Three LSU Football Players to Watch Against Texas A&M: Senior Day Edition
LSU will be honoring a number of seniors on Saturday who have seen the highest of ups and the lowest of downs with the Tigers program over their careers. With still plenty to play for against a top 25 ranked Texas A&M, sending out this class the right way is goal No. 1 for Ed Orgeron and this football team.
Here's a look at three seniors who have been integral to the Tigers foundation over the last two seasons who will be looking to close out their LSU careers with a win.
Austin Deculus (OT)
The longest tenured player on this roster, Deculus will walk away from Saturday's finale against Texas A&M with a little bit of history. Suiting up and starting against the Aggies will ensure Deculus appears in 60 games, the most ever games played by an LSU player in program history.
You don't get to that position without having to fight through a number of injuries, which Deculus has certainly done over the last several years. He's earned the nickname "Iron Man" for some of the injuries he's had to play through and is certainly one of the more respected voices in the locker room.
"Austin is a very hard worker, he's a great player," coach Ed Orgeron said. "I think he started his first game in the Swamp as a freshman and we won. Anytime I ever needed him, I called a senior leadership committee meeting and go talk to Austin and he handled everything. He's played more than any other Tiger and shows you how tough he is. He came back for a chance to play in the NFL and hopefully he plays for a very long time."
Deculus has the respect of his teammates as he's really grown into a strong leader for an offensive line that has shuffled its lineups around quite a bit over the past two seasons due to injury. He's a stable, hard worker whose presence will be missed as the Tigers move forward to a new crop of young linemen in 2022.
Liam Shanahan (C)
Unlike many of the seniors on the roster, Shanahan has only been a part of the roster for the last two seasons. He's in a bit of a more unique position in that he hasn't experienced the level of success with the program that so many others have.
But that's ok for the Harvard transfer, who has absolutely no regrets about transferring to LSU for his final two seasons of college eligibility.
"I kind of got here after a lot of the good stuff had happened," Shanahan joked. "I missed some of the fun memories but it's still been fun, I still have some awesome memories from the last couple of years. I'm really happy for this opportunity."
The crowds, atmosphere, culture and teammates he met along the way are all things he'll take away from this experience in Baton Rouge. But more than anything Shanahan, born and raised in the Boston area, saw it as an opportunity to find out who he was away from home, an experience he's very grateful to have had.
"Being a part of the LSU football program, that's something I'm always going to be a part of me going forward," Shanahan said. "I'm getting my MBA from here and see football through, hoping to get an opportunity in the NFL. I've changed a lot as a person, I had never left the Boston area so coming down here was an opportunity to figure out who I am away from home."
Damone Clark (LB)
Recently named to the Senior Bowl and Butkus Award finalist list, Clark has been enjoying a great start to his final week as an LSU player. The Tigers' senior linebacker is among the most improved players in the country and wants to leave behind a legacy of a player who always put in the work and never stopped trying to improve.
Even last year when Clark wasn't having the success he was hoping for as a starter, ultimately being benched, he was able to maintain a strong leadership role because of the way he approached the game and the work he put in.
"They know the type of guy I am. I like to take care of business and when it's time to have fun on the side, I have fun," Clark said. "I'm only 21 years old and a lot of the guys on the team told me I was a leader before I was a leader. It's easy to be a leader when things are going easy but when things are tough, that's when you find who the true leaders are."
