O-M-God! The LSU Spring game is on Saturday! Leonard Fournette breaking 70 runs on his own defense! Brandon Harris and the Etling kid pushing each other! The debut of the Death Valley Dave Aranda’s defense! What an exciting card it is! So many interesting things to look out for. So many things to watch and get an idea of what this super talented team will have come this fall!
The expectations are absurd already. Just wait until Saturday and everyone comes out looking their best. The optimism is enough to make you faint like Whitney Utter at a Jonas Brothers concert! Today I want to talk about something that really hasn’t provided much optimism for LSU football though; something that is kind of a question mark going into this season. That is the LSU offensive tackle situation.
Right now, Toby Weathersby is the only LSU Tiger who has started a game at tackle. He will most likely be the LSU Tiger Right Tackle this year. What about the blind side though? Who will be the Tiger Left Tackle? As of now, last year’s starting Left Guard Maea Teuhema is slated to hold the blind side down. He has in game experience, but not at the position. Teuhema is ideal to play on the inside. Luckily he might not have to play tackle for long. That is if the young and athletic Nigerian Chidi Okeke develops into the monster Les Miles hopes he can be. If you really want the LSU Tiger offense to be as explosive as it can be. If you are really hoping that they can be physical with the likes of Alabama next season, you need to be watching Chidi Okeke on Saturday at the LSU Spring Football Game.
Six foot six, 308 pounds and just barely learning the game of American Football. He grew up playing soccer and basketball in Nigeria; which is actually a great thing because A) those sports develop great hand eye coordination and 2) Okeke can be molded into a ferocious beast by Les Miles without Les having to worry about any bad habits Okeke developed in high school. The ceiling on Okeke is sky high! Miles has raved about Okeke’s athleticism and ability to pick up the game quickly saying, “he’s exceptionally quick-footed, comes off the ball and he’s learning at a real rapid rate, as opposed to being awash with so much information.” If LSU wants to avoid getting manhandled by Bama again, utilizing this raw Nigerian talent is their best chance at setting the edge and controlling the ever important line of scrimmage all season long. Bust out the pom poms on Saturday for this young man trying to learn the game as fast as he can to help your team win. Chidi Okeke’s development could mean a Heisman for Fournette, a great season for Brandon Harris, and an SEC title for LSU. Let’s have a Kiki!