "Top 5 strangest places you've taken a dump," but you must not link to a blog that talks about football. Linking to the blog that talks about football is clearly outside of the purview of a message board about football. Hell, the topic on taking a dump will probably go on for 3 to 5 pages, and more than one admin will probably post to it.
I don't justify breaking the rules, but the Tigerdroppings rules are broken all the time. It's almost a rite of passage over there to break some rule and cause some drama and then it all blows over in a day or two. I broke the rule against linking to this website exactly once after I came to understand exactly what the rule meant, and I've been banned twice, neither time was immediately after linking this blog. It's not the linking that got me banned. It's something else. Did I break the rule? Yes. Am I the only user in the world who deliberately broke a rule once? There will probably be more than one TD user who deliberately breaks a rule TODAY.
Like it or not, there are some unwritten rules at Tigerdroppings. These rules aren't advertised except to people who unwittingly break them. Unwritten rule #1 is, "Don't talk about the unwritten rules." I guess if you talk about them, they're no longer unwritten.
I don't know why there are unwritten rules. I don't know why certain things are out of bounds, and I don't know why they don't want other users to know that it's out of bounds. It's certainly not out of fear of conflict, as the place is nothing if not full of conflict and drama. It's certainly not because they want to generally restrict what topics are discussed. Almost literally anything goes over there. The only things that are clearly out of bounds are the following:
For more, check out the comments section to yesterday's post. Someone decided they did not agree with me, and you can check out his perspective if you want.
Anyway, the Tigerdroppings issue is still in my mind. Let me make one thing very clear. I do not begrudge Tigerdroppings its success, nor do I set out to pick a fight with it. Quite the contrary, every conflict that has ever arisen between this site and Tigerdroppings happened because the administration of Tigerdroppings did something that I thought was jaw-droppingly surprising.
Was I warned against linking to this blog? Yes. Did I follow that mandate 100%? No. Did I follow it mostly? Yes. Was I kicked off for linking? No.
To summarize this, it is perfectly within the rules of Tigerdroppings, and even encouraged, to start a thread with the topic "Top 5 strangest places you've taken a dump," but you must not link to a blog that talks about football. Linking to the blog that talks about football is clearly outside of the purview of a message board about football. Hell, the topic on taking a dump will probably go on for 3 to 5 pages, and more than one admin will probably post to it.
I don't justify breaking the rules, but the Tigerdroppings rules are broken all the time. It's almost a rite of passage over there to break some rule and cause some drama and then it all blows over in a day or two. I broke the rule against linking to this website exactly once after I came to understand exactly what the rule meant, and I've been banned twice, neither time was immediately after linking this blog. It's not the linking that got me banned. It's something else. Did I break the rule? Yes. Am I the only user in the world who deliberately broke a rule once? There will probably be more than one TD user who deliberately breaks a rule TODAY.
Like it or not, there are some unwritten rules at Tigerdroppings. These rules aren't advertised except to people who unwittingly break them. Unwritten rule #1 is, "Don't talk about the unwritten rules." I guess if you talk about them, they're no longer unwritten.
I don't know why there are unwritten rules. I don't know why certain things are out of bounds, and I don't know why they don't want other users to know that it's out of bounds. It's certainly not out of fear of conflict, as the place is nothing if not full of conflict and drama. It's certainly not because they want to generally restrict what topics are discussed. Almost literally anything goes over there. The only things that are clearly out of bounds are the following:
- Use of racial slurs (though expressing racism is not out of bounds, as long as you avoid racial slurs)
- Posting of pornography
- Linking this blog, whether you are me or anyone else
For more, check out the comments section to yesterday's post. Someone decided they did not agree with me, and you can check out his perspective if you want.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
I've Gotten Into More Stupid Drama
Everyone knows that drama creates buzz, right. Well, maybe it's time this website got a few more hits because I seem to have gotten involved in more Tigerdroppings drama. Hence, we are calling an audible, and the post I promised you yesterday will have to wait.
In a thread over at Tigerdroppings, a poster named Catahoula Lake, who is a person totally unfamiliar to me, started a thread in which he quoted my post yesterday on Russel Shepard. He seemed to have trouble getting the link right. A little later in the day another user tried to help him fix the link and discovered that any attempt to link to this website is automatically garbled. Someone over there has programmed it so that it is impossible to link to this site from Tigerdroppings.
He pointed this out on the thread. I noticed his response, and I posted my own response expressing my surprise. Then I noticed that my response did not send the thread to the top of the page. The thread, completely harmless though it was, had been "anchored", meaning it was set to not to get bumped to the top when someone posted to it, so it would steadily sink to the bottom and off the page, where it would likely not be viewed again.
It was not anchored automatically the way the link was garbled. This was done by an admin that day, who chose to disfavor that particular thread, the one that mentioned this website, tried to link to it, and that prompted someone else (none of these people are me mind you) to notice that this website got special treatment.
Special negative treatment, that is. Links to national media aren't garbled. Links to LSU beat reporters like Glenn Guilbeau aren't garbled. Links to local LSU-themed bloggers like Dandy Don aren't garbled. Why is this website so disfavored over there?
I then started a thread on the Help Board asking about this. I will admit, I got a little testy. Frankly, I took it as a personal slight, which I think is a fair conclusion under the circumstances, and my testiness was justified. After a short conversation on the topic with a handful of users, the thread was deleted and my posting privileges were revoked. What's more, the message that pointed out the garbled links on the original thread, and how it only involved this website, was deleted along with my follow-up.
Recall, from the previous drama, the last straw was that they didn't only ask me not to link to the website or comment on it over at Tigerdroppings, but they didn't want me to ever point out that they had taken any action against me. It seems they did not want their users to know that this website was so disfavored. So, to recap, here is the relationship between GeauxTuscaloosa and Tigerdroppings:
And if they are inclined to think about this place, why is it held in such contempt? In over 350 posts on this board, I've mentioned Tigerdroppings exactly three times that I recall. This would be the fourth, and the drama started well before the first time I mentioned Tigerdroppings in any negative way. Heck, all I do is post long, rambling articles about football. Most of Tigerdroppings clientele doesn't even have the patience to read them, much less care about them. To the extent I've been critical of Tigerdroppings for having an incredibly high number of idiots posting (and apparently at least one petty and vindictive admin), other websites have been at least as critical.
I think, ultimately, that's what bothers me the most. This is so petty on their parts. What's more, because they won't let it even be discussed openly, they seem to know that it's petty. The only reason I can think of to censor all discussion of this website and their rules regarding it is that they must know how unreasonable they're being, and they know that if it's openly discussed over there, people will point out how chickenshit it is (pun intended).
It also makes me wonder what other topics of discussion may be secretly censored.
In a thread over at Tigerdroppings, a poster named Catahoula Lake, who is a person totally unfamiliar to me, started a thread in which he quoted my post yesterday on Russel Shepard. He seemed to have trouble getting the link right. A little later in the day another user tried to help him fix the link and discovered that any attempt to link to this website is automatically garbled. Someone over there has programmed it so that it is impossible to link to this site from Tigerdroppings.
He pointed this out on the thread. I noticed his response, and I posted my own response expressing my surprise. Then I noticed that my response did not send the thread to the top of the page. The thread, completely harmless though it was, had been "anchored", meaning it was set to not to get bumped to the top when someone posted to it, so it would steadily sink to the bottom and off the page, where it would likely not be viewed again.
It was not anchored automatically the way the link was garbled. This was done by an admin that day, who chose to disfavor that particular thread, the one that mentioned this website, tried to link to it, and that prompted someone else (none of these people are me mind you) to notice that this website got special treatment.
Special negative treatment, that is. Links to national media aren't garbled. Links to LSU beat reporters like Glenn Guilbeau aren't garbled. Links to local LSU-themed bloggers like Dandy Don aren't garbled. Why is this website so disfavored over there?
I then started a thread on the Help Board asking about this. I will admit, I got a little testy. Frankly, I took it as a personal slight, which I think is a fair conclusion under the circumstances, and my testiness was justified. After a short conversation on the topic with a handful of users, the thread was deleted and my posting privileges were revoked. What's more, the message that pointed out the garbled links on the original thread, and how it only involved this website, was deleted along with my follow-up.
Recall, from the previous drama, the last straw was that they didn't only ask me not to link to the website or comment on it over at Tigerdroppings, but they didn't want me to ever point out that they had taken any action against me. It seems they did not want their users to know that this website was so disfavored. So, to recap, here is the relationship between GeauxTuscaloosa and Tigerdroppings:
- I can't mention the website over there
- I can't discuss the rules regarding not being able to mention the website over there
- Anyone who attempts to link to my website will find it impossible to do
- Threads that mention this website will be anchored
- Posts that mention that this website gets special treatment will be deleted
- People who attempt to bring this forward will be punished
And if they are inclined to think about this place, why is it held in such contempt? In over 350 posts on this board, I've mentioned Tigerdroppings exactly three times that I recall. This would be the fourth, and the drama started well before the first time I mentioned Tigerdroppings in any negative way. Heck, all I do is post long, rambling articles about football. Most of Tigerdroppings clientele doesn't even have the patience to read them, much less care about them. To the extent I've been critical of Tigerdroppings for having an incredibly high number of idiots posting (and apparently at least one petty and vindictive admin), other websites have been at least as critical.
I think, ultimately, that's what bothers me the most. This is so petty on their parts. What's more, because they won't let it even be discussed openly, they seem to know that it's petty. The only reason I can think of to censor all discussion of this website and their rules regarding it is that they must know how unreasonable they're being, and they know that if it's openly discussed over there, people will point out how chickenshit it is (pun intended).
It also makes me wonder what other topics of discussion may be secretly censored.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Russel Shepard Commits to LSU
Big-time prospect Russell Shepard out of Houston-Cypress Ridge committed to LSU last night. He is listed at 6'2" and 180#, but you have to be a little suspicious of those numbers, but also must realize he will get bigger before he leaves high school. If you don't know this kid, get to know this kid right now. He's a 5-star quarterback, and the #4 2009 recruit in the country, one of the best players at the most important position on the field. His commitment to LSU is the biggest so far in a year with several big commitments already.
You want my breakdown of this kid, do you? Okay, here's what I have:
Strengths: He's a tremendous running quarterback, a true speed-burner with running instincts. Also, and I think this is almost as important, he seems like he really has his head on straight. He'll be a December graduate and a Spring enrollee, meaning he'll be at the 2009 Spring Practice. He projects to qualify with ease. He is a very well-spoken kid who seems like a natural leader as well. He's athletic enough that if he does not make it as a quarterback, he could still end up being an All-Conference or All-American performer at cornerback, wide receiver, or maybe running back.
He could also end up helping us get other high-profile Texas recruits like defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland (a kid with a name like this has to go to LSU), defensive back Craig Loston (Shepard's cousin, actually), and teammate Hasan Lipscomb, who will be a Tiger if he gets his grades in order.
Weaknesses: His videos don't show a heck of a lot of passing, and the passing they show doesn't stand out as being spectacular. He's also a little small to be taking the huge hits at quarterback you have to take if you want to be a run-first guy. That said, his videos on Rivals aren't highlights. They're sophomore highlights, and the kid is destroying everyone.
If you want some comparisons to former players, he looks an awful lot like former Colorado Buffalo and Pittsburgh Steeler Cordell Stewart, a.k.a. "Slash". He's also reminiscent of Tommie Frazier. If he's not a quarterback, he's like a taller Percy Harvin.
The only reason we were in it with Shepard is because Texas coach Mack Brown was recruiting him strictly as a wide receiver. Shepard has said he does not mind switching positions but wants to get a shot at quarterback, and will switch positions if he doesn't earn playing time at QB.
That's fine with me. Les Miles has said he's a quarterback and that's where he wants Shepard. I actually give Mack Brown some credit here. He didn't just tell Shepard what he wanted to hear. He told him the truth, which is that Texas wasn't going to give him a shot at quarterback. LSU will.
Here's what I'd do with him. I'd tell him, if you don't get into the two-deep at quarterback as a freshman (which is realistically unlikely, if you ask me) you will redshirt, and during your redshirt year you will work exclusively at quarterback. During your second year, continue working him at quarterback while installing some specialty sets to utilize his skills as a ball-carrier or receiver. In his redshirt sophomore year, make the final evaluation on whether or not Shepard is the quarterback of the future, and if he is not, make a permanent move. If he is, leave him at quarterback even if he is not the starter yet, but continue to leave in specialized plays for him at other positions while you wait.
I don't know if he's a future QB, or if his future is at another position, but I'm happy to give him a fair shot at quarterback. He'll have to come in and compete with Jarrett Lee (who will be 2 years ahead of him), Jordan Jefferson (one year ahead), and possibly Ryan Perrilloux who will overlap him by one year if he is still here for his senior year and who will not be beaten out if he stays, and then he'll have to compete with whoever we sign in the 2010 class. There are also rumors that we will sign another 2009 quarterback, but considering another QB could scare Shepard away and further considering the small class we have this year, I'm not sure it's a good idea to recruit another quarterback. I'd rather use that slot for another position. I'm not the coach though, and Les Miles has long since earned my trust.
With us getting a non-binding verbal commitment from a high-profile out of state kid that everyone in the world wants, you have to be concerned about the possibility of him changing his mind. Even though he says he's finished, and even though he seems like a real high-character kid (more on that tomorrow), you can't help but be worried. It helps that he's a mid-term graduate who will be enrolled by the time the pressure gets enormous in January. it also helps that he's a quarterback, and coaches aren't going to wait around to get their QB commitments.
It's an exciting day to be a Tiger fan.
Monday, March 3, 2008
3 In a Row
There was another impressive win for the basketball team yesterday, as the Tigers came back from 16 down to win 71-64 at home against Georgia. LSU had only two scorers in double figures and only got 1 bench point. Obviously, if you watched the game at all, you know how top heavy the team was, getting 36 from Marcus Thornton and 19 from Anthony Randolph. The rest of the team scored 16 points.
We have 5 conference wins now, which means that Butch Pierre has as many wins in conference as Mark Gottfried has, as someone on talk radio pointed out last week.
Gottfried gets a chance to even the score on Wednesday when LSU takes on the Tide in the PMAC. They beat us pretty good in Tuscaloosa earlier this season, but this is a very different team now, and Bama hasn't won a conference game on the road all year.
We are out of the basement and ahead of Georgia, Bama, and Auburn. If we win on Wednesday, we put more distance between us and those teams, and we have the opportunity to pass Ole Miss and South Carolina. That's as far as we can go.
Honestly, my enthusiasm over this strong finish is somewhat dampened by the rumors that Anthony Randolph is likely to go pro at the end of the season. The development of Randolph as a skilled post player, and the prospect that he will get physically stronger are two of the primary reasons for excitement going forward. His alleged plan to end his college career after this season
throws a wet blanket over that enthusiasm.
I know the school of thought that says it's probably best to go pro as soon as you can in basketball, but I really wonder if that is true with Randolph. Randolph is an excellent player, but he has two primary weaknesses that will handicap him dramatically in the NBA. First, he's not strong enough to play back to the basket in the NBA, and he doesn't really have the face-up game to make up for it. This will affect his immediate effectiveness and will make him a "project" in the NBA, hurting his draft stock. Despite his myriad skills, I have to think he's going to make a pretty ordinary NBA'er.
Second, he has no apparent passion for the game. He has not shown to be a fierce competitor. This is something that I think another year or two of college can actually correct. Heck it's probably one of the few things college basketball teaches well. The NBA has a reputation for being not a very fun league, and if his passion is lacking now, one wonders what it would be when he's playing 5 minutes a game for the first year or two of his career.
I hope he decides to come back for another year or more. He's a young kid and the NBA can wait. This is probably the last time in his life he'll be a key player on a basketball team, and he should enjoy it while it lasts.
We have 5 conference wins now, which means that Butch Pierre has as many wins in conference as Mark Gottfried has, as someone on talk radio pointed out last week.
Gottfried gets a chance to even the score on Wednesday when LSU takes on the Tide in the PMAC. They beat us pretty good in Tuscaloosa earlier this season, but this is a very different team now, and Bama hasn't won a conference game on the road all year.
We are out of the basement and ahead of Georgia, Bama, and Auburn. If we win on Wednesday, we put more distance between us and those teams, and we have the opportunity to pass Ole Miss and South Carolina. That's as far as we can go.
Honestly, my enthusiasm over this strong finish is somewhat dampened by the rumors that Anthony Randolph is likely to go pro at the end of the season. The development of Randolph as a skilled post player, and the prospect that he will get physically stronger are two of the primary reasons for excitement going forward. His alleged plan to end his college career after this season
throws a wet blanket over that enthusiasm.
I know the school of thought that says it's probably best to go pro as soon as you can in basketball, but I really wonder if that is true with Randolph. Randolph is an excellent player, but he has two primary weaknesses that will handicap him dramatically in the NBA. First, he's not strong enough to play back to the basket in the NBA, and he doesn't really have the face-up game to make up for it. This will affect his immediate effectiveness and will make him a "project" in the NBA, hurting his draft stock. Despite his myriad skills, I have to think he's going to make a pretty ordinary NBA'er.
Second, he has no apparent passion for the game. He has not shown to be a fierce competitor. This is something that I think another year or two of college can actually correct. Heck it's probably one of the few things college basketball teaches well. The NBA has a reputation for being not a very fun league, and if his passion is lacking now, one wonders what it would be when he's playing 5 minutes a game for the first year or two of his career.
I hope he decides to come back for another year or more. He's a young kid and the NBA can wait. This is probably the last time in his life he'll be a key player on a basketball team, and he should enjoy it while it lasts.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Look back at 2005
With the talk of recruiting lately, even for the 2009 class, I think it's instructive to go back and look at Les Miles' earlier recruiting classes and grade them after the fact. Miles' first class was the small 2005 class with only 13 commits. Let's grade them out. Star ratings are by Rivals:
QB: Ryan Perrilloux - *****
Grade: Incomplete
Analysis: We all know Perrilloux has the talent to be a phenomenal quarterback. He sat behind Jamarcus Russell and then Matt Flynn waiting his turn, and no it's his time to shine. He has looked very good in limited roles thus far, and has excelled when he had to be the key guy because of injuries. The problem of course is his inability to stay with the team. If he plays, his gameplay will get an A-grade. If he doesn't, this is a washout of course.
OL: Ciron Black - ***, Kyle Anderson - ***, Lyle Hitt - ***
Grade: A
Analysis: Black is a two-year starter following his redshirt season, and may end up going pro early following his third year as full time starter. He's an All-SEC left tackle, and if he stays for his 5th year he will probably go down as LSU's most accomplished offensive lineman ever. Can't get much better than that. Lyle Hitt originally was a defensive tackle before being moved to offensive guard and was an important role player in last year's national championship run, primarily as a run blocker on the right side. Kyle Anderson washed out due to off-field issues, but a Ciron Black is enough to make up for that.
WR: Brandon Lafell - ***, R.J. Jackson - ****
Grade: B
Analysis: Jackson has not done much other than play special teams, which is a disappointment for a 4-star player. Lafell is threatening to emerge as our #1 receiver. If he does, this grade will go up a bit. Lafell redshirted his first year, then made a handful of catches in his second year while sitting behind Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis, and Early Doucet. When finally given his chance, he made a bunch of catches, but also had some costly drops. He seems to have gotten past the drops problem and looks to be a very solid wide receiver now.
RB: Trindon Holliday - ***, Steven Korte - ****, Antonio Robinson - ****
Grade: B-
Analysis: We all know Trindon and his speed, but it's clear he is only a specialty back and a kickoff returner, though he is dangerous at both. Trindon's a weapon, but this class was only 1 for 3 on running backs, and that running back isn't capable of being an every down back. Korte and Robinson washed out at LSU and are now elsewhere.
DL: Ricky Jean-Francois - ****, Al Jones aka Rahim Alem - ****
Grade: B+
Analysis: Rahim Alem has been an important reserve defensive end and role player in his time on the team, and figures to be so again before maybe taking over for Kirston Pittman next year. Jean-Francois looks like an All-American in the making, but his off-field problems that made him lose 12 games last year keeps this grade from being an A.
LB: Darry Backwith - ****
Grade: A
Analysis: Darry spent his first year excelling on special teams, then he took over the strong side linebacker position at the start of the 2006 season, moving inside at midseason, where he has been a stalwart when healthy. He returns for his senior season as the undisputed leader of the linebacker corp and one of the best linebackers in the conference. Not bad.
DB: Chris Hawkins - ****
Grade: Incomplete
Analysis: He was stuck behind quality starters for his first years in the program. Now, he enters his junior year with a legitimate shot to nail down a starter spot at corner. This grade will be determined by whether or not he does that and how much he excels at that position. One could say he's a mild disappointment for failing to win the nickel back position, or the dime back position, but let's not go that far.
Overall, we have 13 prospects, three of whom have washed out and several of whom have emerged as leaders and producers. Considering the unavoidably small size of the class, this is a pretty good effort.
QB: Ryan Perrilloux - *****
Grade: Incomplete
Analysis: We all know Perrilloux has the talent to be a phenomenal quarterback. He sat behind Jamarcus Russell and then Matt Flynn waiting his turn, and no it's his time to shine. He has looked very good in limited roles thus far, and has excelled when he had to be the key guy because of injuries. The problem of course is his inability to stay with the team. If he plays, his gameplay will get an A-grade. If he doesn't, this is a washout of course.
OL: Ciron Black - ***, Kyle Anderson - ***, Lyle Hitt - ***
Grade: A
Analysis: Black is a two-year starter following his redshirt season, and may end up going pro early following his third year as full time starter. He's an All-SEC left tackle, and if he stays for his 5th year he will probably go down as LSU's most accomplished offensive lineman ever. Can't get much better than that. Lyle Hitt originally was a defensive tackle before being moved to offensive guard and was an important role player in last year's national championship run, primarily as a run blocker on the right side. Kyle Anderson washed out due to off-field issues, but a Ciron Black is enough to make up for that.
WR: Brandon Lafell - ***, R.J. Jackson - ****
Grade: B
Analysis: Jackson has not done much other than play special teams, which is a disappointment for a 4-star player. Lafell is threatening to emerge as our #1 receiver. If he does, this grade will go up a bit. Lafell redshirted his first year, then made a handful of catches in his second year while sitting behind Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis, and Early Doucet. When finally given his chance, he made a bunch of catches, but also had some costly drops. He seems to have gotten past the drops problem and looks to be a very solid wide receiver now.
RB: Trindon Holliday - ***, Steven Korte - ****, Antonio Robinson - ****
Grade: B-
Analysis: We all know Trindon and his speed, but it's clear he is only a specialty back and a kickoff returner, though he is dangerous at both. Trindon's a weapon, but this class was only 1 for 3 on running backs, and that running back isn't capable of being an every down back. Korte and Robinson washed out at LSU and are now elsewhere.
DL: Ricky Jean-Francois - ****, Al Jones aka Rahim Alem - ****
Grade: B+
Analysis: Rahim Alem has been an important reserve defensive end and role player in his time on the team, and figures to be so again before maybe taking over for Kirston Pittman next year. Jean-Francois looks like an All-American in the making, but his off-field problems that made him lose 12 games last year keeps this grade from being an A.
LB: Darry Backwith - ****
Grade: A
Analysis: Darry spent his first year excelling on special teams, then he took over the strong side linebacker position at the start of the 2006 season, moving inside at midseason, where he has been a stalwart when healthy. He returns for his senior season as the undisputed leader of the linebacker corp and one of the best linebackers in the conference. Not bad.
DB: Chris Hawkins - ****
Grade: Incomplete
Analysis: He was stuck behind quality starters for his first years in the program. Now, he enters his junior year with a legitimate shot to nail down a starter spot at corner. This grade will be determined by whether or not he does that and how much he excels at that position. One could say he's a mild disappointment for failing to win the nickel back position, or the dime back position, but let's not go that far.
Overall, we have 13 prospects, three of whom have washed out and several of whom have emerged as leaders and producers. Considering the unavoidably small size of the class, this is a pretty good effort.
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