Outside of who will start on the offensive line, there is no bigger question mark than who will make up the secondary for the LSU Tigers in 2022.
With knowledge of a mass exodus at the position, Brian Kelly and company went to the transfer portal to make an instant impact. One of those additions came from right down the road in Lafayette, Louisiana.
After three seasons with the UL-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns, cornerback Mekhi Garner made the move to jump into the SEC. He has an opportunity to improve his game against some of the best wide receivers in the country. Filling the void left by Derek Stingley Jr and Eli Ricks won’t be an easy task but Garner should be up to it.
In their annual series of top returning talent, newcomer Mekhi Garner was pegged as the sleeper at cornerback for this class by Pro Football Focus.
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What PFF Says…
Garner has been one of the best cornerbacks at the Group of Five level over the last couple of seasons at Louisiana and now is taking the leap to the Power Five to join Brian Kelly’s LSU Tigers. He has earned an 83.5 coverage grade since 2020 with zero catches allowed in 10 of his games played. The 6-foot-2, 212-point cornerback has racked up 15 pass breakups and three interceptions in that span. He plays in control and isn’t going to lose at the catch point with his physical frame. How Garner holds up against some of the more athletic receivers in the SEC will be something to monitor.
Garner is definitely a physical cornerback that brings size to the position for the LSU defense. Standing in at 6’2″ will allow the new Tigers cornerback to avoid bigger wide receivers from going up over him. He has shown the ability to climb the ladder to take the ball away. While Garner didn’t create any turnovers with interceptions in 2021, he did add a forced fumble with eight passes defended.
Garner along with Damarius McGhee and potentially Jarrick Bernard could be a solid trio of cornerbacks that see a good amount of playing time in 2022. Greg Brooks Jr will likely hold down the nickel cornerback spot, which will allow Matt House to move some secondary pieces around to create good matchups.
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