re: Brad Wing punter out of Parkview commits

Although, Helton was decent punting the ball, people forget he nearly single handily caused us to lose the Mississippi State game with all the bobbled holds.

How many points did he cost us that game?

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Helton will be a Sr. this year, LSU does need a punter.

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We'll need one the next year though. Clearly this kid is going to RS in 2010.

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Just interesting to offer two punters in two years. You can't keep running thru talent you need to develop talent when you have it.

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Also has to do with the numbers.

I mean, Helton will be gone. If you don't recruit a punter, Then what? A walk on? People tend to forget to look at depth charts and classes and who you will have in the future....Looking at the kickers, why wouldn't Miles offer one this year? Jasper will be gone after next and then what are we looking at?

'10 - Helton
'11 - Alleman? Jasper? Wing?
'12 - Wing?

You're looking at just having Alleman as a kicker in '11 so I'm sure you're wanting him to just focus on FG's.

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Link me to walk-on punters that were great. Thanks.

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Wasn't Kessler a walk-on?

i think among SEC teams, the only two that are using walk-ons as starting punters are Arky (fr., Breeding) & So. Carolina (jr., Lanning).

one is last, and the other is next to last in conf. net.

Let me preface this by saying that I have never watched Brad Wing or any other in-state punter.

People are too trigger happy when criticizing the coaches. Our special teams have been very good the past few years, so they have become almost an afterthought. If we are on the 30-yard line, it's just assumed that we will make a field goal. This is not the case at the vast majority of colleges, and unlike every other facet of the game, the distribution of talented players in the kicking game doesn't necessarily benefit traditional powerhouses.

LSU needed to bring someone in this class because there are two seniors next year, and it would be very tough to start two true freshman in 2011. I have been saying this since the summer. It's clear that the coaches tried to go after Sadler and Palardy, the top two kickers in the country. After they chose different schools, they went the walk-on route with Ginsburgh, Russ, and possibly some other players. Obviously, the preferred walk-on route wasn't very appealing to them since none of them accepted the offer. Therefore, the coaches offered Wing a scholly. It is clear that the coaches thought Wing was the best of the group, and I don't think any of us are in a position to argue with them on which punter is the best.

I suppose the main arguments are a) We have too many scholarship specialists and b) No one except Jasper is any good. Both arguments are poor.

The more our offense struggles, the more important a quality punter becomes.

Having a son that plays for Parkview, I've watched Brad punt all year long and have really been amazed. We talked to an Alabama scout at a Parkview playoff game a few weeks back that was watching Brad warm up on the baseball field. He said he couldn't really judge the distance from where he sat but on 7 punts his hang time ranged between 4.8 & 5.2 seconds. He is a great pick up for LSU.

We could be desperate for a P or K and there would be people bitching about it. There are certain elements that complain about special teams offers no matter what.

If it means we have a reliable kicker and punter I have no problem spending an extra scholarship or two on special teams.