LSU junior safety JaCoby Stevens has made a lasting impact on the Tigers defensive side of the ball this season.
On Tuesday, he announced that he will be forgoing his senior season next year to enter the 2021 NFL draft.
Stevens joins former Tigers Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. as the only players up to this point to leave and declare for the draft. Both Chase and Marshall Jr. opted out earlier this season.
In the 2020 season, Stevens totaled 58 total tackles, three sacks and four passes defensed. He is second on the team in total tackles behind Damone Clark with 59.
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Over the past three seasons, the junior safety has totaled 185 tackles, including 100 solo tackles, with 15 career passes defensed, 9.5 sacks and four total interceptions.
Stevens’ best season at LSU came in 2019 when he finished the year with 92 tackles, six passes defensed, five sacks and three interceptions. He was a critical part of a Tigers defense that helped pave the way to the College Football Playoff national championship last year in which the program finished 15-0.
The junior is the first Tigers player to make the announcement that he is forgoing his senior season to prepare for the NFL draft. Stevens could be a mid second round to a fourth round pick, given his career numbers.
While LSU still has one game left against Ole Miss this Saturday, it benefits Stevens better to go ahead and begin draft preparations now instead of playing one final game.
LSU linebacker Jabril Cox is also one to watch. He said in a Tuesday meeting with the media that he’d decide whether or not he will declare for the draft when the season concludes.
Jabril Cox says he'll sit down and talk with his parents after the season's over about whether he'll leave for the NFL draft or come back next season. #LSU
— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) December 15, 2020
The Tigers host Ole Miss on Saturday at 2:30 CST inside Tiger Stadium on SEC Network.
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