Tag: Chris Curry

How LSU transfers fared at their new schools in Week 1

From Arik Gilbert to Eli Ricks, here’s how former Tigers fared in Week 1.

LSU was busy in the transfer portal this offseason.

Much of that was because it lost quite a few guys, too. Throughout the coaching transition, there was a steady trickle of players leaving. That’s just how it goes when a new coach takes over.

Some of the losses hurt more than others, like [autotag]Eli Ricks[/autotag] and [autotag]Dwight McGlothern[/autotag]. There were some hits that LSU should have no trouble absorbing, like the loss of [autotag]Trey Palmer[/autotag], who left a crowded wide receiver room.

Not all of these transfers are from this cycle. There are guys like [autotag]Chris Curry[/autotag], now with Utah, who saw a steady dose of action on Saturday. Let’s take a look at how some former LSU players fared in their new uniforms.

Brian Kelly reveals plans for No. 7 and 18 jerseys

Kelly said the decision to award the two prestigious jersey numbers will ultimately rest with the players.

LSU has a number of football traditions, but one of its proudest are the pair of honorary jersey numbers. Each year, players are selected to hold the prestigious No. 7 and No. 18 jerseys, with No. 7 traditionally being given to a top playmaker and No. 18 being worn by a (usually veteran) player who exemplifies on and off-field excellence.

Last year, cornerback [autotag]Derek Stingley Jr.[/autotag] wore No. 7 while linebacker [autotag]Damone Clark[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Chris Curry[/autotag] wore No. 18.

When LSU released its first roster for 2022, many noticed that neither jersey had been assigned. At his press conference on Saturday, new coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] offered some clarification.

Kelly said that he will leave it up to the players whether those jerseys are assigned this season.

It’s hard to imagine no one on this year’s squad will wear either number, but given that Kelly is still learning the leadership dynamics within the team, it makes sense that he would leave that decision ultimately up to the players’ discretion.

Both jerseys have been worn by a number of stars and future NFL players. [autotag]Patrick Peterson[/autotag], [autotag]Tyrann Mathieu[/autotag], [autotag]D.J. Chark Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Grant Delpit[/autotag] all wore No. 7, while No. 18 has been shared by [autotag]Matt Mauck[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Hester[/autotag], [autotag]Lloyd Cushenberry[/autotag] and [autotag]K’Lavon Chaisson[/autotag].

We’ll have to wait and see who (if anyone) receives those honors this season, but it seems that decision will ultimately rest with the players.

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Former LSU running back Chris Curry announces his new home

Former LSU running back Chris Curry has found a new landing spot after entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Once LSU concluded its disappointing 2020 season in December, sophomore running back Chris Curry announced he was entering the NCAA transfer portal.

On Wednesday, Curry announced his transfer to the Utah Utes.

A former four-star recruit from Lehigh Acres, Florida, Curry has three years of eligibility remaining when you add the extra year granted by the NCAA to all fall athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Curry appeared in four games as a freshman in 2018 before deciding to redshirt.

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In 2019, Curry appeared in seven games, rushing for 189 yards. He rushed for 90 yards in the College Football Playoff semifinal win over Oklahoma, his best game at LSU.

The Tigers had high hopes for Curry in 2020, but LSU’s running game struggled as a whole. He finished the season with 145 rushing yards in seven games.

For his entire LSU career, Curry carried the ball 91 times for 336 yards.

LSU will have a crowded backfield in 2021 as Tyrion Davis-Price, John Emery Jr., Tre Bradford and Josh Williams are all expected back. The Tigers will also add two prized recruits in Corey Kiner and Armoni Goodwin.

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Chris Curry, Nelson Jenkins enter the NCAA transfer portal

LSU running back Chris Curry was expected to be the Tigers’ top rusher in 2020.

LSU running back Chris Curry was expected to be the Tigers’ top rusher in 2020. Unfortunately for Curry, LSU’s running attack never truly got going, and the team struggled to run the ball at times in a disappointing 5-5 season.

On Tuesday, Curry entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2020, Curry appeared in seven games for the Tigers, rushing for 145 yards on 45 attempts for an average of 3.2 yards per attempt.

Curry finished third on the team in rushing yards in 2020, behind Tyrion Davis-Price and John Emery Jr.

The 5-foot-11, 216-pounder from Lehigh Acres, Florida, entered 2020 with 190 career rushing yards.

His best performance came last season in the College Football Playoff semifinal win over Oklahoma, where he rushed for 90 yards on 16 attempts, stepping in for Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

With both Davis-Price and Emery sidelined in the season finale against Ole Miss, Curry played sparingly, rushing for eight yards on five attempts, while freshmen Tre Bradford and Josh Williams received the bulk of the carries and combined to rush for 146 yards.

Also entering the transfer portal on Monday was redshirt sophomore defensive tackle, Nelson Jenkins.

Nelson made one tackle in his LSU career, back in 2018. He played in one game in 2019 and opted out of the 2020 season.

Stock up, stock down: Which LSU players impressed, struggled in loss to Auburn

Any chance the LSU Tigers had of turning around their season ended in Saturday’s 48-11 loss at Auburn.

Any chance the LSU Tigers had of turning around their season ended in Saturday’s 48-11 loss at Auburn.

The defending national champions dropped to 2-3 on the season and are off next week before a date with Alabama on Nov. 7.

In the loss, LSU struggled on both sides of the ball. Freshman quarterback TJ Finley had a tough day, completing 13-of-24 passes for 143 and two interceptions.

Finley was terrific in his debut in last week’s win over South Carolina, but he was constantly under pressure in the loss to Auburn. Fellow freshman quarterback Max Johnson entered the game in the second half.

The defense had its share of issues, too, allowing over 500 yards of total offense.

After such a disappointing day, whose stock is high and low for the LSU Tigers?

LSU’s offensive keys to the game against Missouri

As No. 17 LSU heads to Columbia, the offense must continue its success to defeat Missouri.

The No. 17 LSU Tigers are riding a one-game winning streak heading into Saturday’s tilt with the 0-2 Missouri Tigers.

Running back John Emery Jr. had a solid outing last week against Vanderbilt as he rushed for 103 yards and one touchdown in his first start of the season.

Redshirt junior quarterback Myles Brennan is beginning to find his rhythm after having a shaky game in the season opener.

As the Tigers head to Columbia for the first time ever, here are the keys to the game for the LSU offense.

Brennan has to continue the upward trek

Last week against Vanderbilt, Myles Brennan went 23-of-37 for 337 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He has thrown at least one pick in the Tigers’ two games this year.

Despite the interceptions, the LSU junior signal-caller looked much improved last week. Missouri is allowing 246.5 passing yards per game. Brennan is averaging 341 passing yards per game so far.

For the Tigers offense to have a successful game, the Tigers’ junior leader has to continue the upward trek he started last week.

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Injury update: LSU to regain DT Glen Logan, LG Ed Ingram ‘may be questionable’ vs. Missouri

Orgeron seemed confident in that Rosenthal would be ready to go, noting that he had been questionable earlier on.

LSU football was without the likes of defensive end Glen Logan, offensive lineman Dare Rosenthal and running back Chris Curry in the team’s 41-7 rout of the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday.

But a lot of that changes heading into this weekend’s matchup against the Missouri Tigers in Baton Rouge.

Orgeron seemed confident in that Rosenthal would be ready to go, noting that he had been questionable earlier on.

“I think Dare is going to play this week,” he said Monday. “He was questionable going up to it. We thought maybe he could do it.”

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As for Curry, he was a game-time decision ahead of the Vanderbilt game, and should be expected to be back within the lineup when LSU hits the field in Tiger Stadium again.

Orgeron is happy with how his corps of running backs has performed as a whole to this point.

“We’ll have to see how healthy Chris (Curry) is,” he said. “Hopefully, those guys can share the reps back there, along with Tyrion. I still believe Tyrion Davis is an excellent back. I feel good about all three backs right now, and all three are equal in my mind.”

Logan is a full go for Missouri after sitting out the first two games of the season, and will have competition upcoming with how strong the group has been.

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“He’s good to go,” Orgeron said. “He’s been practicing. We’re going to have him starting. He’s been practicing every day, hasn’t missed a practice. Doing second team reps, running individual, doing extra on his own. He’s ready to go. I’ll tell you, it’s going to get a little tight there. He’s going to have competition because Joe Evans is playing well, Neil Farrell is playing well. Ika had a sack, and then Jaquelin Roy is coming along. Jaquelin is probably the most athletic with the biggest upside of any of them, and he’s only a freshman. I’m excited to see Jaquelin Roy playing the way he’s playing. I think he’s going to be an excellent defensive tackle for us.”

The status of Ingram, who limped off the field in the final drive of Saturday’s game, is still not for sure, with Orgeron saying he “may be questionable this week.”

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QB Myles Brennan, LSU offense seem to be finding rhythm after 41-7 win over Vanderbilt

Saturday was a much different story for LSU quarterback Myles Brennan than the week before.

LSU’s offense was in disarray and redshirt junior quarterback Myles Brennan looked anything but settled in when the Tigers fell 44-34 to K.J. Costello and the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the season-opener.

But Saturday was a much different story, as LSU put together a dominant effort in all phases of the game to take down the Vanderbilt Commodores, 41-7 on the road.

Brennan completed 23-of-37 passes for 337 yards with four touchdowns, two to Terrace Marshall Jr. and two to Jontre Kirklin, with one interception on an overthrown ball that set the Commodores up for their only touchdown of the night.

LSU also struggled with some drops, so it’s safe to assume these numbers should have been even stronger.

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In the previous week, Brennan completed 27-of-46 passes for 345 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

The proof of improvement can’t be found on the stats sheet, but rather in the film instead as Brennan faced a Vanderbilt defense that got wearier by the quarter.

We saw a completely different Brennan from the one who looked indecisive and couldn’t light the fire under the offense the way they needed him to.

Brennan’s decision-making was significantly improved, and he looked sure of himself in Vanderbilt Stadium.

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Coach Ed Orgeron said after the game that Brennan “made some excellent plays,” though there were still some he missed. Overall, Orgeron seemed pleased with Brennan’s second outing as the starter.

“Obviously, that interception was not a good decision,” Orgeron said. “There was two or three times he could’ve made better decisions, but he threw some good balls.”

Brennan is still far from perfect, but it seems that things are moving upward for LSU at the quarterback position.

It wasn’t just Brennan who looked better, but the offense as a whole. The Tigers looked balanced, posting 498 yards of total offense — 161 of which came from the ground game. In Week 1, LSU had 80 total rushing yards (a number that would have stood at 117 if not for Brennan’s -37 yards on the ground).

Running back John Emery Jr. put up 103 rushing yards in place of Chris Curry to finish as the game’s leading rusher, whereas it was Curry with 47 rushing yards a week before.

Still, the question of if the Tigers have actually found themselves or if this is merely a success over a lowly opponent lingers.

The Tigers will look to stay hot as they face Missouri on Saturday at 8 p.m. CST in Baton Rouge.

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LSU-Vanderbilt: Two areas of concern for the Tigers

After a crushing loss last week, here’s a look at the two most major concerns heading into next week.

The time for the No. 20 LSU Tigers to face off against the Vanderbilt Commodores is drawing closer.

Both teams enter the game with an 0-1 record. LSU lost 44-34 to Mississippi State and Vanderbilt lost 17-12 at Texas A&M last week.

The Tigers have plenty of room for improvement on both sides of the ball. Star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is likely to make his 2020 season debut on Saturday after missing last week with an illness.

Vanderbilt looked like a new and improved team last week against the Aggies as they only allowed 17 points and 180 passing yards.

Here’s a look at the two most major areas of concern for the Tigers as they travel to Nashville for the second straight season.

Passing defense

The Tigers gave up an astonishing 623 passing yards last week to Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello. Heading into this week, the Commodores likely won’t achieve anywhere near those numbers, but the Tigers pass defense has to improve.

With Stingley out, Jay Ward and freshman Eli Ricks filled in along with Cordale Flott, and all three gave up big pass plays to the Bulldogs.

Commodores quarterback Ken Seals went 20-of-29 for 150 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in last week’s loss to Texas A&M.

While he may not be a big time quarterback, Seals still has the ability to offset the Tigers defenders and complete passes. The one area of concern within the pass defense will be in the flat and the deep threat.

Seals’ longest completion last week was 27 yards. Costello was connecting on much deeper passes against LSU. But, the threat remains for the Tigers if they get off to a slow start on defense.

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Four takeaways from LSU’s 44-34 loss to Mississippi State

LSU had issues on both sides of the ball during Saturday’s 44-34 loss to Mississippi State. But Myles Brennan rebounded after a slow start.

The LSU Tigers took a heartbreaking 44-34 loss at home to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday after not losing a single game for 672 days straight.

The loss to Mike Leach’s team ends the Tigers’ 16-game winning streak and it is the first season-opening loss since the Tigers lost to Wisconsin in 2016.

It’s clear the Tigers have much to work on moving forward, but should be able to get their feet under them against an easier opponent in the Vanderbilt Commodores next week.

Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s game.

1. QB Myles Brennan started slow, but improved.

Brennan, the Tigers’ junior quarterback, replaced Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow. Though he started slow, he showed improvement in the second half. In his first start as a Tiger, Brennan finished with three passing touchdowns and two interceptions.

Sure, this isn’t the offense from last season. That was evident early on during the game. The Tigers’ first five possessions ended in a three-and-out. But Brennan continued to remain calm and slowly progressed as the game went along.

But remember back to the opener against Miami in 2018, Burrow’s first game as a Tiger. He only passed for 140 yards that game. The time for Brennan to excel will come, but there is developing to do.

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