No position group in America carries itself with as much pride as the defensive backs at LSU. Players from the past like Corey Webster, Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Matheiu and Derek Stingley Jr. all boast about the legacy they’ve left behind–Thorpe Awards, All-America honors, first round NFL Draft selections. The buzz emanating from that position group was palpable on the practice field from 2010 to 2012 when Peterson, Morris Claiborne, Mathieu and others would go through drills. They were good, and they knew it. The same could be said nearly a decade later when Kristian Fulton and Stingley roamed the secondary with safeties like Grant Delpit. There was an edge, a swagger. It was ever-present. Whether Ron Cooper was shepherding the flock or Corey Raymond was calling the shots, the guys looked and played the part. That edge vanished in 2023. Blown assignments, poor angles, missed opportunities and huge point totals became the norm. What was bold has become timid. Fast and free have yielded to late and unsure. In an era of explosive passing offenses, secondary play has taken on a becoming increasingly important. For LSU to return to championship contention, it’ll take a return of DBU. Raymond is back home in purple and gold. He’s got a sizeable mound of clay to mold. How this group gels and excels will likely dictate just how good the 2024 Tigers will become.
WHO’S GONE: Duce Chestnut (Transfer), Denver Harris (Transfer), Laterrence Welch (Transfer), Jeremiah Hughes (Transfer)
WHO’S BACK: Zy Alexander, Sage Ryan, Ashton Stamps, JK Johnson, Javien Toviano
WHO’S NEW: Zyaire Brown (Transfer, Ohio State), PJ Woodland (Freshman), Michael Turner (Freshman), Bernard Causey III (Freshman), Wallace Foster IV (Freshman)
The transfer portal haul of 2022 worked out nicely. Jarrick Bernard-Converse, Mekhi Garner, Greg Brooks and Joe Foucha stepped in and gave LSU quality snaps in the secondary from the opener against Florida State. The problem with a portal haul like that is that they leave rather quickly. LSU tried to reload at defensive back for 2023, and it was a disaster. Suspensions and poor play facilitated transfers right back out, and this year’s crop of talent feels a little more homegrown in the sense that only one cornerback is in his first year at LSU as a transfer. Alexander and Johnson have planted roots at LSU, and the rest of the bunch, save Brown, are former high school enrollees.
Alexander was probably the best of LSU’s bunch last year. That may mean about as much as being the tallest garden gnome, but it’s something to build on. The question is, how healthy is he coming off of a knee injury? Brian Kelly told reporters at SEC Media Days in July that Alexander was working from running in a straight line toward cutting and “should be a full go for camp”. That hasn’t been the case. From the first day of practice, Alexander has worn a bulky brace on that surgically repaired knee. He has spent more time on the sideline watching than covering post route.
Instead, Ashton Stamps has taken the role as the No. 1 corner. Stamps drew eyeballs toward him as a freshman last August. He ended up earning four starts. The freshman from Rummel showed a willingness to tackle and fight. He failed to register a pass breakup in an SEC game, though. With a season of development behind him, the hope is that Stamps becomes the next slightly underrecruited corner to blossom at LSU. Raymond has coached Stamps hard in camp, demanding he take reps opposite Kyren Lacy as often as possible. While he’s taken his lumps, Stamps has also had his moments.
Johnson and Brown were both 4-star recruits when they inked with Ohio State. Injuries derailed both Buckeye careers, and Johnson broke his leg in camp last year which cost him the season. If both are the players they were prior to the injury concerns, they should help. That’s no guarantee. Brown has worked at nickel much of camp. Johnson has repped with the second unit behind Stamps and Sage Ryan.
Throughout the spring, Ryan worked with the safeties. Kelly, Raymond and Jake Olsen, the new safeties coach, liked Ryan’s skill set in the back of the defense. He has good speed and can cover substantial ground. Since the first day of camp, Ryan has worked exclusively at cornerback. Kelly told reporters on August 1 that Ryan would “cross-train at both spots”. Assembled media has not seen Ryan at safety. Alexander’s lack of availability and Toviano’s legal situation have undoubtedly played a part in that. The question remains, if and when those two return, does Ryan move back a level?
Toviano has taken more reps in practice over the past seven days. He went from largely a special teams participant to the second team defense. Last season he started three of the five games after the bye week, making seven tackles at Alabama and 11 more against Florida. Toviano isn’t the raw athlete that some of his peers are, but he’s a willing tackler and a versatile piece positionally. There have been no updates to his situation off the field to this point. He was reinstated by the university days after his arrest and hasn’t missed any practice time, so his status appears to be available as the opener approaches.
Freshman PJ Woodland burst onto the scene in the spring as a real threat for early playing time. Woodland is an elite athlete who rolled up over 1,300 receiving yards as a senior at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg. And he was the 7-A Mississippi Defensive Player of the Year. Woodland is said to have great instincts and a rugged toughness that the LSU staff enjoys. His size is a question mark. LSU lists him at 165 lbs. Obviously that could be an issue with more physical college receivers. Based on practices thus far, it appears Woodland will play early and often.
Last season only Vanderbilt allowed more passing yards than LSU. That’s not good company to keep. Jaxon Dart, KJ Jefferson, Brady Cook and Jaylen Henderson all posted season highs in passing yards. That’s half your conference games.
If that happens again, the odds are that the Tiger offense may not be able to keep up without the Heisman winner and his first round running mates.
There’s a reputation to uphold in that LSU cornerbacks meeting room. The man who watched the cultivation of that reputation is back in charge. First test? The only head coach in the country to have developed three Heisman winners in the last decade.
Buckle up, DBU.
