Tag: malik nabers

Instant Analysis: Five takeaways from LSU’s loss to Kansas State

Instant takeaways from the 42-20 loss in the Texas Bowl.

What was a ugly season for LSU came to an ugly end Tuesday night in the Texas Bowl.

Kansas State jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back. It was not a good night for LSU in any phase of the game.

But to be fair, with all the roster issues LSU is experiencing, nobody expected it would be. The offense never found any rhythm, the defense couldn’t get off the field, and even special teams gave up some big returns.

On the other side, Kansas State had it clicking. Quarterback Skylar Thompson had one of the best games of his career and running back Deuce Vaughn once again went over 100 yards. On defense, Kansas State was able to force some turnovers that set up a couple scores as well.

It wasn’t just LSU’s roster that was shorthanded, but their coaching staff was too. LSU had to rely on analysts and graduate assistants to have a full staff in Houston tonight.

In a lot of ways, this was an end of an era for LSU as they will now try and put a lot of the ugliness of the last two years behind them. Next time they take the field, they will be led by Brian Kelly.

For now, let’s take a look at some takeaway’s from tonight’s loss.

LSU vs Kansas State: Five reasons for Tigers optimism in the Texas Bowl

How do the Tigers come away with a win?

Just one more day until the LSU Tigers finally takes the field against the Kansas State Wildcats in the final non-championship bowl game of the 2021 campaign.

The team comes limping in with a very depleted roster, but it is ample opportunity for a lot of the younger players to see the field. While the offensive will likely be mostly the same group they expected to start the season with, the other positions have a little different feel to them.

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The Tigers look to finish with a high note as they prepare for a new era of LSU football. Sitting at 6-6, they can either finish with a winning record or a losing one for the first time since 1999.

We will stick to the former here with five reasons the team finds a way to win in Houston.

Tiger duo named to the SEC All-Freshman team

Malik Nabers and Maason Smith had big freshman seasons for the LSU Tigers when called upon.

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On Thursday, the Freshman All-SEC team was announced, LSU defensive end Maason Smith and wider receiver Malik Nabers were both named to the team. The league coaches vote on the Freshman All-SEC team.

A five-star recruit coming out of Terrebonne High School, Smith made a significant impact at LSU in his freshman season. Smith started the season as a defensive tackle and then was moved to defensive end. Smith finished the season with 19 tackles, five tackles for a loss, and four sacks. Three of those four sacks came in a game against McNeese State. Smith was having a great season before he got injured and missed the season’s final four games.

Nabers, a four-star recruit, played his high school ball at Southside; he started six out of the ten games he played. Nabers caught four passes for 143 yards and a touchdown against ULM; he had six receptions, his career-best so far in his young career the following week. The Freshman receiver finished the season with 26 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns.

New Head coach Brian Kelly will have some young talent to work with Smith and Nabers on the roster. With two young players like that, LSU’s future could be bright. It’s up to Smith and Nabers to continue to develop so they can be the best players they can be.

Who were the top offensive players for the LSU Tigers in 2021?

Who stood out most on offense in 2021?

Much like the defensive side of the ball, the offense was under new management. Jake Peetz and DJ Mangas arrived from the Carolina Panthers to run the “Joe Brady” offense that Ed Orgeron wanted to bring back.

Prior to the season even got started the team lost two quarterbacks with TJ Finley leaving for Auburn and Myles Brennan breaking his arm. Arik Gilbert was gone as he transferred to Georgia. The team would be left with just two scholarship quarterbacks.

Early on in the season, it looked as if the passing offense would do enough damage to make up for the lack of a running game. Once Kayshon Boutte was lost for the season, they made more of an effort to run the ball. Against Florida, Ty Davis-Price made history with his school-record 287 yards rushing.

It will be interesting to see how this offense will look in 2022 under new head coach Brian Kelly, who has yet to announce who will run the offense. Perhaps a recently fired Joe Brady gets a phone call?

Looking at the regular season grades for LSU, here is how the top offensive weapons graded out on Pro Football Focus:

What Kayshon Boutte’s season-ending injury means for LSU Tigers

With no Kayshon Boutte, what is next for the offense?

On Monday afternoon, LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron confirmed a report that the team’s receiving threat — Kayshon Boutte — will be out for the rest of the year after exiting Saturday’s game with an ankle injury.

Boutte had eight receptions for 73 yards against the Wildcats when he exited the game with the Tigers trailing 35-14.

It will not be easy to replace Boutte’s skillset or his rapport with quarterback Max Johnson. Boutte is tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns in all of college football with nine touchdowns.

On the year, Boutte has 38 catches for 508 yards and nine touchdowns. After getting the nod for the starting lineup as a freshman in 2020, Boutte finished the season with 45 catches for 735 yards and five touchdowns. He also holds the SEC single-game record for receiving yards after hauling in 14 catches for 308 yards and three touchdowns.

Even through LSU’s struggles offensively at times this year, the Tigers always seemed to rely on and find a way to feature Boutte in the passing attack. How will his absence be felt and what does this mean for the Tigers moving forward?

Other pass-catchers will certainly have to step up. That list starts with Jack Bech and Brian Thomas Jr., the second and third-leading receivers on the LSU offense, both freshmen.

An interesting name to keep an eye out for is freshman Malik Nabers. Nabers has 106 receiving yards on the season but only seven receptions for an average of over 15 yards per catch. The young, downfield threat could potentially see more playing time and could give Johnson and the LSU offense a downfield threat in Boutte’s absence.

The Boutte injury also means the offense needs to prioritize fixing the run game that much more, not that the offensive staff needed any more motivation to do that. The Tigers ran well on Saturday against Kentucky.

Tyrion Davis-Price ran for 147 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns in LSU’s loss to Kentucky. Orgeron said Monday that he was pleased with the way his team ran the football and said the offensive staff tried out different formations to get the running game going. With no Boutte, an emphasis has to be put on the running backs.

LSU is sitting at 3-3 on the season and has six games remaining, including a matchup at home against Florida on Saturday. It’s the first of four games against Top 25 teams (Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas) who will then finish the season with home games against Louisiana-Monroe and Texas A&M.

Injuries continue to pile up for this year’s Tigers team. Boutte is the latest in a string of impact players to go down and an easy way to sum up how LSU will likely cover up their losses on each side of the ball is that they likely won’t. Especially with such a talented player like Boutte. Just when you think LSU’s season couldn’t weirder or worse, it somehow did today with the Boutte news.

Report: Freshman wide receiver Malik Nabers to miss several games

The LSU Tigers were hit with another injury, freshman WR Malik Nabers will miss several games.

Football season for the LSU Tigers will begin on Saturday as they head to the Rose Bowl for a showdown with the UCLA Bruins. It won’t come without some injury news.

Head coach Ed Orgeron spoke with members of the media on Wednesday morning and stated that freshman Malik Nabers will miss several games. Wilson Alexander of The Advocate reports that Nabers is dealing with a shoulder injury. The Tigers’ wide receiver depth takes a bit of a hit after Nabers showed out during fall camp.

Nabers was expected to see some time in the wide receiver rotation but that will have to wait for now. The team is deep at the position but it could slow the progression of a young wide receiver. Nabers was the No. 8 recruit out of the state of Louisiana in the 2021 recruiting class. Originally committed to play at Mississippi State but flipped on Dec. 16, 2020, and signed his letter of intent to play for Ed Orgeron.

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The Tigers are hopeful they can get off to a fast start in 2021 by taking down the Bruins. Last season LSU fell in the opener to Mississippi State 44-34. This time around they play a nonconference opponent from the Pac-12. This will be the first look for fans of the LSU changes from last year’s team.

Jake Peetz will call the plays from the booth, as will new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones. The kickoff for the LSU-UCLA game is set for 7:30 pm CST and will be aired on Fox.

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LSU flips four-star Mississippi State commitment

The early signing period has been an interesting one for LSU football.

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The early signing period is never without surprises and big moments, and this year was no different for LSU football, who saw Mississippi State wide receiver commitment Malik Nabers flip his pledge from the Bulldogs to the Tigers on Wednesday.

Ed Orgeron consistently stresses recruiting in the state of the Louisiana, and considering the four-star wideout calls Lafayette home, this is a big win for his program.

The 6-foot, 190-pounder originally committed to Mississippi State back in July, and held offers from a number of prestigious programs including Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Texas among others.

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Nabers is currently ranked as the No. 147 overall prospect in the country, the No. 18 overall receiver in the nation and the No. 6 overall prospect in the state of Louisiana, according to 247 Sports.

He’s the second player to flip from Mississippi State to LSU, along with junior college linebacker Navonteque Strong.

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UGA target, 4-star WR Malik Nabers makes commitment

The Georgia Bulldogs and MIssissippi State Bulldogs were in the top two for 4-star 2021 wide receiver Malik Nabers.

The Georgia Bulldogs were in the top two schools for Malik Nabers along with Mississippi State. Nabers is a member of the class of 2021 and is a talented four-star receiver, who has committed to play for Mike Leach and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Malik Nabers plays football for Comeaux High School. He’s from Lafayette, Louisiana.

Nabers will be a Bulldog, but Georgia fans will argue that he’s choosing the wrong type of Bulldog. Nabers announced his commitment to Mississippi State via Twitter. He’ll see a lot of targets if he can earn playing time in the notorious Mike Leach air raid offense.

Kirby Smart and the University of Georgia are looking for another wide receiver commitment in the class of 2021. The Dawgs currently have ten commitments. UGA has one wide receiver commit in Adonai Mitchell, who flipped his commitment from Ole Miss.

Nabers was favored to commit to Mississippi State, so the news of his commitment isn’t shocking. Now, he’s shutting down his recruitment and plans to attend school as a Mississippi Bulldog in Starkville.

Congratulations to Nabers on his commitment. We wish him the best at Mississippi State.

 

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