Tiger Rag: The last couple of times LSU has played Alabama, the offensive line has been devoured by that Alabama front seven. What’s in the pipeline here? Are we looking at some offensive linemen who can withstand what Alabama does defensively?
Shea Dixon: They’ve got four guys committed right now, and two of them – so half the group LSU has – were down to LSU and Alabama. Nick Saban wanted Austin Deculus and Edward Ingram, two kids out of Texas. He wanted both of them pretty badly, but both of them ended up committing to LSU. As far as we know, both of them are sticking with LSU. They’ve recruited well along the offensive line this year, and I thought they had a good class last year as well.
TIGER RAG PODCAST: Moving on from Alabama https://t.co/nsEYtarcUP
— Tiger Rag (@Tiger_Rag) November 9, 2016
Help could be on the way, but I continue to harp back to recruiting over the last four or five years. Outside of Ethan Pocic, they’ve never gotten a marquee offensive tackle commitment – and Ethan Pocic doesn’t even play tackle. He plays center for LSU. I think LSU on the inside – obviously, Boutte got put on his back once – but they’ve got some guys in the pipeline who can play guard or center. The bigger question for me is if they can turn up the heat nationally on offensive tackles, because Bama seems to get one or two every class that’s a five star. LSU is left developing guards into tackles.
TR: Ed Orgeron the other day, in a sideways way, alluded to the fact that Cam Robinson – a West Monroe guy and Alabama’s left tackle – should be in Baton Rouge. Was that a swipe at anyone? What was your read on that comment?
SD: I think some people took it as a swipe against Les or the previous staff. At the time, Greg Studrawa was recruiting Cam Robinson. I think it was more of a blanket statement of, ‘Hey, I’m about recruiting Louisiana. If I’m the head coach, guys like that won’t wind up as a marquee player on the teams we play.’ Same for Tim Williams, a kid who left Baton Rouge and gave them fits on Saturday. I took that as Orgeron – and Les was big into this too – putting a fence around the state. He doesn’t want, in years to come, to be talking on a Monday morning about kids who played well against them and left the state. That’s one of the central themes of him as a recruiter: how well he can do at home.
TR: Speaking of hometown players leaving the state, Dylan Moses – where do things stand with him? I know he’s an Alabama commit who plans on enrolling early.
SD: Before the game I was saying, ‘Give it time. I don’t think this game swings it one way or the other. He’s seen Bama beat LSU plenty of times before.’ I think it would matter if Dave Aranda and Corey Raymond and Ed Orgeron and the staff were there. I think that would give him the most to think about.
But in the days since I’ve reflected back and find it now hard pressed to believe he’s going to flip from Alabama. They’re winning, and he feels like he made the right decision. I think his parents probably want him to think things over more, make sure he’s weighed all his options. But, it’s Dylan’s call, and I’m now way below 50 percent chance he flips to Alabama. I think the one thing that could sway it is if they keep the staff together. Then they could have a puncher’s chance.
TR: In addition to offensive line, Alabama’s quarterback seems to always play better than LSU’s in this game. Give us an update on what Myles Brennan has been able to do in Mississippi. He’s having a senior season for the ages, right?
SD: Right. He threw right near 50 touchdowns during the regular season and didn’t have a single interception. I don’t care if you’re throwing on air – those are good numbers. He broke the Mississippi state passing record. He broke the touchdown record. Those were held by Dylan Favre, who went to Mississippi State and is related to Brett Favre, obviously.
They’ve got another kid, Lowell Narcisse, who has been a little banged up the last couple of years. People think he’s one of the better dual threat quarterbacks in the country. I know people ask, ‘Why are you recruiting a pro style quarterback? Why are you recruiting a dual threat?’ But, we’ll see which direction the offense is going. We’re not looking at Les Miles anymore. I think there can be a place for both of them to compete and have success.
For the first time in a while, LSU feels good about the quarterback spot, much better than when they got Anthony Jennings and Hayden Rettig in the same class. And you’ve still got a year of Danny Etling, or whoever competes for the job next year. I think LSU is confident this class is one that now they’re moving in the right direction with quarterback recruiting. It’s been a while since they got a guy like Brennan, who everybody in the country is talking about.
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