Iron vs Iron: Chase and Stingley making each other scary good

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BEFORE THEY WERE TIGERS, Stingley Jr. and Chase were teammates on a Louisiana-based 7-on-7 team, which allowed Stingley, a Baton Rouge native, and Chase, who hails from New Orleans, to matchup in practice – occasionally. Practices were competitive, but 7-on-7 teams save their energy for games.

Whether he was going up against his son or someone else's, Stingley Sr. saw Chase's talent grow in front of his eyes.

"Back then, we saw Ja'Marr was special," says Stingley Sr. "He would catch everything. His hands were so strong. He was so much more more defined than the other kids. Some kids have muscular physiques, but he was more solid muscle.

"He was a grown man out there. I just remember him always going up and seeing his hands go wide around the ball and just grabbing them out of the air."

Chase wasn't the only one making spectacular catches. Stingley Jr. already has two leaping picks to his name as a Tiger, but his teammate has seen that sort of display before.

"Even during 7-on-7, he was like that still," Chase says. "One thing about him, he's got great, great ball skills when the ball's in the air."

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It's a competition both have embraced for years, and the signs were there all August of big things to come. Take LSU's second preseason game, for example. Chase caught three passes for 101 yards. Stingley nabbed two interceptions. Back and forth they went, a physical, football tango.

Practices became equal part chess match and battle tactics. Stingley Sr. saw it all from the sidelines, never missing a fall practice, never missing a metaphorical punch or counter punch.

"Just watching those two, the way they competed, I knew once the season started, games were going to be easy for both of them," Stingley Sr. says. "Because they were both giving each other all they could handle.

"If Derek would win out, Ja'Marr would come back the next day with something. If Ja'Marr would win, Derek would come back with counter stuff. It did become the main event, when they would line up against each other.

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