Welcome everyone to the latest edition of the 2018 LSU Tigers position preview! In this edition, we look at the position of linebacker.
With one of their best players on both sides of the ball coming back, expectations are quite high for this position in particular. Add some other solid players poised to break out in 2018, this could be one of the best position on the entire team.
Departing Players:
The Tigers lost a good chunk of their linebackers, with the big highlight being Donnie Alexander. He had a great senior season, racking up 51 total tackles and a sack in nine games and will be missed. Another solid name that will be missing is Corey Thompson, who racked up 43 total tackles, six sacks in 2017.
Outside of that you had depth players like Jonathan Rucker, Devin Voorhies, and MJ Patterson that weren’t impact players like Alexander and Thompson, but were solid contributors last season.
Returning Players:
If I didn’t start off this segment talking about Devin White, I might as well stop writing content online. HE had a strong case for being the SEC Player of the Year last season with a whopping 113 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery. According to reports, he wants to expand his repertoire to special teams this season.
Another player to keep an eye has to be sophomore K’Lavon Chaisson. He was highly touted coming out of high school and proved how much of a valuable player he can be with 27 tackles, 4.5 of which were for loss, and two sacks as a freshman. After that kind of first year, a solid sophomore campaign isn’t out of the picture.
You can also expect to see a big year from Michael Divinity and Jacob Phillips, depending how the depth chart shakes out.
The Other Guys:
You look at the youngsters on this team they’ll likely have a year on the practice squad, learning the defensive system and getting ready for their turn on the field. It’s not because of lack of talent because there are players like a Damone Clark that will fight for a spot in the depth chart, the big reason why they’ll be waiting their turn is because of that top-level talent that will take up a good chunk of the depth chart.
However, with Tyler Taylor indefinitely suspended that might open up the door for a guy like Clark or even Micah Baskerville
Overall Thoughts:
The linebacker position is stacked thanks in large part to Devin White coming back, but there’s ton of talent from top to bottom that can contribute to this defense’s success in 2018. I think it’s safe to say that this linebacker corp is a big reason why defensive coordinator Dave Aranda has really started to open up the playbook.
-Clint Domingue