Ok so here are my impressions of our personel after watching the replay a couple times.

Offense:

Hawkins and Pocic are next level ready right now! Pocic is the first LSU center since Ben Wilkerson I have seen pulling this much on running plays. Takes some pretty good athletic ability to do that. Hawkins also played with quickness, power and great feet. Didn't know what to expect from Clapp but he looked great. More athletic than I expected, played mean with good technique and good power. All 3 of the above also got to the second level well which is very important in Grimes scheme. Alexander still has his great power but is not quite the athlete the other 3 are. Doesn't get the second level quite as well. He does play with very good technique and is very experienced and I think we will be fine with him at RT. From what I saw Saturday, Boutte is going to struggle getting playing time from here on out, barring injury. He looked VERY slow and out of shape. The holding penalty he incurred on the first Dural TD was due to him having very slow feet and reaching and grabbing. He was getting beat a lot and never got the second level successfully. On a few occasions he got his hands on his man and excelled at drive blocking him, but there wasn't much other good that he did. Tuehema is a much better athlete and will likely be the starter going forward. Still a bit raw, needs more experience and improved technique, but he looks like he will be a good one. The combination of Boutte and Alexander on the right side to start the game was problematic since they are both a bit slow of foot. They slid Clapp next to Alexander when Tuehema came in and that made for a much more balanced line.

Gordon and Jeter did ok, missed the intended LB targets a few times on the wider runs, but all in all they will be good blocking TE's for us. Smith's blocking seems to have improved some, although he didnt get as many chances. His main talents lie elsewhere. JD Moore looked really good at FB, seems quicker than last year, and almost always hit his intended target.

All 3 WR's that played looked just fine. Lots of playmakers in that group, and as the offense evolves they are going to make tons of plays.

I think we were all more than happy with what we saw from Harris, Fournett and Williams. Feel great about them going forward.

Defense:

Godchaux and Lacatour are who we thought they would be. Strong at the point of attack, great motors and making lots of plays. Gilmore and Herron look as though the light has gone on. Considering how little live action they have gotten in SEC games to this point in their careers, they did very well Saturday night. Pretty happy with our DT group going forward. Neal had a good game, reminds me of a shorter Rasco. I don't think we will see much dropoff in play from SDE this year. Bower is probably a little step down from Hunter at WDE, but the gap isn't huge and he sometimes spells Neal at SDE when Key is on. Key of course is going to be a stud. He has all the tools he needs and is only being held back by experience now...can't wait! Very small sample size from Tuehema, reserving judgement on him.

Debo and Beckwith both were excellent against the run and serviceable against the pass. Dak presented a package we won't see much this year...an accurate passer who is also a huge run threat. That skillset really puts the LB's in a bind so we will see going forward if their pass coverage improves against less mobile QB's. Louis looks like he has gained weight which I assume is so that he can spell Beckwith if necessary at Mike. Riley looks like a Debo clone with his speed to the ball and I think because we will likely play only two LB's at a time on most snaps, we should be more than fine at LB.

Tolliver, dominated his man all night and was great in run support as well. This kid is a no doubt star. While White struggled a bit with Wilson, he battled all night and made his fair share of plays. He's a known commodity as an SEC CB and will be fine. He was also strong in run support. Thomas seemed to be a bit of a weak link to me. Seemed slower than last year and didn't cover as well as Mills does in the slot. I think when Mills returns, if he is 100%, Thomas will be the first one back to the bench. Adams and Jefferson both looked great back there. I was a bit surprised that Jefferson actually seemed to make more plays than Adams, but Steele had Adams playing very deep most of the night ensuring there were no big plays over his head. I have no arguments with that approach. I think we are in for a great year at safety.

All in all, few surprises came out of the MSU game. Boutte counts as my personal biggest disappointment as I had high expectations for him. After all the hype about Key and Tolliver, I really can't count them as suprises, they are as advertised. I feel comfortable saying that Harris will equal or surpass Mett's performance in 2013. His extra mobility is a weapon and the kid just seems to have what it takes at QB. His composure and pocket presence were great Saturday night and will only improve. We had almost no presnap problems, I can remember only one time where a time out was needed because we were confused. He managed the play clock well, and I also remember only one play where Harris and Fournett got a little mixed up on which way the play was going. Cameron seems to have done a really good job coaching Harris up and Harris also seems to have put in the work to improve.

I think we are in for a good ride this year boys, the coaches will start meshing their play calling with the talent on hand, and the offense will be one of the best in the SEC. I really love what Steele and Orgeron are doing with the defense. This is easily the most active I have ever seen our defensive line. They ran more stunts and displayed more pass rush moves than any group Chavis ever put on the field here. Instead of relying on simply talent to beat the OL, they put constant pressure on them with twists, stunts and alignments and forced them into mistakes. It was good stuff and I am excited to see where it leads. Geaux Tigers!!