re: Bigger beast DE?

I would say that he is a OLB his weight is around 225 and thats about the heaviest he can get without becomeing slower. He does run a mid 4.5.

I was thinking he was more a long the OLB mold, but wasn't sure.

He looks to have a bright future ahead of him at PSU. I'm interested to see how he turns out.

He could be one from our backyard that we missed on.

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By the way he is starting this year at olb so i would think that he could have started for lsu.

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Wow, impressive if he has already emerged as a starter.

I don't think he would start this year at LSU because of the older guys we have, but he could have definitely had the chance in 2011.

I understand why LSU didnt press harder for him put he was not a diff PS lock like most think. He was very interested in FL at one point. Also said that if LSU had pushed harder he diff would of have to given it some thought. When he couldnt make a camp for family resons he said LSU pretty much quit calling.

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What got me was that LSU picked up that Prater kid who was rated almost identical to Mauti. I would have rather seen them try harder for a instate kid in that situation.
Futher more i think Mauti is way better than Prater who i doubt will ever start. imho

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One of the things though is that Mauti has very strong ties to Penn St, maybe LSU backed off early because they felt like he was Penn St all the way. I don't know if that's how it happened though, but it would make sense.

Well, rather than having a 280 lb guy without any speed like Tremaine Johnson rushing from DE on third downs, it makes more sense to substitute for him. LSU hasn't substituted much lately, but that's partly due to incompetent coaches (i.e., Nevis not getting one snap against Auburn while Alexander was limping around in there) and also not having any speed at DE besides Alem. So yeah, there should be substitutions, most other teams do it.

Every guy that LSU recruits should have the potential to be a good college player. That doesn't mean he has to be a pro prospect. There are plenty of college players that can play important roles than don't have Tyson Jackson's body or Alem's athletic ability.

And Bates ran a faster 40 time than Jeremy Hill and Kenny Hilliard, this idea that he has no talent is simply incorrect. So I'm not really ready to rule him out as a guy who can play some LB as he gets used to the position, although I think he'd be a better fit in other schemes there.

As for 235 lbs, I don't believe it is too small in college. Bama's two top Jack LBs (basically a WDE) are 235 lbs, and the Oregon St DEs that gave USC so much trouble last year were roughly that size.

As you can tell, I seem to be one of the few that likes having him in this class. I think he gives us something that we haven't had enough of. With him and Maclin in this class, and Montgomery and Mingo last year, I think we have drastically improved our speed rushing depth for the future.

It's great to have a bunch of Tyson Jacksons and Tremaine Johnson 290 lb DEs, but when you are playing Troy or even Florida, you need to have more speed rushers than we have had. Those teams never are going to run off tackle power football, so big DEs really do no good against them. You need some of both, and we are building better balance there IMO.

I know it a little off subject but i have one more question for you. Whats you take on Ware, do you think he is better than Storm? I will say storm looks better on paper. Faster 40 time and though Ware has the type of build i prefer in RB, 5,11 220lbs. He is a little weak in the weight room for being that solid.

Most kids from Louisiana want to go to LSU, but Mauti was not one of those guys. If I remember correctly, his dad played for Joe Paterno at Penn State, and it's only natural for a kid to want to follow in his father's footsteps. His older brother is also on the team. At least he had a legitimate reason to go out of state, unlike Joe McKnight.

Lynx, you know what I am talking about. Just like most kids in Louisiana want to go to LSU, there are always going to be kids who want to go out of state to a better university. That's entirely understandable. What's less understandable is when kids go out of state (for football or academics) just for the hell of it.

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Well, rather than having a 280 lb guy without any speed like Tremaine Johnson rushing from DE on third downs, it makes more sense to substitute for him. LSU hasn't substituted much lately, but that's partly due to incompetent coaches (i.e., Nevis not getting one snap against Auburn while Alexander was limping around in there) and also not having any speed at DE besides Alem. So yeah, there should be substitutions, most other teams do it.

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You are giving a bit of extreme examples to try and prove your point.

Why can't you recruit a guy like Sam Montgomery and put him at 260 lbs if you want a speed rusher?

Nothing says you need a WLB/DE at 235 or a defense tackle size DE at 280--There is an inbetween

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Every guy that LSU recruits should have the potential to be a good college player. That doesn't mean he has to be a pro prospect. There are plenty of college players that can play important roles than don't have Tyson Jackson's body or Alem's athletic ability.

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A large percentage of the guys that become starters on LSU's football team will eventually become pro players--especially the defensive lineman, since we have a 'prestige' at the position.

I think there are better players in either the 2010 class or the 2011 class that could have had Bates spot--which is why I don't like the pickup.

We have enough elite talent looking at coming to LSU that we can wait until the last second and take the marginal instate talent if we miss out on every other big timer.

Taking guys that appear to be career backups is not something I am a fan of--especially when we turn down elite players at other positions.

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And Bates ran a faster 40 time than Jeremy Hill and Kenny Hilliard, this idea that he has no talent is simply incorrect. So I'm not really ready to rule him out as a guy who can play some LB as he gets used to the position, although I think he'd be a better fit in other schemes there.

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Hilliard may weigh more than Bates and he will only be a junior is high school. Hill will only be a junior as well--there is a huge difference between comparing a junior in high school and a senior. Not to mention comparing guys that play completely different positions and require different skill sets.

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As you can tell, I seem to be one of the few that likes having him in this class. I think he gives us something that we haven't had enough of. With him and Maclin in this class, and Montgomery and Mingo last year, I think we have drastically improved our speed rushing depth for the future.

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We have improved out speed--but out of the guys you listed--who is Bates going to pass up on the depth chart? It isn't anything against the kid personally, but when you have elite talent at the same position as him in the same recruiting class or within a year of his class, it makes it near impossible for him to become a starter.

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It's great to have a bunch of Tyson Jacksons and Tremaine Johnson 290 lb DEs, but when you are playing Troy or even Florida, you need to have more speed rushers than we have had. Those teams never are going to run off tackle power football, so big DEs really do no good against them. You need some of both, and we are building better balance there IMO.

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I completely agree that you need a balance of both. But at this point in the recruiting year, having Bates as a commitment is marginal at best.

We are running very low of scholarships now, with big names still on the board.

IMO Travis Dickson is in somewhat of the same mold of a Houston Bates except that Dickson >>> Bates....yet we are running out of spots for guys like him.

It's reasons like the example above that I am not a fan of the Bates pickups (or Josh Johns, or Rocky D, or Ryan St. Julien...)