Tigers get "Pepped up" against Vandy!

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His government name may be Lazarius Levingston (#95 in the above picture), but most who know him just use the name "Pep." That being said, before Saturday's game with the Vanderbilt Commodores few people knew anything about Levingston. Pep took care of that by registering 3 tackles, a pass deflection and scoring 2 touchdowns. The first on a 35-yard fumble return and the second coming via an interception that Levingston rumbled with for 56 yards.

The Tigers ended up needing those two plays to put the Dores away, because the offense had a pretty dismal showing producing only 173 total yards. There was only a single turnover, but the passing game never got in-sync with starter Jordan Jefferson only completing 7 of 16 passes and backup Russell Shepard hitting on 1 of 4 attempts. Part of the problem was the constant pressure that was applied by the Commodore defense, which had a total of 7 sacks. Over half of those were registered against All-America LT Ciron Black who had his worst game ever as a Tiger. The ground game wasn't much better as LSU could only churn out 67 yards, 56 of which coming from Sr. RB Charles Scott.

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Video

Vanderbilt played well and looked as if they were going to take a 6-3 halftime lead before lightning struck with :26 left in the half.

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Video

Trindon Holliday's 94-yard kick return seemed to be the wake-up call that the Tigers needed as they would go on to score 27 unanswered points after that. The LSU defense kicked it into overdrive and began harassing Vandy QB Larry Smith into mistakes. The Tigers got 4 of their 5 sacks in the second half, including a sack/fumble by Sr. DE Rahim Alem that led to Levingston's first score.

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On the second score, Levingston should give credit to Sr. DT Charles Alexander for causing the bad pass from Smith. Other key LSU defenders were Sr. LB Harry Coleman who led the way with 8 tackles and Sr. LB Perry Riley who chipped in with 4 tackles and a sack.

The 37-6 victory improves the #3 Tigers to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in SEC play, while dropping Vanderbilt to 1-1 and 0-1. Next Saturday the LSU will host the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Tigers pull the upset........barely!

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Texas Longhorn All-America wideout Jordan Shipley made all kinds of plays against the LSU Tigers in week 1, but he probably will remember the one that he didn't make the most. With :21 left on the game clock the Longhorns, trailing 31-27, were facing a 4th and goal from the Tiger 8 yardline and needed a touchdown to win the game. Heisman contender Colt McCoy dropped back and managed to evade the rush long enough for his roommate to slip the double coverage used by the Tigers. What happened next had to shock everyone in the stadium and at home, the sure-handed Shipley couldn't hold on to the pass. Jordan Shipley had torched LSU for 208 all-purpose yards (including a 100 yard kick return) and 2 touchdowns, but he couldn't come up with the game winner.

This was the last meaningful play of what was a truly epic game. The Longhorns got on the board first with a 34-yard field goal by Hunter Lawrence, which would be the only score of the 1st quarter. LSU answered with a 10-yard scoring run by Senior RB Keiland Williams, who stepped up with a 71 yard performance on the day in place of a sometimes nicked up Charles Scott. The following kickoff is where Shipley first did his damage, dodging all tacklers to give the Horns a 10-7 advantage. An interception return by LB Jared Norton would make it a 17-7 game and some in Tiger Stadium began to wonder if they would witness a blow out. LSU would get a 36-yard field goal by Josh Jasper right before the half, making the score at intermission 17-10 Texas.

The 3rd quarter is where the Tigers, particularly Sophomore QB Jordan Jefferson, would wake up. After tossing 2 interceptions in the first half, Jefferson threw touchdown passes of 16 and 7 yards to Freshman receivers Rueben Randle and Tim Molton in the 3rd quarter. Shipley would be heard from again on a 67-yard touchdown reception from McCoy, but the Tiger defense really started to bow its collective neck especially on 3rd and 4th downs where Texas was a combined 5-14 on conversions. The Horns did also get a field goal, giving them a 27-24 lead going into the 4th quarter.

In the final quarter the Tigers were able to churn out rushing yards with Scott and Williams as it appeared that the Longhorn defense may have finally worn down some. "Chuck da Truck" Scott lived up to his name with 2:36 left in the game, running through a Texas defender to give the Tigers the go ahead score. Still, tension filled the air as the Horns seemingly were unstoppable on their final drive, marching it down inside the LSU 10 yardline. That tension was replaced with jubilation when the football sailed through the Longhorn great's hands. Junior Safety Chad Jones, the closest Tiger to the last play, had this to say afterwards "We have a great amount of respect for those guys. They came in here and traded blows with us all night, but in the end we were able to make one more play. I know they'll be ready for us next year in Austin."

Tigers take Four!

As the LSU Tigers get ready for their Battle of the Sabine showdown with the Texas Longhorns, they scored a few victories off of the field. The Tigers picked up four commitments today, the biggest of which was from Center James Barrett (seen to the left). The 6'4 272 pound Illinois native is ranked as the #1 Center in the country and is hailed as the #2 overall prospect by OFFLRecruiting.com. The recruiting service even referred to Barrett as a "celebrity recruit," meaning that many schools were after his pledge.

When asked why he pulled the trigger so early, Barrett responded "I grew up watching SEC football, and LSU has proven that they are one of the best programs in the country. Why wait?"

While Barrett may have been the biggest fish reeled in, he wasn't the only one. LSU also picked up commitments from three star prospects Brandon Vincent, Cortez Thomas, and Kyle Reid.

Vincent is a 6'3 302 pound Guard from Kenner and was a high school teammate of current Tiger P.J. Lonergan. Thomas, 6'3 223 pounds, is from Jonesboro and is regarded as one of the state's top linebackers. Reid comes to the Tigers from Clarksdale, Ms which is usually Ole Miss country. The 6'3 242 pound Tight End cited the need to get out of Mississippi as one of the reasons for him choosing LSU.

Keep checking in with The Geauxlden Tiger as we keep you up to date with all things LSU football related!

2009 Captains Named!

With the 2009 season fast approaching, the LSU Tigers have elected team captains. Senior WR Brandon LaFell was chosen to represent the offense, while senior LB Harry Coleman got the nod for the defense.

LaFell, a native of Houston, Texas was a key late addition to Les Miles' first recruiting class at LSU. He showed big play ability from the moment he stepped on the field as a redshirt frosh. "Jojo" as he is called by teammates was 2008's leading receiver with 63 catches. 929 yards and 8 touchdowns. He initially entered the NFL draft but withdrew his name quickly, aiming for another national championship ring.

Coleman, who arrived from Baldwin, burst onto the scene in the 2007 BCS Championship game versus Ohio State. The then sophomore, entered the game for an injured Craig Steltz and proceeded to recover a fumble which helped the Tigers continue the onslaught. In 2008 Coleman started every game at strong safety for the Tigers, leading LSU in tackles with 71. This spring Coleman was moved to Will or weakside linebacker where he will likely start, or at least play plenty of snaps.

Today's Tiger Hype video features the defense, which should be much improved from 2008.

Almost Time!

The 2009 kickoff is rapidly approaching and The Geauxlden Tiger is ready. Today we bring you some exclusive scrimmage video from the LSU preseason practices. You'll notice the scout teams have gone all out with their effort to simulate the Tigers' future opponents:

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Video

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Video

Also, here is a newly released Tiger Hype video for 2009:

2009 Position Previews: Wide Receivers and Tightends

Since the year 2000, LSU has been a training ground for future NFL receivers. There have been 6 WRs taken in the first 3 rounds of the draft over the last 7 years: Michael Clayton (Bucs 2004 1st round), Dwayne Bowe (Chiefs 2007 1st round), Buster Davis (Chargers 2007 1st round), Devery Henderson (Saints 2004 2nd round), Biletnikoff winner Josh Reed (Bills 2002 2nd round) and Early Doucet (Cardinals 2008 3rd round).

That number would have gone up by one, but All-SEC selection Brandon LaFell (pictured above) decided that he wanted to return for another year of college ball. LSU fans should be thankful because LaFell is the only proven player who'll line up wide for the Tigers. #1's statline from 2008: 63 rec 929 yds 8 tds. The only other returning wide receiver with over 20 catches is Jr. Terrance Toliver (shown below)who had 22.

Toliver is actually a perfect representation of the rest of the veterans in the purple and gold receiving corps. He was a highly recruited prep player who has shown some flashes of greatness since being on campus, but for whatever reason he has never truly "broken out." Others who would fit into that category would be seniors Chris Mitchell, Jared Mitchell (who will likely go pro in baseball) and R. J. Jackson.

There are also several young guys to keep and eye on who could make an impact this season, most notably redshirt freshman Chris Tolliver and true frosh Rueben Randle. Each was the best WR prospect in the state during their Senior years, with Randle being touted as the top receiver in the nation. Beating Alabama and Oklahoma for his signature was a major victory for Les Miles. Tolliver was the leading receiver in this year's spring game with 6 catches for 43 yards.
Redshirt Tim Molton, a 6'3 speedster who played with QB Jordan Jefferson in high school, would have been a factor but he recently blew out his knee in 7-on-7 work outs. Molton was constantly praised during the spring and would have been LaFell's backup at the very least.

While there is questionable depth at WR, the same can't be said about the Tightend position as the Tigers seems to be stocked with pass catchers and blockers. The leader of the pack is Sr. Richard Dickson who was asked to where #18 by the jersey's previous occupant Jacob Hester. Dickson earned his place in Tiger lore by grabbing 2 touchdowns during the beatdown of the Buckeyes in the 2007 BCS championship game. He carried that momentum over into the 2008 season by racking up 324 yards and 5 tds. With a good season Dickson will leave LSU as the school's record holder in several tightend categories. Backing Dickson up will be sophs DeAngelo Peterson and Mitch Joseph along with redshirt frosh Tyler Edwards. Peterson saw time on special teams and at WR as a true frosh, but was moved to tightend during the spring in order to use his big frame and speed to create mismatches. Joseph was the primary back up in 2008 and is a good inline blocker. Edwards was cross-trained at FB during his redshirt year and played well during the spring.

Today's video isn't the usual Tiger Hype jam. Really, we at TGT thought that it was funny and thought that others might chuckle a little as well. Just an example of how some fans view Nick Saban in a different light these days.