Every year a large number of underclassman declare for the NFL Draft which leaves their respective team with a number of holes to fill. It is usually NFL ready juniors who are likely to go in the first three rounds who leave after their third season of eligibility, meaning the more stars on the team the bigger roster turnover you will have.
Major schools like LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Florida and Oregon amongst others, do an incredible job at recruiting talent and maintaining their high standards year after year. With no free agency, college football is all about the next man up.
Quarterback Zach Mettenberger is a senior so has to go which has had a knock-on effect with two junior wide receivers in Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham also declaring their intentions to turn professional a season early. Defensive tackles Anthony Johnson and Ego Ferguson have also declared while seniors in the form of strong safety Craig Loston and linebacker Lamin Barrow will also leave.
That is 3,028 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, 136 catches, 2,245 receiving yards, 18 receiving touchdowns, 297 tackles and 28.5 tackles for a loss all disappearing in one big swoop. Add to that juniors and redshirt sophomores such as running backs Jeremy Hill, Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard – over 2,000 rushing yards between them – and offensive tackle La’el Collins who have not yet confirmed their intentions could make an already 2014 season seem impossible.
But let me tell you this. After the 2012 season Les Miles and his coaching staff saw no less than 10 underclassman declare for the NFL Draft and still the Tigers produced a 9-3 season that was a few points here or there from 11-1.
In reality, these players were replaced a long time ago, maybe as far back as their freshman seasons. While departing players leave big holes – losing two defensive tackles the same year is a huge blow – the next player in line is expected to step right in and perform.
While Mettenberger is a great talent at quarterback – he would have likely been a first round pick if not for a torn ACL late in the season – LSU are not known a pass-happy team instead one that pounds the rock and plays hard-nosed, lockdown defense.
Substandard Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee shared snaps at quarterback in 2011 when LSU lost the national championship game.
Mettenberger’s replacement could already be on the team in the form of Anthony Jennings who will be a sophomore in 2014.
If not, the Tigers have a commitment from the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback on the ESPN300 list in Brandon Harris, who is the most highly-anticipated quarterback to come out of Louisiana since Ryan Perriloux.
To go with Harris, Leonard Fournette gave his commitment on the second of January. The 6’1” 225-pound running back is ranked by Rivals.com as the third-best player to come from the 2014 high school class.
It’s unlikely that all three of the aforementioned running backs will enter the 2014 Draft but if so they could not ask for anybody better than Fournette to take up the mantle.
Sophomore, and former four-star recruit, Travin Dural will see an expanded role in the wake of Landry and Beckham’s exit. As a freshman the wideout caught seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
However, besides Dural, only one returning receiver caught a pass in 2013 which is a major worry. It will be up to 2013 recruits John Diarse, Quantavius Leslie and Kevin Spears to make their mark.
Sophomore linebacker Kwon Alexander broke through this past season with 65 tackles and should fill the void left by Barrow.
Corey Thompson is a physical and aggressive safety in the mould of NFL-bound Loston who he will replace after making strides as a freshman.
Christian LaCouture is next in line at defensive tackle. At 6’5” and 298lbs. he is certainly built for the role but his lack of playing time thus far could hinder him early in the season.
With such a huge turnover in talent over the past two seasons LSU are an intriguing team to follow in 2014 as Les Miles enters his ninth season as head coach.
His recruiting ability will either be lauded or exposed as they try to stay near the top of college football’s toughest conference.