5-6 out of 21 current commits on defensive side of ball...

good riddance to them.

We never really needed DTs in this class. CB and DE only became real needs after draft attrition and the new staff has done a reasonable job at addressing those.

IMO the biggest and longest standing need for this class was at LB, because we have a wave of them graduating next year (Jones, Louis, Feist) and a couple more a year behind them (Beckwith, Riley). Chavis did not mail in the LB recruiting, but he did screw everything up by going to A&M.

Fortunately, we have a chance to close with Leo Lewis, which would be huge.

Basically came down to missing on a few high profile targets, needs and power in the state.

DE
Not a major need and landing 2, maybe 3 in the end, was about what we expected and needed
Missed on a few guys with Phillips being the major one
The state has a few solid guys that could've been takes but we chose Washington and then OOS. Wouldn't be upset if we had taken Bates, Buggs or Walker but think we got the best of the bunch

DT
Not a need even though 1 a year should always be the case.
We went for big timers like Mack and missed
The state lacked any DTs worth taking even Motion

LB
Huge need and honestly Chavis set in on a couple of guys early(Keaton Anderson and can't remember the other kid) and missed then seemed to shut it down aside from Lewis.
We missed on Chavis' guys and then who knows what the hell happened. Lewis is still on the board.
The state has 3-4 solid LBs that we couldn't have argued with taking, McGinnis, Jackson, Thomas etc but we chose not to pursue. None are can't miss or must takes

CB
Major need and I think we've met them
Had the top guy in the bag in Toliver and then went for some major kids but missed. Overall Toliver was all that was needed OOS because...
The state was pretty deep and we got the 2 of the best. We missed on Raymond(wish we had got him) but Jackson emerged as the best and we got him. Lewis is a hybrid but for this purpose is listed as a CB and top 3 in the state. Couple of others we couldve taken a look at but didn't.

S
Not a major need but we've got one or two.
Took a shot at major kids like Peters and missed. Its OK
State wasn't really deep but had a couple of kids I think would've been solid takes. Reid is one and possibly could still land but its extremely doubtful. I count Cutrer as a S because he is a S. No way that kid plays CB IMO. Wouldn't be a surprise if Lewis ended up at S. I personally think it would be his best spot. Another kid I think we shouldve(maybe they did but I never heard about it) taken a look at is Brandon Scott. That kid can play. More a hitter than coverage guy but he's a good athlete.

So to sum it up, only 2 major need positions were CB and LB. We filled one but not the other.
As always at LSU, the state determines our targets for the most part. The state was loaded at RB,Wr and DB. We got the best of those groups.

For 16(as of now) look for WR(loaded), OL(4-5 worthy kids), DE(3 really good ones IMO),DT(absolutely loaded),CB(loaded) and S(couple of good ones maybe more depending on athletes) to be the major targets of interest.
RB likely comes from OOS if we want a top one unless White is a RB for us. May just take an instate kid for depth
OL will need a couple of OOS kids especially OT if the trend for Allen continues towards Bama
LB has one major kid(2 if White) and with us needing 4-5 we are gonna have to go OOS
CB is loaded instate but we will take a couple of majors OOS
S will need one major OOS kid preferably one of the Texas 3

Key, Tolliver, Jackson, Lewis, Cutrer will all have significant playing time. What werethe positions of need on Defense other than DL ad a LB that we didn't get? We still might get Leo Lewis and next years LB crop is a bit better. You don't have to get an equal balace every year.

quote:

---

Key, Tolliver, Jackson, Lewis, Cutrer will all have significant playing time. What werethe positions of need on Defense other than DL ad a LB that we didn't get? We still might get Leo Lewis and next years LB crop is a bit better. You don't have to get an equal balace every year.

---

You don't need an equal take, but it's never a good thing to go a recruiting cycle without getting players at positions of need. We need LBs and DEs. We got a few good DEs, but no LBs. Even if we load up on LBs, there's no guarantee that they will pan out. There's also no guarantee that they will be ready to contribute early. More important than star rankings is makeup of the class. Finding a LB that will play even if he isn't a superstar is better than getting two five star CBs in this class. Ideally you want both, but if you have gaps in recruiting, you will feel it.

If it is true that we will be playing more 3-4 next year then DE's just became OLB's. We should be fine!

I agree that CBs and LBs were a need and yes LSU has some numbers at DE, but I feel that was a need as well because not a lot of experience is returning.

If LSU does move to a 3-4 in 2016, then most of the DEs will become OLBs (Clark, Bower, Patterson, Teuhema, and Key for sure unless any of them get quite a bit bigger). I'm not sure a 3-4 base is going to happen next year.

quote:

---

This concerns me and is very telling I think to the defensive staff shakeups. Grimes, Wilson, Henry, and Raymond doing work. Haley and Chavis were obviously lacking or checked out from their job responsibilities.

---

Somebody better figure out something quick because the group we have for this year ain't gonna get it done. We know Beckwith is good, and Garrett should be, but the rest (Debo, Feist, Louis, Riley) don't have the size to make it through a 12-game season - especially considering the monster schedule down the stretch. Plus, there is no way we could play a 3-4 - if that's what they plan to do- with this group. Better get Leo Lewis at all costs.

Nice summary of the recruiting year; that could be pasted in its own thread and stickied IMO.