| 26 August 2010
SEASON PREVIEW
15. Who will be the top newcomer on offense in 2010?
The impact newcomers on offense will be scarce, and the clear answer to this question is redshirt freshman running back Michael Ford. We all read the positive practice reports last spring and saw Ford impress in the spring game. Most expected Ford to challenge for the top spot on LSU's depth chart; however, the reports out of fall camp have not been favorable.
The word on Ford is that he's struggling right now to keep up with the play book, especially as it relates to the blocking schemes. Thus far, that is keeping him from making a move on the depth chart and competing with Stevan Ridley and Richard Murphy for extensive playing time. However, Ford is still LSU's third running back and he will still see the field. Furthermore, his issues with blocking schemes do not have anything to do with his talent and his ability to run the football. After all, Ford does not have to block anyone when he's carrying the football.
Ford will get his chances, and I suspect he is going to make the most of them. It is going to be very difficult for the coaches to keep him off the field once he proves what he can do.
My other "pick to click" among newcomers is true freshman receiver James Wright. With the injury to Chris Tolliver, Wright has seemingly passed fellow freshman Kadron Boone and is now fourth on the depth chart. He has performed well in all of LSU's scrimmages this fall and seems to be a gamer. While he may only catch a handful of balls this year, I think he'll position himself very well to start on the outside in 2011.
Others to watch include the aforementioned Boone and running back Spencer Ware.
16. Who will be the top newcomer on defense in 2010?
Since I went with redshirt freshman Sam Montgomery as my top surprise player on defense, he would be the answer here. But for the sake of having something different to write, I'm going to go with Montgomery's partner in crime on the other side of the defensive line in Ken Adams.
Adams comes to LSU from Copiah Lincoln junior college and is originally from Enterprise, AL. He originally signed with Auburn out of high school as a tight-end and was then committed to Tennessee before LSU secured his signature. Adams enrolled in classes last spring and participated in spring practice and immediately made an impact.
Virtually since his arrival, Adams has been working as a starter, and the coaches rave about his ability. Adams has prototypical size for an all-around defensive end at 6'5" 255 pounds, yet John Chavis claims that he is a legit 4.5 guy in the 40 and is faster than any of LSU's linebackers. The talent and the ability certainly seems to be there.
Redshirt freshman safety Craig Loston is another guy to watch. His situation is very similar to that of Mike Ford in that his talent and ability is off the charts, but he has to get more familiar with the play book before becoming a regular player. Loston has been a star at all of LSU's scrimmages this fall.
Lastly, watch out for punter Brad Wing. Yes, LSU returns senior Derek Helton at punter but Wing has the ability to really boom the wall and he could end up as LSU's #1 guy. He can flip field position and be a real weapon for LSU.
FOOTBALL
News broke on Thursday afternoon that North Carolina has several key players potentially involved in some academic issues that could jeopardize their eligibility. This comes on the heels of a pending investigation regarding at least one player's illegal involvement with an agent.
UNC officials held a press conference Thursday night, and they did not say a whole lot. It sounds like their investigation will still be ongoing at the start of the season. If that's the case, I cannot imagine that North Carolina would play any players that could potentially be ineligible. That means they could ultimately have to forfeit any wins, and it's tough to see them taking that risk. They will probably not publicly state that any players are suspended before game time, but it is my view that a number of these guys will not play against LSU.
As far as the players involved, the rumors are flying like crazy but all seem to point to some of North Carolina's marquee defensive players. CBS is even reporting that a pair of starters have already been dismissed from the team.
If nothing else, all of this is serving as a massive distraction for the North Carolina football team.
Florida has had an interesting couple of days. A pair of star freshmen, Ronald Powell and Dominique Easley, missed a practice and the rumor mill got started after that. The most popular rumor is that the two players got upset over how they were treated at practice by the coaches and skipped practice as a form of protest. However, now Meyer says they are "all good".
BASKETBALL
LSU released the basketball schedule for this season. The non-conference schedule is pretty uninspiring, especially at home. However, the team needs wins, especially early in the season when a number of new players will be getting their feet wet.
