LSU football headed into the 2020 season with a lot of uncertainty, with several young and inexperienced players asked to step up after the turnover within both the roster and the staff after a historic 2019 season.
The team finished with an unimpressive 5-5 overall record, but got its feet under it toward the end of the season. Now, the Tigers will return to the field with immense promise and more experience as they look to redeem themselves this year.
Head coach Ed Orgeron noted that the secondary was one of the team’s most-improved position groups.
And specifically at the cornerback position, the Tigers are a force to be reckoned with across the nation.
[lawrence-related id=17692]
When Pro Football Focus released its list of top five returning cornerbacks ahead of the upcoming season, a pair of LSU players were on it.
One of them was Derek Stingley Jr., a player who has been highly coveted since before he ever set foot on campus. He’s carried his weight thus far, totaling 65 tackles (50 solo), 20 passes defended, six interceptions and one forced fumble over two years in Baton Rouge.
The other is Elias Ricks, who really came into his own in the latter half of the 2020 season.
Ricks, a true freshman last year, recorded 20 tackles (11 solo), five passes defended, four interceptions and two touchdowns.
Other players who made the cut were Ahmad Gardner of Cincinnati, Josh Jobe of Alabama and Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson of TCU.
Top-5 returning CBs in college football đź”’ pic.twitter.com/O54TVKE48g
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 14, 2021
It will be interesting to see just how much we hear these two names praised this fall, but it’s likely we can only expect both Ricks and Stingley to expand upon their successes in a great way.
[listicle id=17540]