How Big of an Impact Does Derek Stingley Jr. Make for LSU Football?

It was something that coach Ed Orgeron and safety JaCoby Stevens acknowledged after the Mississippi State loss and again after the win over Vanderbilt. Yes, Derek Stingley makes that big of a difference.

The Tigers, after allowing an SEC record 623 passing yards to K.J. Costello in Week 1, wanted to make a statement in the secondary. The secondary wanted to prove to other SEC teams that while Week 1 was a struggle, it was an anomaly, an adjustment that was poorly executed when it learned 12 hours before kickoff it’d likely have to play without the best corner in college football.

It's true that Vanderbilt didn't throw the ball 60 times like Costello did a week prior, so it may not be the perfect example of what this secondary can do. The Commodores’ offensive gameplan was centered around the running game. But how Stingley's presence positively affected the players around him is worth investigating, even after just one game.

The box score stats don't come close to telling the story of Stingley and his impact in this game. He recorded six tackles as Commodore quarterback Ken Seals barely looked in Stingley's direction. Stingley was 0-for-1 with a pass breakup when Seals targeted him on Saturday night.

But when you look at the success Todd Harris and Elias Ricks had, it's hard not to think that Stingley's presence made an impact. Take a closer look at Harris' interception in the fourth quarter.

Make a play, @ToddHarris_6

📺https://t.co/sts0sl1u9y pic.twitter.com/YvX0SRUw4K
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) October 4, 2020

While the pressure up front played a critical role in Seals forcing a throw that wasn't there, Stingley is also right in the middle of that play and helps on the return by Harris out of the endzone.

Ricks, who allowed just one pass to be completed on him on four attempts, recorded the second interception of his young career as a result of Seals wanting to attack anyone other than Stingley.

"This interception counts. The first one didn't count because of how bad we played," Stevens said. "So we can congratulate Elias Ricks on his first career interception."

Stingley’s impact was far-reaching, as his presence on the field makes opposing quarterbacks think twice about throwing his way, allowing the front four to have more success as well. LSU's defensive line sacked Seals three times and also had eight tackles for a loss in the win.

Through two weeks, LSU ranks eighth nationally with eight sacks coming from seven different LSU defenders. The personnel and production LSU knew it could get out of the 4-3 defense is the reason Orgeron wanted to make the switch after Dave Aranda's departure.

"Derek's the best corner in the nation," Stevens said. "So guys, they think twice about throwing the ball his way. And that hesitation gives our front four time to get there. And our front four played lights out."

Stingley looked just as dynamic on special teams as he did in man-to-man coverage. He returned three punts for 92 yards, including a 48-yard return in the first half which led to points.

"All we want to do is give Derek some space," Orgeron said. "We changed some stuff on our punt return and once you give Derek some space, the guy has instincts and hopefully we can continue to improve on it."

Stevens attributes the improved defensive performance to the "punishment" he laid out for the defense this last week. There was no watching any other football than Vanderbilt film, something the unit really bought into and based off of the improved play, might be something Stevens tries to continue as the Tigers prepare for Missouri this week.

“I put all of us on punishment, because of how we performed last Saturday. It worked out. Look at how we played. Elias had a good day. He had a pick. It’s always nice to have Stingley back. He had the one PI, but other than that he shut down half the field like he always does. The entire defense as a whole had a really good game. We might be on punishment this week as well because of how well we played.”