As promised yesterday, today we go over the two recent (reported) hires made by Les Miles to coach on the defensive side of the football.  Ron Cooper (left) has been hired to coach defensive backs.  Previously, Mr. Cooper had been coaching safeties at South Carolina.  He has been at South Carolina since 2004, and has coached outside linebackers at South Carolina in the past.

Ron Cooper's been around a while.  He's spent his entire career at the college level, and was the youngest African-American head coach in college football history when he was named head coach at Eastern Michigan at the age of 30.  He's also been head coach at Louisville and at Alabama A&M.  He's been a defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, coached cornerbacks at Wisconsin, and has been a defensive back coach at Notre Dame.

This guy is a veteran, to say the least.  A bit of a journeyman, but what college coach isn't?  Well, John Chavis for one, but there are not really very many.

I think it is hard to deny that South Carolina has had good defensive backs during Cooper's time there.  This year, South Carolina had the best pass defense in the conference, going by yards per game (but strangely had one of the highest completion % against in the conference).  They had the 4th best pass efficiency defense in the conference.  They were middle-of-the-pack in forcing interceptions.  Keep in mind, though, that LSU was dead last in forcing interceptions.

Plus, South Carolina's players have gone on to have success.

While I can't say that Ron Cooper is a familiar name to me, it's clear to me upon looking at his history that he is legit.  For what it's worth, USCe fans lament his departure, and consider him to be one of the most important coaches the Gamecocks have.  They say he is one of their best coaches and is their best recruiter.

Yes, I know we've been over the recruiting thing.   We should avoid overstating the importance of recruiting, but that is not the same as saying recruiting is unimportant.  It is very important.  It's just not the only important thing a coach does.  Cooper seems to excel at recruiting.  He is all over the Gamecock commitment lists for the past several years, despite appearing to recruit almost exclusively outside of the Caolinas.  He gets most of his recruits from the state of Georgia, so he may be able to keep the recently-opened Georgia recruiting pipelines open for LSU.  This avenue was opened by Bradley Dale Peveto, and has given us a number of solid recruits in the last few years.  Cooper may be tasked with keeping that window open.  He's also recruited Alabama, Virginia, and other states.

Brick Haley is another veteran coach who has been around.  A couple years ago, he was a hot young defensive line coach in the NFL.  His unit did not have a lot of success in Chicago this year, and word is Lovie Smith was ready to see him go so he could hire his old buddy Rob Marinelli, formerly of the 0-16 Detroit Lions, to take over the defensive line.  Before his 3-year stint with the Bears, Haley had been the defensive line coach at Mississippi State.  He's also coached at Georgia Tech, Baylor, Troy, Houston, and Austin Peay.  He was defensive coordinator at Baylor and Troy.  

It's been a couple years since Haley was in the college ranks, but he is another experienced SEC coach.  He's coached a number of very productive SEC defensive linemen, including Titus Brown, Michael Heard, and Willie Evans (sack machines, all).  

Haley didn't go from genius to fool in one year.  The Bears defensive line degraded for lots of reasons, one of which being a rash of injuries.  Anyone who lasted 3 years coaching defensive lines in the NFL knows a little bit about the position.  Even if his time in the NFL was less than great (and Chicago's defense was excellent for a while), remember that he was good enough of a college defensive line coach to merit a promotion to the NFL.

I think Haley is another upgrade from a coaching standpoint on what we've had at the position lately.  As a recruiter, he's a bit of a mystery to me.  It's a little hard to find records of his recruiting assignments at Mississippi State, and it's unclear how to interpret that data anyway even if you could get it, as MIssissippi State has always been a tough sell to recruits.  As a defensive line coach, Earl Lane did not sign a lot of recruits, but he was essential in signing a number of very important ones, including Patrick Peterson and Joseph Barksdale.  It is unclear how Haley will replace that.

Interestingly, both Cooper and Haley are originally from Alabama, and both played at Alabama A&M, where John Chavis coached.  These guys all know each other and hopefully that means that the coaching chemistry will be there from the start.  I am very excited about this defensive coaching staff, and it is helping me to grow very optimistic about the immediate future of the LSU program.  I think we're going to see a more aggressive, more attacking defense in the future.

After weeks of having very little information that did not turn out to be complete garbage, it appears the 2009 LSU coaching staff is finally settled.  LSU finally named John Chavis as the defensive coordinator, a move that had been apparently done for a while.  While Chavis had been set about a week ago, we had no idea who the other three coaches on the defensive side of the ball would be.

But, we weren't done.  According to The State, a Columbia, South Carolina newspaper, LSU has hired former South Carolina defensive backs coach Ron Cooper to be the new defensive backs coach for the Tigers.  And also, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, former Chicago Bears defensive line coach Brick Haley has been hired to be LSU's defensive line coach.  We'll have more on these hires tomorrow.  If LSU retains special teams coach Joe Robinson (again, more on this later), the coaching staff is set.

Now for a long diversion.  If you don't want to hear a lecture on how coaching staffs are put together or a rant on the fact that there are so few dedicated QB coaches in college, skip ahead past the italicized text.

Note:  A college team may have a total of 10 coaches.  It may have any number of 'grad assistants', and the distinction is not always clear, except that coaches make more than grad assistants.  The head coach is 1, the offensive side of the ball typically has 5 coaches (wide receiver, running backs, offensive line, offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach).  The offensive coordinator usually coaches the quarterbacks as well.  The defensive side of the ball usually has 4 coaches (defensive coordinator, defensive line, linebackers, and defensive backs).  In our case, it appears that the defensive coordinator will coach the linebackers and we will have a "special teams" coordinator again next year.

Note 2:  No offense to tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Josh Henson, who appears to be doing a very good job, but I would MUCH rather see LSU have a dedicated quarterbacks coach than a dedicated tight ends coach.  Let the OL coach and/or the WR coach handle the tight ends.  The quarterback position is the most important on the field.  It's a little crazy that very few teams have a coach dedicated to working exclusively with that position.  It is a job traditionally handled by the offensive coordinator, who is also busy drawing plays, installing a game plan, and working with the other coaches.  Every team should have someone coaching quarterbacks, teaching technique, teaching footwork, teaching defensive reads, and everything else that goes with it.  Sure, that position coach would end up being responsible for only a handful of players while other position coaches are handling a dozen or more players, but these are the MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS.  It's worth it.  And it's not like the tight ends coach has a whole lot of charges either.

Still with me?  OK, we know Chavis is the man for the defensive coordinator position.  As discussed before, we at ATVS think this is a very good hire.  It's really almost impossible to argue with the selection.  Sure, I think hiring a rising star like Dewayne Walker would have been the sexier choice (he turned us down, if you believe the rumor mill), but Chavis is a guy whose defenses are always, always, always good.  Even this year, with an absolutely awful offense that put him in tough spot after tough spot, his defense gave up a total of 14 touchdowns on the season.  Our offense gave up half that many.

If there is one knock on Chavis, it is that he is not an eager and energetic recruiter.  Let's clarify something about this topic, however.  I follow recruiting pretty closely.  I enjoy it.  I think it's a very important topic.  A lot of people, myself included, tend to overstate the importance of recruiting.  We tend to look at everything through the recruiting lens, and that's just too much emphasis to place on one aspect of their jobs.  Yes, everything starts with recruiting.  Yes, recruiting is the lifeblood of a program.  There's just a lot more to a coach's duties than recruiting, and a lot more that is required for a program to be successful.  

No high school player comes to college not needing to be coached.  Every one of these players has a long way to go before they're truly ready to compete and succeed in the SEC.  The coaches not only have to get the players to campus, but they also have to coach them up and put them in a scheme to succeed.  As a defensive coordinator, Chavis's most important job is to be the X's and O's guy.  It's much more important to put these guys in a scheme that will work for them than it is to get one or two more better athletes.

Chavis may be an indifferent recruiter compared to some others, but it's not like he doesn't do it.  He has been out on the recruiting trail for the past couple of days, in fact.  I just don't think he's going to be a Larry Porter or a DJ McCarthy or a Bradley Dale Peveto logging thousands of miles traveling hither and yon.  And frankly if Chavis is also going to be responsible for coaching linebackers, I think that's plenty enough responsibility for one person.  A defensive coordinator is too important of a tactician to spend all of his time and energy on recruiting, and adding the linebacker duties to that makes it even more forgivable that he is not all that much of a recruiter.

Even so, he's probably at least as good of a recruiter as Bo Pelini was, and probably at least as good as Doug Mallory was.  It does, however, mean that we have to replace Earl Lane's and Bradley Dale Peveto's recruiting prowess with the other hires.  We'll get more into that tomorrow, as this post is already getting quite long.  Always leave 'em wanting more.

LSU got a little bad news on the recruiting trail this weekend, as lineman William Campbell of Detroit ultimately chose Michigan after saying earlier in the week he had eliminated Michigan from consideration, and Florida receiver Andre Debose, who I had previously told you was widely believed to be coming to LSU, chose to be a Florida Gator.

It would have been nice to get either one of those guys, but Campbell would have been just a bonus.  A week ago, no one thought there was any chance he was coming to LSU.  Then, the noise that he might got louder for a while.  Then, he decided not to come to LSU.  It would have been a great get, but it's hardly a bad loss.

Losing Debose hurts, though my understanding is that the coaches aren't ready to give up on him.  Andre Debose is a guy with a high upside, but he's also a guy who I think is going to be a contributor from day one for whatever team he goes to.  That's a pretty rare find.  Most kids need a little seasoning before they're ready to contribute.  Debose's skill set (great quickness and speed) along with his good hands and his "slot receiver" build seem to indicate, to me at least, that this is a kid who's going to be dangerous from the start.

Everyone says "Harvin" about Debose, but I really see him more as a Tyrone Prothro.  The difference is that Prothro was a pure receiver, where Harvin in a hybrid receiver and running back.  Harvin's an athlete playing on offense, but Debose looks to me like a receiver, which suggests a very high professional upside, but maybe I'm not the one to judge.

Ultimately, I think Debose just chose to stay close to home.  I think the take-home lesson is that we should not count on an out-of-state guy until he publicly announces he's coming here.  

Still, despite the disappointment of not getting Debose, we have to look at All-Star weekend as an overall success.  We got a commitment from a five-star safety in Craig Loston, and then he went out and made a couple of highly athletic plays in the game (including getting a 15-yard-penalty for late hit out of bounds on his cousin and future teammate Russell Shepard).  Josh Downs looked incredible playing defensive tackle for the Black team in the UA game.  Chris Faulk looked good playing guard for the West team in the Army All-America Bowl.  Rueben Randle (who I believe will ultimately sign with LSU) was the most productive receiver in the US Army game, despite playing hurt.  Chris Davenport had a slow game at defensive tackle, but reportedly looked good in the Army practices.

And then there's Russell Shepard, who of course we're all keeping an eye on.  He played quarterback for the Black team at the UA game.  He had a 92-yard pass play (to Andre Debose), had a couple of electrifying runs including a touchdown run, but also made some errors including committing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.  

The clear impression on Shepard for me is that he has a lot of ability, but even if he has progressed as a passer in the last year, he still has a ways to go.  He can throw the ball just fine.  He had more than one solid, accurate pass in the game.  He has a good release and appears to have decent mechanics.  He just needs a LOT of polish in his decision-making.  His fumble came because he held the ball too long before either getting rid of it or taking off and running.  One or two other times, he took off running too soon.  These are the sorts of things that can be corrected with time and practice, but I emphasize that in no way is Russell Shepard ready RIGHT NOW to be a starting quarterback for LSU.  I think he's ready to run a specialized package of plays (including passes), but handing him the reins of the offense would be a bad idea at this point.

Some people think he will end up moving from the quarterback position to receiver.  He may one day do that, but he shows enough promise as a quarterback that that is not necessary right now.  Leave him at quarterback and run a specialized playbook for him until he develops.  If he hasn't made progress as a quarterback in a year or so, move him permanently to receiver.

Sometimes people don't realize how much these kids, even the best of them, still have to learn to master the college game.  It is not at all easy to play the quarterback position in college.  The defenses are more complex and more athletic than anything these kids saw in high school.  The reads are harder.  The pressure is greater.  The playbook is bigger.  And last but not least, these kids are no longer the best athletes on the field (most of them).  It's not easy to step out there on the field with older players who were all just as good as you were in high school and beat them.  

Some positions, I guess, are easier to make that transition than others.  Quarterback, I suppose, is probably the hardest position in which to transition from high school to college, just as it's the hardest position in which to transition from college to the NFL.  Any position that is highly dependent on developing a mind for the game is one that needs a pretty long understudy period, and quarterback is the ultimate brain-dependent position on the field.

We look ahead now.  This recruiting class, even without Debose, looks absolutely outstanding, arguably the best in the country and it could keep getting better in the next 4 1/2 weeks until National Signing Day.  A number of great players are still looking at LSU, and six or seven great ones will be enrolling later this week, in time to come to Spring Practice.  More on them later.

The coaching search has taken a lot of twists and turns since we last revisited it.  We will get into that later this week.

I reported yesterday that Craig Loston would in all likelihood announce his commitment to LSU at the Under Armour All-American Bowl on Sunday evening.  I was a little off.  He decided to announce his commitment on Friday afternoon, during the Skills Challenge.  While the timing of his announcement was a surprise, the substance of that announcement was not.  He announced to LSU with his cousin Russell Shepard looking on.

Loston is a great athlete.  He can run.  He hits hard and tackles well.  He has good ball skills.  He passes the eye test with flying colors.  At the UA All-American Bowl, he is going against other Division 1 athletes and other 4- and 5-star players.  Word is that while he has a very high ceiling, he may be a little behind some others in his technique, and therefore may need a bit more coaching at the next level to reach his full potential.

As a football player he is perhaps a little raw, and may need some time before he's ready to contribute as a safety.  I would imagine with his speed and tackling ability he will be an instant contributor at least on special teams. 

He still has a little work to do in the classroom to get eligible, but most people believe he is not so far away to be worrisome.

I think he projects as a strong safety, good against the run while also providing help to the corners in the passing game.  I don't think he's quite good enough of a cover guy to isolate one-on-one against a wide receiver.  He definitely separates the receiver from the ball with his hits though.  He's a Ronnie Lott-type safety in that respect.

This is another 5-star committing to the Tigers, and it may not be the last of the weekend.  It is going to be a very interesting 4 1/2 weeks to National Signing Day.

At some point, we will have a long post about what Loston's cousin Russell Shepard has meant to this class.  It was Shepard who is primarily responsible for Craig Loston being a Tiger.  Shepard may be primarily responsible for a number of other great athletes ultimately being Tigers.  Time will tell.  This afternoon is when William Campbell announces his commitment.  It may or may not be to LSU.

Below is a YouTube of Loston.  Personally, I think there are better highlight videos for him out there, but this is the best one that is available to the public.  The first half if offense, then defense.

As I've mentioned, this is a big weekend for recruiting, one of the very biggest of the year, along with the various Junior Days and assorted recruiting camps.  This is the weekend of the two biggest high school All-Star games, which are essentially excuses to broadcast recruiting events on television.

During the week of the game, they get coaching from some of the best high school coaches around.  They get to play with other Division 1 level players, and get to know other players from around the country.  Then they get to be on television.  Some of the players who are uncommitted announce their commitments on television at the game.  It is usually done with an elaborate ceremony whereby the hats of all the teams the player is considering are put on a table and the player picks the hat of the team he's committing to and puts it on his head.  

Yes, it's a silly ritual, and the I fully acknowledge there's a certain unseemliness to the whole thing.  But then again, there's a certain unseemliness to all of major college athletics, where very talented, mostly minority, people work their butts off and risk major injury for little compensation for the amusement of middle- and upper-class white people while their efforts make tons of money for coaches, universities, and ESPN.  I accept this arrangement despite its obvious moral difficulties, and I'm not sure how it's qualitatively different to follow the exploits and decisions of slightly younger very talented people.

First will be the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl, aired today on Fox Sports Channel, and which will feature two LSU commitments, quarterback Chris Garrett and running back Dexter Pratt.  I actually do not believe I get this game on television, but it could be fun if you get to see it.  Garrett and Pratt (left) will both be early enrollees to LSU, and this is essentially their final high school activity.  No commitments to LSU are expected at this game.  It's probably the least hyped of the three games, and it's also of the least interest to LSU fans, though it would be a good chance to see Garrett and Pratt.

On Saturday, the US Army All-America game will air on NBC at noon.  Current LSU commitments Chris Faulk (O-line) and Chris Davenport (defensive tackle) will be playing in this game.  Also on hand will be two potential future LSU commitments Barkevious Mingo (linebacker) and 5-star wide receiver Reuben Randle.  Other prospects of interest in this game include DJ Fluker, a Bama commit who reportedly has not fully closed the door on LSU, uncommitted linebackers Jon Bostic and Jarvis Jones, and Michigan lineman William Campbell (left).

A word on William Campbell.  He is listed as a five-star on both Scout and Rivals.  Campbell had been committed to Michigan for a little while, and then decommitted some months ago.  Since then, he has been saying lots of nice things about LSU, but no one took it really seriously, believing that in the end he would certainly re-commit to Michigan after taking some trips and getting some attention.  Lo and behold, earlier this week he gave an interview where he said he had eliminated Michigan from consideration, shocking everyone in the world other than Dandy Don, who had been consistently saying that LSU was his leader.

Now the general belief is that LSU is the leader, and he will announce his decision at the game.  Some believe he was either playing games or speaking rashly out of some sense of anger when he announced he would not go to Michigan, and that he will end up at Michigan nonetheless.  Some also say he could end up at Florida or Miami.  I don't want to oversell this to the LSU fans because no one is exactly certain what he's doing, but it will be very interesting.  If he commits to LSU, I will have a lot more on him later.

Lastly, on Sunday night we will have the UnderArmour All-American Bowl, which is ESPN's baby.  From LSU's perspective, this game is highlighted by Russell Shepard (left), who will be one of the quarterbacks for the unfortunately named Black squad, and by Josh Downs, a lineman for the Black, and Stavion Lowe, an offensive lineman for the White (shudder!).  Five-star safety Craig Loston is expected to announce his commitment at the Under Armour game, and all indications are that he will put on the LSU hat.  Also announcing will be 5-star wide receiver Andre Debose, about whom we are cautiously optimistic.  Also on hand will be players of interest Dyron Dye and Ray Ray Armstrong (both high school teammates of Debose and either potentially LSU bound, though that is not particularly likely), and Bama commit Trent Richardson, who like Fluker has not shut the door completely on LSU.  Uncommitted safety Darren Myles, another LSU target, will be playing, but probably will not announce anything.  Defensive end Sam Montgomery is also considering LSU and will be playing.

I think all LSU fans should check out the Under Armour game to get a look at Russell Shepard.  I think he's going to be an important player for LSU sooner rather than later.  If you are at all interested in recruiting, check out both the US Army game and the Under Armour game (and the Offense-Defense game if you get it).  Pay special attention to the LSU guys in the game.  We are well-represented in both games, as we have been as long as I've been paying attention to them.

I noticed that  LSU's victory over Georgia Tech is the most lopsided of all the bowl games played so far.  And we really did it entirely in one half.  I was worried that Iowa would overtake us in that particular milestone, but South Carolina managed to stiffen up and play some in the 4th quarter to keep the margin of victory to a somewhat respectable 21 points.

I re-watched the game this morning.  If you fast-forward through commercials, halftime, extra points, and the time between plays, you can watch an entire game in about an hour or so.  Watching the game this morning, I was struck by some new observations:

First, I would really like an update on the players who got hurt.  Demetrius Byrd, Charles Alexander, and Stefoin Francois all were injured in the game and I did not get a single update on their conditions.  I would say this is another problem with the terrible broadcast, but I haven't seen any updates on the intertubes either.  Someone posted a picture of Byrd dancing on the field after the game, but I have no confirmation of the picture's authenticity.  Charles Alexander limped off the field, but with his myriad knee problems I fear he may have seriously hurt himself again.  

Francois had a nice night on special teams (he recovered the onside kick), really contributing for the first time in his career, but then left with an injury.  Stefoin Francois was a very highly regarded recruit from the 2007 class, and a lot of people expected him to be a standout player.  He ran into a spot of off-field trouble in the offseason and seemed to struggle on the field as well.  I sure would like to see him develop into the player everyone thought he would be.  His play last night was very encouraging until he got hurt.

I'm not sure anyone else noticed this, but center Brett Helms left the game at some point after his holding penalty and did not return to the game.  Once again, I heard no report of an injury, nor did I ever see him limp off the field.  I am curious to know why he was held out.

Helms, Alexander, and Byrd are about to start getting ready for the NFL combines and then the Draft.  It would be a shame if they weren't at their best.

Other observation:

• Crowton didn't lean as heavily on QB draws, and I think Jefferson benefited from that.  Against Arkansas, it seemed like Jefferson was running a draw on every second down.  I'm not sure that was the right way to go.
• It was good to see Ron Brooks used in the return game.  He was another 2007 recruit who anticipated to be great with the ball in his hands.  I'm glad he was finally used that way.  He fielded the only returnable kickoff LSU got, and he didn't break it long, but I think he has the potential.
• Speaking of special teams, I am very impressed with the improvement the 2008 team has shown in special teams over the 2007 team.  I think we covered kicks and punts significantly better, and our return game was better with Trindon Holliday splitting time returning punts.  Special teams coordinator Joe Robinson was a new hire in the offseason, and while he is rumored to be moving on with the rest of the "defensive" coaching staff, I for one would not be at all upset to see him return.  I'll have more on this in another post another day.
• While you can draw up a good list of LSU football players who had disappointing years for one reason or another (Jean-Francois, Kirston Pittman, Demetrius Byrd, Curtis Taylor, Harry Coleman, Danny McCray, etc.), I want to add another one to the list.  Richard Murphy has been said to be on the verge of being a breakout star for two straight seasons now, and this year he actually took a step back in production.  Last year he had 230 yards rushing with two touchdowns.  This year he had 175 yards rushing with no touchdowns.  His longest run of the season was 12 yards.  His rate stats were down too.  What's more, much like Keiland Williams, he often looked tentative running the ball.
• If the play of our youngsters are any indication, this team has a bright future.  Karnell Hatcher has looked good whenever he's gotten on the field.  Ryan Baker is a beast on special teams, and I would be surprised if he is not starting next year in Darry Beckwith's vacated spot (with either Riley or Sheppard sliding to the middle).  Jordan Jefferson had a really nice game.  Pep Levingston got in on some plays.  Patrick Peterson is a total stud.  Chad Jones is ready to break out.  I really think that this team is going places.
• It will be very interesting to see who goes pro after this season.  Charles Scott, Ciron Black, Richard Dickson, Brandon Lafell, and Ricky Jean-Francois all could, and Jean-Francois probably will, but it's unclear if anyone else will.

A lot of this might be fodder for more focused posts in the future, but I thought I'd get them out now.

Not exactly a game that had me on the edge of my seat most of the night.  Georgia Tech handed us the game in the first half and we were competent enough to let them do it.

OK, we certainly forced the issue by playing well offensively for half the game.  Jordan Jefferson had a lights-out first half, going 11 for 12 for over 100 yards on the half.  The coaches made it easy on him by keeping him out of 3rd and long and calling a fair bit of safe throws.  

The story though was the defense.  They were outstanding.  It didn't matter who we had in the game.  Everyone played well.  After a couple of productive drives for Georgia Tech that did not result in a lot of points, the defense just clamped down and didn't allow Georgia Tech to do anything at all.  It was a great way for a much maligned defense and a much maligned defensive coaching staff to end the season.

And then of course Georgia Tech muffed a punt inside their own 20 and ran a very ill-advised fake punt from deep in their own territory.  Those two plays virtually handed us the game.

Jefferson was outstanding in the first half, but came back to earth in the second.  He wasn't bad, but he reminded me that he was a true freshman making only his 2nd career start.  The offense sputtered for most of the second half, scoring a total of 3 points.  Even when we had 1st and goal from the 1 yard line, we did not score.  

It's too bad that beautiful bomb to Lafell got called back.

Jefferson has a really promising future for this team.  Everyone is talking about Russell Shepard, but I believe we're going to see a Jefferson-Shepard 1-2 punch next year.

One thing that disappointed me was our unwillingness to put in subs on offense.  We substituted liberally on defense, but I'm pretty sure that Ciron Black and Joseph Barksdale played every offensive snap, and Herman Johnson didn't come out until the very end.

I would like to comment on how awful the broadcast was.  First, the announcers were buffoons.  They were the worst type of football announcers.  They were the football announcers who do not respect the fans.  They spent the entire broadcast making fun of each other, wearing silly hats, pulling silly gags, and generally being obnoxious and trying to make the broadcast into a comedy.  It seemed like most of the time, they weren't even talking about the game.

Second, you could not hear anything going on on the field.  All you could hear were the announcers and the band.  You couldn't hear cadence.  You couldn't hear hits.  You couldn't hear referees' whistles.  You could barely hear any crowd noise.  It was like watching a football game on television in someone else's living room when they have the game on mute while they cut up with each other.  

I would just as soon never have this particular crew work an LSU game ever again. 

Discuss your favorite chicken sandwich and other football-related items here.  

I swear I desperately wanted to stay out of the coaching changes story this week, but unfortunately it seems to have dominated the week's storylines among LSU fans, myself included.  With the almost-official hiring of John Chavis and the heavily rumored imminent hiring of Ed Orgeron, it has been almost impossible to ignore this story.  I could have, but I would be doing a disservice to you, the loyal reader.

At least I managed to stay away from recruiting this week, even though there is much to discuss.  This is a HUGE recruiting weekend for LSU, rivaled only by Junior Day, which happened over 3/4 of a year ago.  More on that another day.

It's sadly been very easy to overlook that we have a football game to play, against a very good team no less.  We have a virtual road game against a higher-ranked opponent.  Not only that, but LSU and Georgia Tech played two common opponents,  Mississippi State and Georgia.  Tech was 2-0 against those teams, by margins of 38-7 and 45-42.  LSU was 1-1 against them by margins of 34-24 and 52-38 (against), respectively.

I've said already that I think the long layoff and longer preparation time favors LSU in this matchup.  Les Miles has always managed to have LSU playing its best in bowl games, and the long preparation helps LSU prepare for GT's option attack a lot more than it helps Georgia Tech prepare for what we will throw at them.

What we do not know is how the team will respond mentally to the difficulties they have faced this season.  If the last few weeks of the season are an indication, the answer is "not well."  However, the last few weeks of the season may not be an indication.  I sincerely hope and believe that this senior class, particularly guys like Herman Johnson, Kirston Pittman, Tyson Jackson, Quinn Johnson, and Curtis Taylor, will want to do what they have to do to go out winners.  They're winners already, as every one of those guys was a key player on a national championship team (two national championship teams for Cousin Kirston).  Every one of those guys has had disappointment this year, but I don't think they want to go out like that.

That's to say nothing of juniors who may be considering leaving, like Brandon Lafell, Ricky Jean-Francois, Ciron Black, and Charles Scott.  I expect to lose at least one of those guys, and maybe 2 or 3.

As Legacy x4 said, the defense will have to play with discipline.  When Georgia Tech has played highly athletic teams like Florida State, Miami, and Georgia, their athletes consistently played without discipline and overran their assignments.  It is no coincidence that GT has struggled the most some of the less athletic teams like UNC, Gardner-Webb, and Virginia.  LSU is similar to those teams, but that does not mean our athleticism is a disadvantage.  It's a disadvantage if you rely solely on athleticism and aggression to the exclusion of smarts.  The key is to use your smarts to get yourself into the right position, then use your athleticism to make the play if you're called upon to do so.  You will not always be called upon to make that play, and as a defender you have to live with that.

The focus of the media attention has been the Georgia Tech offense versus the LSU defense, but I am equally curious to see how our offense does against the Tech defense.  It's no secret we have struggled offensively, and it may come as a surprise to some that Georgia Tech's defense has been very solid all year, but I think that if Jordan Jefferson's game has matured during the bowl practice, we could really make some hay on offense.

This will be a farewell game for lots of players and several coaches.  I hope it's a happy memory for them.  Game Thread later.