Tag: Andre Sam

Where Jayden Daniels ranks among quarterbacks on Mel Kiper Jr.’s final draft board

Here’s where Jayden Daniels and other Tigers rank on Mel Kiper Jr.’s final draft board.

We’re just over 48 hours away from the start of the 2024 NFL draft, and that means it’s time for analysts and prognosticators to put forth their final predictions.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. released his final big board on Tuesday ahead of the draft, and when it came to LSU players, there weren’t a lot of changes from what we’ve seen over the past few months.

LSU quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] — the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner — is still ranked second overall and among quarterbacks behind only Caleb Williams. Meanwhile, Daniels’ favorite college targets [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] rank fifth and 17th, respectively, as well as third and fourth among receivers.

The Tigers don’t have as many mid-round prospects as we’ve seen in past years. That trio comprises the only LSU players in the top 75 with [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag] coming in at 78th overall followed by [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] at 92.

Those were the only players Kiper had in his top 150, though [autotag]Charles Turner III[/autotag] (No. 11 center), [autotag]Jordan Jefferson[/autotag] (No. 12 defensive tackle), [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] (No. 32 inside linebacker), [autotag]Ovie Oghoufo[/autotag] (No. 28 outside linebacker) and [autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] (No. 30 safety) all cracked the positional rankings.

It likely won’t be as many players as LSU has seen drafted overall in some recent years, but it’s a top-heavy class for the Tigers, and Thursday’s Round 1 should be an eventful one.

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Photos of LSU players at the 2024 NFL combine, including Brian Thomas Jr.’s historic performance

Brian Thomas Jr. headlined LSU’s contingent in Indianapolis this weekend after he posted one of the best receiver combines ever.

The 2024 NFL scouting combine is in the books, and it was a busy weekend for former LSU Tigers and current draft hopefuls.

While LSU’s two biggest stars — quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and receiver [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], both of which are projected top 10 picks — didn’t participate in drills and only interviewed, a number of other players went through the full gauntlet.

That includes [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag], who may have helped his stock more than anyone in Indianapolis this week. Thomas registered the second-fasted 40-yard dash time among receivers and recorded a Relative Athletic Score that ranked 10th all-time at the position in the combine’s history.

It was also the best in program history for LSU.

Also in action this weekend were [autotag]Jordan Jefferson[/autotag], [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag], [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Charles Turner[/autotag] and [autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag]. Here are the photos from all of them in Indianapolis this weekend.

Brian Kelly on targeting call against Andre Sam vs. Florida: ‘It’s tragic’

Brian Kelly was not pleased with the call against Andre Sam, especially after the missed call on the hit against Jayden Daniels the prior week.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] knew he would have to answer a question after the game about his feelings on losing [autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] to a targeting penalty.

After the previous week’s loss to Alabama, the talk around the country was the hit Dallas Turner made on [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] that knocked Daniels out of the game but was not called targeting.

Fast forward seven days and the Tigers lost a starting defensive back to targeting after being whistled for a hit to Florida’s running back. As you can imagine, that call made LSU fans across the globe livid as they wondered where that flag was last week.

Here is what Kelly had to say about the call.

“I figured that was going to come up, I needed to take a little bit more time to make sure that I was articulating this the right way, I just think that we’re in a bad position in college football as it relates to targeting,” Kelly said. “And I brought this up when we had the transmitter in the helmet, I had been pounding that table for the transmitter in the helmet for about three years, and it’s fallen on deaf ears until all of a sudden, there seems to be this sign-stealing epidemic. And now everybody wants to put the radio piece in the helmets. Well, we’re gonna get to that with targeting as well, when you have a situation like we did, where Jayden Daniels gets hit underneath the chin, driven to the ground and is concussed and it doesn’t get reviewed.

“And then we have a play like tonight, which was a normal football play where a running back is lowering his shoulder, and we are trying to make a tackle. We’re not targeting. We’re not trying to lead with the helmet. We’re just trying to make a tackle. We throw a kid out of the game. That is tragic. We’re in a bad place right now. And we need to stop and figure this out. Because there’s a lot of words I could use. But it’s tragic that we threw a kid out of the game, because he was trying to play football and you whatever, semantics, there’s going to be a great explanation about this. Oh, he used the crown of his helmet. Or he did this, he did that, he was playing football. Last week, that guy that hit Jayden Daniels was trying to knock him out. You can say whatever you want. But that’s what he’s trying to do. Our guy was trying to make a tackle. So everybody’s smart enough to figure that out. But we have two different outcomes. We got to figure it out.”

The NCAA is going to have to figure out what is targeting and what is not.

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Stock Up, Stock Down: Jayden Daniels, Tigers pass test from Gators

You never know what to expect when it comes to rivalry games.

You never know what to expect when it comes to rivalry games. It does not matter what either team’s record is entering the game. Either team could end the night with a victory.

Both LSU and Florida were coming off of a loss last week. For LSU, it was a loss to Alabama. For Florida, it was a loss at home to Arkansas. All bets were off when the Gators entered Death Valley.

There was one big difference in tonight’s game though. One of these teams has the best quarterback in the country. That was LSU and [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag]. If he does not win the Heisman Trophy, I will be upset.

Here’s the full stock report from Saturday’s win.

Brian Kelly expresses confidence in his defensive backs despite being shorthanded

The injury report for this weekend’s high-profile matchup against Alabama was released Monday morning, and it isn’t good news for the secondary.

The injury report for this weekend’s high-profile matchup against Alabama was released Monday morning. Out of LSU’s four transfer portal defensive backs still available ([autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] suffered an injury before the season started), only [autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] is going to play.

[autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag], [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] are all out.

Even with all of those injuries, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] still believes that his secondary is capable of getting the job done. Sam, [autotag]Sage Ryan[/autotag] and others will have to step up in a big way to stop Jalen Milroe, Jermaine Burton and the rest of the Tide offense.

Alabama doesn’t have the best offense in the country, as a matter of fact, LSU does. The Tide have had issues blocking for Milroe. Left Tackle has been a big point of contention for the Tide and Tommy Rees is still working out who fits best at what position. LSU/Alabama will kick off at 6:45 on Saturday night.

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Andre Sam is getting more comfortable in the LSU defense

Andre Sam was one of four defensive backs that Brian Kelly picked up in the transfer portal for last year’s recruiting class.

[autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] was one of four defensive backs that [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] picked up in the transfer portal for last year’s recruiting class. Sam came from Marshall where he was a star for the Thundering Herd.

There is a world of difference when it comes to the competition that Marshall faces and the competition LSU faces. LSU is playing the best teams in the country week after week and it has taken some time for Sam to get more comfortable with the defense the Tigers are running. In the game against Army, Sam had three tackles but he had two interceptions to lead the defense. Here is what he had to say about how he is playing right now.

“The more time I spend watching extra film or getting more work in with my teammates so we can all be on the same page,” Sam said after the win over Army, per On3. “The offense was in slow motion today. From my first game in this uniform to now, the offenses are getting slower and slower, and now I have a better feel for it.”

Sam has a better feel for what is going on and his comfort level showed as LSU got their first shutout of the season.

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LSU is in the top 15 of ESPN’s college football power rankings after Week 8

Last Saturday, LSU got another convincing win during homecoming against Army.

Last Saturday, LSU got another convincing win during homecoming against Army.

Jayden Daniels bolstered his Heisman Trophy odds as he padded his stats for the first three quarters. [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] had outstanding performances as well.

LSU’s defense got their first shutout of the season as the Tigers beat Army 62-0. [autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] was the biggest producer on defense as far as turnovers. He ended the night with two interceptions.

LSU’s record now sits at 6-2 this season and the Tigers are still in control of their destiny as a win over Alabama would likely secure them an SEC West title.

LSU ranks 15th in ESPN’s power rankings this week. Here’s what ESPN’s Alex Scarborough had to say

Talk about leaving no doubt. The final score — LSU 62, Army 0 — only told part of the story. The Tigers racked up 570 yards of offense, including 6.1 yards per rush and 13.7 yards per pass. On defense, they forced four turnovers, allowed only 42 yards passing and had five tackles for loss. Meanwhile, Jayden Daniels continued to build on his Heisman credentials with four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing). Riding a three game winning streak, LSU is playing its best football going into the bye week with a Nov. 4 trip to Alabama to follow.

LSU has a bye week this week before playing Alabama next week.

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Brian Kelly praises Andre Sam’s performance against Army

The Marshall transfer had two interceptions in the win Saturday night.

[autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] is a player who has seemingly gotten better every week.

On Saturday night against Army, the Marshall transfer finished the game with three tackles and two interceptions as the Tigers’ defense got its first shutout of the season.

It was a welcome sight to see the secondary playing so well, even though it was against Army. The LSU secondary has been the subject of a lot of criticism this year as they have struggled for the first few weeks of the season. That is due to how many new guys [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has played at cornerback and at safety.

Kelly was asked after the game what he thought about Sam’s performance.

“Yeah, it’s fun to watch,” Kelly said. “His patience is really what’s starting to show. I thought he took himself out of some plays early in the year, being maybe just a little too aggressive or out of control. If you remember early on, maybe some missed tackles. He’s really settled in and is playing confident and patrolling the middle of the field. We had a couple maybe he’d like to have back or he’d have four interceptions, but playing at a high level. We need him to continue to do that. If he does, he presents a solid piece for us back there.”

Sam has been a bright spot in the past few games. Hopefully, he can keep that great stretch going.

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Five stats that defined LSU’s win over Army

Here are five numbers that defined LSU’s 62-0 win over Army.

It was another blowout win for LSU on Saturday night.

After beating Army 62-0, the Tigers have now outscored their last two opponents by a combined score of 110-18. It’s a breath of fresh air after this team got caught up in three straight shootouts.

The offense continues to roll and the defense is looking better, providing LSU with optimism before the trip to Tuscaloosa in a couple of weeks.

Anytime you have a game as lopsided as Saturday night, it can be difficult to find meaningful takeaways, but there are bits and pieces we can read into.

Here are five numbers that defined LSU’s 62-0 win over Army.

Stock Up, Stock Down: LSU takes care of business on homecoming

It was a happy homecoming for the LSU Tigers as they welcomed Army into Baton Rouge.

It was a happy homecoming for the LSU Tigers as they welcomed Army into Baton Rouge. LSU shut down the Army offense while putting up 62 points of their own.

It was a great tune-up game for the Tigers as they get ready to travel to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama in two weeks. First, they will get a bye week and have a chance to get some guys healthy.

A few standouts from the game include [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], [autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag]. On the other side of the spectrum, LSU could not run the ball on Army until late in the fourth quarter.

Here’s our full stock report after the Week 8 win over the Black Knights.