LSU: Defensive Back Factory?

There are few schools in the country that produce quality defensive backs like LSU does. The Tigers have had a cornerback drafted in the top 10 of the NFL Draft for two consecutive seasons (Patrick Peterson, 2011, and Morris Claiborne, 2012), and a third who was a Heisman finalist as a sophomore. Although the Tigers have to replace starters Claiborne and strong safety Brandon Taylor, as well as reserve cornerback Ron Brooks, many people view the secondary as a team strength heading into 2012 as well.

The star of the secondary is cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, who won the Bednarik Award for defensive player of the year a season ago, garnering First Team All-American honors from multiple media outlets. The junior tied for the team lead with 76 tackles, and also collected six tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, two interceptions, six forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. Perhaps most impressively, he scored four touchdowns on the year, twice on fumble recoveries and twice on punt returns. Mathieu always seemed to be around the ball, and was said to play much bigger than his modest size (5-foot-9, 175 pounds). This is one of the reasons he earned the nickname “Honey Badger”, for his fearless play and attitude. The Tigers’ other returning starter is free safety Eric Reid, a Second Team All-SEC defender from a season ago. The 6-2, 208-pound junior tied with Mathieu for the team lead in tackles, and chipped in two interceptions of his own. In fact, the interception he wrestled away from Alabama tight end Michael Williams at the goal line of the two team’s first meeting was one of the most impressive plays of the year. Both Mathieu and Reid will probably be high on the NFL’s radar after the season, even though both of them will only be juniors in 2012.

The two players most likely to take over the remaining starting jobs are cornerback Tharold Simon and strong safety Craig Loston. Simon actually started three contests a season ago, and played extensively throughout the season, collecting 42 tackles, 10 pass breakups and a pair of picks. The 6-3, 187-pound junior has great length for a cornerback, which usually makes him good at matching up with the taller receivers the Tigers face. Loston does not have as much playing experience as Simon, only contributing 14 tackles in 2011. But Loston is a former star recruit, and the junior should be effective now that the starting job appears to be his. It is not a given that both will be able to produce as well as the starters did a year ago, but there appears to be a great chance that each will have immediate success.

Head coach Les Miles has done a good job recruiting defensive backs in recent years, and seems to have another high-quality group heading into the 2012 season. There are not many schools across the country that could lose a first-, third-, and fourth-round draft pick to the NFL from their secondaries, but LSU seems to be one of them.

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