Tiger Watch: Five LSU Players to Lookout for Against Mississippi State
When No. 2 LSU takes the field against Mississippi State this weekend, it will do so with not only a game to win but a record hanging in the balance.
Here are five players we think Tiger fans should be on the lookout for this weekend in Starkville.
Joe Burrow (senior quarterback)
Ok, ok this is an obvious one, with a very good reason. That’s because this week Burrow has a chance to go down in the record books.
The senior quarterback, who has thrown for 25 touchdowns in six games for the Tigers already, will have a chance at the LSU record this weekend when the Tigers travel to Starkville Saturday.
The record of 28 touchdowns, held by Jamarcus Russell and Matt Mauck is there for the taking as LSU goes up against what is statistically one of the worst pass defenses the Tigers will face all season. The Bulldogs are allowing an average of 8.4 yards per reception, 230 passing yards a game and seven touchdowns.
Burrow needs an average game for him this year in order to break the LSU record for touchdowns in a single season. He's tossed four touchdowns or more in four of the six Tiger wins, setting up for a special afternoon, albeit away from Tiger Stadium.
Tyrion Davis-Price (freshman running back)
The freshman running back seemed to find another gear last week in the Tiger's 42-28 win over Florida. Davis-Price scored the go-ahead touchdown from 33 yards out in the third quarter and finished with 40 yards total on three carries.
With 93 yards rushing combined in the last two games, along with John Emery's 47 yards in that same time span, it seems like the LSU coaching staff is giving more opportunities to the freshmen backs. While they likely won't be cutting too much into Clyde Edwards-Helaire's work, the fact they're getting SEC run can only boost their confidence this early in their careers.
Edwards-Helaire talked about Davis-Price in particular on Monday saying he doesn't like to compare any one player to another.
"Ty is Ty, he's 220 pounds and can roll," Edwards-Helaire said. "Ty and John they are comfortable now. When I come off to the sidelines and when I give them feedback on what I see, they take it all in and they actually use it. To understand which hole to hit and understand I only have one guy to beat, he understood it totally on that run and it all worked out in the end."
Tyler Shelvin (sophomore defensive tackle)
You still get that feeling that you're just waiting for the 6-foot-3, 346 pound Shelving to break out. He's been great in flashes this season, accumulating three tackles, including one for a loss against Florida on Saturday. Yet it still feels like Shelvin hasn't scratched the surface of how good he can be.
After battling weight issues the first two years of his LSU career, the former No. 1 player in Louisiana has finally settled in on a starting spot at nose tackle in 2019. In six appearances, Shelvin has 19 tackles, two tackles for a loss and two pass breakups.
Shelvin did miss practice earlier this week but ultimately returned, with coach Ed Orgeron saying he'll be fine to play Saturday against Mississippi State.
"I think Glen [Logan] and Tyler Shelvin are probably our two top performers right now," Orgeron said.
Even with Orgeron saying that about the big sophomore nose tackle, it still feels like Shelvin isn't close to the player he could one day become for this team. Will that breakout week be this week? Who knows but Shelvin is someone to watch as the season progresses.
Marcel Brooks (freshman linebacker)
Brooks was the talk of Monday after his big sack against the Gators, that set up the offense for the Tigers to take the lead on the ensuing possession. Orgeron said early in the week that Brooks has come to the realization that linebacker may be his best suited position moving forward with the team.
"We had Marcel Brooks at outside linebacker when he first came. He wanted to move to safety to try to win a starting spot," Orgeron said. "Obviously we gave him that opportunity. As a staff we spent a lot of time on Marcel Brooks this summer. We felt as a staff his best position would be outside linebacker. But I want to give the players a chance to realize, Hey, this is the position I want to play, but this is the position I really need to play.I think Marcel Brooks has realized that."
But what does that mean in the short term?
The Tigers have both K'Lavon Chaisson and Michael Divinity manning the outside linebacker spot with Brooks rotating as a substitute. Chaisson is coming off his best game of the season with eight tackles, three of which were for losses and Divinity led the team in sacks a year ago.
Brooks will likely have to play in spot situations for the foreseeable future although the team could ask him to play some safety, particularly if the team will be relying on Grant Delpit, Kary Vincent and JaCoby Stevens to be able to last entire games.
It will be interesting to watch how the team utilizes Brooks after his big game as he is deserving of more playing time.
Cade York (freshman kicker)
The last few week's we've seen really the first glimpse of struggle in York's kicking game. York has missed his only field goal attempts in each of his last two games.
Now let's put this in perspective, the freshman missed from 53 yards out against Utah State and 44 yards out on the first drive against Florida. There's no reason to panic as York is still 7-of-9 on field goals this season and has only missed one extra point.
In a loud atmosphere like Mississippi State's it will be the perfect time for York to prove himself in a hostile environment. He's done it once before in Austin, going 3-for-3 on field goals including a long of 40 yards.
The coaching staff is behind the freshman 100 percent and there's no reason to believe he will allow that streak to reach three missed field goals in a row.
