February 3, 2017
GET ARRESTED
ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, our EBay store, sells media guides. programs and baseball cards. Please visit JonFineProductions.com and click on icon to get to the store. Check out a full array of New Orleans Saints media guides and LSU media guides and programs. Over 1,200 publications listed.
SPORTSCENTRAL
can be heard at Central First Facebook page
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY: 5pm—6pm: Central First Facebook Page… … Les Bueche, Sid Edwards, Frank Fresina
WE THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR UTMOST TO PATRONIZE SPONSORS OF OUR PROGRAMMING. THIS HELPS US TREMENDOUSLY IN SUSTAINING OUR WEEKLY LINE-UP AND WILL ASSIST US IN ADDING MORE PROGRAMS IN THE FUTURE. KINDLY MAKE AN EFFORT TO LET SPONSORS KNOW YOU HEARD THEIR BUSINESS MENTIONED ON OUR BROADCAST(S).
THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
Bad timing this week. As I am writing this article, LSU is waiting for 6-7 big time recruits to make their final decision. But, I am not going to wait a whole week to write about this recruiting class.
I will insert the obligatory mention that you cannot rate a recruiting class until all players have had a chance to exhaust their eligibility which is 4-5 years from now. Duke Riley and Deion Jones are the best examples of the need to stay patient. At the same time, very few player these days follow their path. Most athletes want to significant playing time for 2-3 years, therefore they will transfer instead of waiting for the opportunity to have one great senior season. In their defense, many coaching staffs are not willing to be patient and wait for players to develop either.
Now that I have that out of the way, which players from this class will make an impact at LSU? I will try to make some logical deductions (yes I watch too much Sherlock Holmes) based on what I know of LSU schemes, LSU’s roster, and the highlights I have seen of these players.
I will begin with the players I think will play a significant role on next year’s team. The top four to see playing time next year are JaCoby Stevens, Grant Delpit, Jacob Phillips, and Austin Deculus. Stevens and Delpit are safeties and LSU loses Jamal Adams. Even if neither cracks the lineup at safety (which would be a shocker) they will surely make an impact on special teams. LSU loses both starting inside linebackers, and the only thing that would hold Phillips back is learning the system. Aranda showed with Devin White that he can get a young linebacker ready to contribute quickly. Deculus is a true tackle and LSU does not have many of them on the roster.
Whenever you read this you will know if LSU received letters of intent from Marvin Wilson, Willie Gay, Tyler Taylor, K’Lavon Chaisson, or Devonta Smith. If I had to guess, I think LSU will get 2-3 off that list. If LSU signs any of those players, I expect they would play next year.
Wilson is a defensive tackle that is a great talent and great for Aranda’s defense. Gay and Taylor are linebackers, which again is a position of need, but even if they didn’t play at linebacker, they would surely play on special teams. Chaisson would provide depth as a pass rushing specialist, and Smith could see time at receiver. All of them except for Wilson would contribute on special teams.
The next group of signees would fall in the category of very talented players that play a position where LSU is set on the depth chart with ability and experience. Myles Brennan and Lowell Narcisse will have to wait their turn at quarterback which is a good thing. Despite what happened at Bama this year, nobody wants to start a true freshman at quarterback and try to make the College Football Playoff.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire will be a good running back, but come on… it is running back at LSU. Next year, LSU will have to sign a running back that can play immediately, but this year Guice, Williams, and Brossette will be the top three running backs.
Stephen Guidry is a 6’4” junior college wide receiver that I probably should have listed as a guy that will play. Chark and Gage return, and I think Drake Davis and Dee Anderson will be stars next year. Still, LSU should play more than 4 wide receivers in a game as opposed to years past when they played three a game.
Tyler Shelvin is a great defensive tackle prospect, but LSU has some depth there and he is a bit heavy. There will be a transition period for him to adjust to college football. All of the defensive back prospects are talented, but LSU has a number of guys at corner that were just as highly rated and should be ready to explode onto the scene such as Savion Smith, Kevin Toliver, and Kristian Fulton.
The last category are the players that are talented, but will need time to develop. I am not going to name them all, but they fall in this category for a few reasons. For one, many are offensive and defensive lineman. These are the most physically demanding positions where it is the most difficult for 18 year olds to compete against 21 and 22 year olds. Only the really special talents play early on the offensive and defensive line. The good news is LSU is in decent shape along the offensive and defensive lines for next year.
Overall, I am confident this class will produce many productive players for LSU and a few pros. For LSU to get back on par with Alabama, the Tigers will need one of the quarterbacks to develop into a NFL prospect. LSU will need 2 of the offensive lineman and 2 of the defensive lineman to develop into pros. Two of the linebackers and 2 of the safeties will need to play early and play well. The good news for Tiger fans is LSU is getting the types of players that could make it happen.
HEY REF
Once again I find myself in the minority and I can’t find a better day in which to get this subject off my chest. I’ve written before on what I feel should be standard operating procedure when we turn our attention to the subject of incoming freshmen athletes. If coaches and schools really had the best intentions on how best to approach this subject then the standard procedure would be to “RED-SHIRT” every incoming freshman athlete. And yes that goes for women too. I won’t be labeled a sexist by excluding female athletes. And if you’ve ever wondered, I LOVE WOMEN! My wife is a woman.
I guess I’m the only person on God’s green earth that feels with National Signing Day and the beginning of Black History month coming back to back that we should and we really need to focus our attention on doing the right thing. By that I mean opening up a dialog between all concerned, coaches, schools, athletes and parents to prepare these young men and women for a completely new way of life that awaits them upon entering an institution of higher learning. (I’ve been waiting years to finally use that phrase in one of my columns).
If in fact a university feels they are a place to educate young minds on the ways of the world and not just teach the material between the covers of a text book then this first year should be the year they prepare their students for life away from mom and dad. Many have never been away from home for a day or weekend much less having to move to a state that for many could be a thousand miles or more away from the life they’re used to. I feel these kids would experience one of life’s greatest lessons and it’s a golden opportunity if schools would take this first year and have their athletes concentrate on the classroom. Students could start their new lives by concentrating on making a solid foundation on adjusting to a completely new way of life.
In all the years I spent in the construction field (30 years as an electrician), before we even set foot on the job, making and keeping a strong solid foundation was of the utmost importance. It doesn’t matter how many stories you stack onto a foundation if it isn’t solid and able to handle stress day to day then that building is coming down. Maybe not this year or next but in time the weakness of that foundation will cause a catastrophic failure that could injure many people and/or cause lives to be lost.
That is why I question these universities of their true intentions when signing certain athletes. I understand the massive amounts of pressure put on these schools and coaches to produce a winner year in and year out. But no matter the scale of that pressure shouldn’t we apply even more pressure on the schools, coaches and athletic associations to produce not only men that can run a 4.5 40 yard dash but also graduates that can read and write? If you answered “NO” then you need not read any further.
Before you read my next few words hear me well that when I say by no means am I a racist when I bring attention to the fact the vast majority of these newly signed college students are in fact black. And a majority of them are under so much pressure to succeed that without that first year of learning and getting the “feel” of this new way of life they are destined to fail. These kids need at least a year to adjust to a new way of life that none of them in their wildest dreams have a clue what to expect.
Also I feel that first year can be spent not only getting their minds right but also their bodies. What harm is there in sitting these kids down and told that SCHOOL and THEIR EDUCATION COMES FIRST? (Ain’t dat what da dare fere?) If it were adopted by the NCAA that all incoming freshmen (and ladies) were to spend their first year in a classroom instead of on a playing field wouldn’t that level the field? Of course it would as long as all schools followed the rule.
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if all collegiate football players were able to actually read the playbook? I know very well I’m probably the only sports writer saying and believing what you just read but I’m also very much aware that a winner comes first today. And a kid, his future and the futures of many poor families come in a distant last in every category of our modern “MUST WIN NOW WORLD”!!!!
Till next week… … …
DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL RADIO BROADCASTS (on hiatus in 2016), ON FOX SPORTS RADIO, 1210AM, BATON ROUGE AND ON THE NET AT JonFineProductions.com, IS A JON FINE PRODUCTION.
OUR EBAY STORE, ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, SELLS SPORTS PUBLICATIONS. YOU CAN LINK TO IT BY VISITING JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS PROUD TO WORK AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-LAKE CHARLES
AND WORKS AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSCENTRAL ON RADIO AMOUR, 91.9.—BATON ROUGE.