Keep up with Tiger Sports Radio on Twitter to get the latest with all things LSU. Follow Tiger Sports Radio at TigerSPRTSRadio for information, commentary, and links to all of your favorite shows. Tiger Sports Radio, all Tigers, all the time. TSD radio from Tiger Sports Radio, part of the V-Sporto network. I'm your host, Ben Love. I'm joined today by my co-host Hunter Paniegoa. Both of us have Tiger Sports Digest. You can find all of our work, tigersportsdigest.com. Before we get started, make sure to check us out off the air on Twitter. You can find me at BenLoveTSD. You'll find Hunter at Hunter Paniegoa. Also, be sure to follow Tiger Sports Radio for the latest from the channel at Tiger Sports Radio on Twitter. That's at Tiger Sports Radio, no Owen Sports. and make sure to download our free iOS app which will be available in your app store which is available in your app store just open up your phone or iPad search for Tiger Sports Radio and take us with you wherever you want on the go. Hunter as we as we inch closer to game time We're only a couple days away at this point you and I and a number of reporters had the opportunity to listen to Les Miles Earlier this week. He gave a little bit of a state of the team type of dress touched on a number of position battles Too too much on the injury front got some news on Jalen Mills And I think that's where we're gonna start is I bring in Hunter Paniagua Less Miles on Monday mentioned Jalen Mills is being prepared. They said they're preparing him to play early and late, kind of some code from Less, but overall, I think he's given the impression that Mills will be the starting free safety on Saturday. Yeah, that was the impression I got from it too, and it was a little bit. Little bit more explicit than he was last year when discussing Jeremy Hill about whether or not he was gonna play that over against TCU Definitely gave the impression that Jayla Mills is gonna play in that game against Wisconsin if not the entire thing so that he really Didn't even really leave much impression that he'll be facing a suspension Which is something you and I disagree with as far as how else you would handle for that first game And we talked a little bit about it I know in our last podcast but the effects on that secondary and the rotation I think are just you know pivotal I mean not necessarily just for this game but moving forward they get to try to iron that rotation out some of the guys that may be in the mix You know to see time as those fifth and sixth defensive backs Dwayne Thomas Jamal Adams your take on which of those guys maybe has the best chance and and what we see Will it be an evolving thing through the first four or five weeks of the season or do you think they already know the guys they want and they're ready to throw them out there as far as nickel and dime against Wisconsin? Think they know the guys that want to put out there, but I think there are a few of the guys They want to put out there So I do think like you said they're gonna use these first few games for us see play starts to kind of iron that out Yeah, definitely Dwayne Thomas. I think he's built for that Mustang package You're gonna see him coming in whenever Jaylen Mills drops down as well that just you get he's a good speedy guy off the edge to bring in those extra DB sets and he really excelled in that role last year and The last time we had this we talked a lot about Jamal Adams and what he can bring And you know someone like Ricky Jefferson as well can come in there all those times that Jaylen Mills drops down as a nickelback. So definitely have a lot of options and I agree with you when you think they're going to use these first few games to get a lot of guys in there and see what they can really do in a real game setting. If we're kind of talking some hypotheticals here, I think it makes a good bit of sense that Mills drops down in the box on a nickel set. So if they take out a linebacker, bring in a fifth defensive back. Would you think it would be Adams? You think it'll be Ricky Jefferson that goes in the back and plays next to Ronald Martin? I think it could be Jamal Adams, Ricky Jefferson, or even Corey Thompson. We don't talk about him much. But yeah, I mean, if it was my pick, I'd go with Jamal Adams just based on what I've seen so far from the kid. But he is just a freshman, so they might want to get some a little bit more experience back there, see what the older guys can do. But yeah, I think they're definitely going to see all three of them really. Corey Thompson, Ricky Jefferson, and Jamal Adams. But yeah, it was up to me. I think I'd probably be going with Jamal Adams. Definitely one of the biggest takeaways from Les Miles' press conference, even though he wasn't too definitive, I think, in his, in a, in a Miles-ism in a way that only he can. I think he kind of let the world know that the Jalen Mills will be playing on Saturday. So again. Big news for LSU fans should have a really solidified back four senior and a junior in the back and Martin and Mills and and two super sophomores at your corners and Richard Robinson and Tradavius White and most of the other news I think that Miles dropped Monday was centered on the offensive side of the ball. I know the quarterbacks or something we're going to get to people want to hear about it but maybe the bigger development or something that Miles kind of finally put his official stamp on was was Ethan Posek. Miles said if he had the name of starter Monday at center, it would be Posick and not Elliott Paul returning seniors started 13 games in his career. Your level of surprise at that and what you expect from Posick making what I believe will be his first start, correct? I believe Posick started one game last year when Porter was injured. I think it was maybe the Towson game. Towson? You're right, Towson. But yeah, I mean, it's something we've been hinting at all summer really since Camp started was that he could get this start. And then, you know, Les Miles kind of made me laugh yesterday with how late he was in saying that he would start Ethan Posick. It was his decision. I don't have to imagine that the head coach of the football team, it would be his decision to say who starts. So I think... Definitely, you know, the symposium has a lot of praise. It's always gotten a lot of praise from Les Miles. And I think there's just a continuation of that saying that he's ready. And it looks like he's going to be the guy to step up there and make the first snap for LSU. When when post it first got on campus two Springs ago as an early enrollee It was a big period for him Not only did he get a leg up on the rest of those linemen and you're looking at kind of the effect I think that's had I mean he's and again, you know, he has certain talents that he made the cream probably was gonna rise to the top but I think what that did to kind of separate him from whoever Andy Dodd, KJ Malone, Josh Bute, a really deep class that they brought in that year. It helped him. But one of the things that we saw and heard about a lot in that spring, also the fall leading up to the 2013 season, was that Posick, who was a tackle in high school, was having problems with the snap adjusting to center. You expect any issues there? You think he's far enough removed and has had enough work that whether it's under center or in the shotgun, he'll be comfortable there. Yeah, I think you'll be comfortable there I mean it is now coming and I get more than a year and a half really playing center almost You know hundred percent of the time in practice something that's plenty of time from get those snaps down and another thing that he's a he's a guy that's 6 foot 7 you rarely ever see centers that are that tall but you talk to the other lineman and they say he's got the Flexibility of a guy that it's much smaller. You can get as low as anybody else I think that's another big thing that's that's really helped him make that transition because he was a guy Like you said, coming out of high school, he was a four star tackle and they ranked in the top five at his position. Everybody assumed he'd be the left tackle of the future. And then all of a sudden they come in, they start working him at center, they start working him at guard. And he seemed to pick up everything. He's a really intellectual guy. He seems to really understand the system and the schemes. And I think all those things put together, I think in LSU's mind, they made a prototypical center. You know, it's funny, but unless I'm wrong, and I don't think I am, he came at the exact... and that they moved Lael Collins over to left tackle. I really think it was that spring, if I'm not remembering incorrectly, spring of 2013 when they decided that it was time for Collins to bump back out to where he was in high school. So I'm right there with what you said, Hunter. I think it's a case where the Dominoes kind of fell into place where Hoshu was stacked at left tackle, had a guy, Gerald Hawkins, that probably could play out there if he had to in a pinch. So they moved Ethan Posick around, and now you're going to see him start at center Saturday night. for LSU. So definitely something we'll keep our eye on throughout the fall how that battle at center goes or if it's a done deal and post it can play his way into a season long starting job. Definitely a definitely a tip of the cap to him to win that job this this fall camp. It was something that I don't think was expected you know as as August kind of rolled around but as you got through the month it did become more and more obvious. Something that's not obvious yet at least not to us in the media or the fans is the quarterback situation. Less was Again, in a less way, he kind of said Monday that he's going to play both guys. If they had a guy they thought gave them advantages from start to finish, then they would play him. But so far, nobody has become that guy. Nobody's gained that kind of separation. Also said that he knows who the starter is going to be. He's just not announcing it publicly. I would imagine that means Anthony Jennings. I guess Hunter, I'll bring you in. And who do you think starts the game? And how often will both play? Yeah, that's something I've been kicking around in my head too, but I do think that Anthony Jennings is gonna get the first snap just I think at this point based simply on you know seniority When Les Miles has said there's no separation between the two, I guess the only way to discern a difference between them is to say who's been on campus longer and give him the starting nod. But yeah, that's definitely something that Les said not to read too much into as far as who's getting the first snap. And it'll really come down to, I guess, who plays better moving forward. But yeah, I'm interested to see how often they switch those guys out. Are they going to alternate every series? Are they going to alternate every quarter? Are they just going to kind of go... If one guy starts to kind of look a little bit rattled, they're just going to go with the other guy. That's a lot of uncertainty and you wonder, are they telling the kids there how often do they know how often they're going to be subbed out? Because that can kind of change the momentum and you really want to see you guys get comfortable and get a good reel, but how often do you think they're going to be changed? Well, I tell you, you bring up a good point. It kind of, to me, it dovetails into this larger point. Ellis you can't afford to fall behind in this ball. I mean maybe by three or seven but not by not by double digits. I mean they just When you're in a position where you may have to be switching out quarterbacks However often once every other series once every third series if you're going to do that and you're going to have some unfamiliarity, you're going to have different guys that your receivers have to get used to catching balls from, that your offensive line has to get used to their cadence. If you're going to be doing that and you're behind, and maybe you have to throw a little more, I think that would spell absolute doom for LSU in this game. So to me it's just paramount that LSU wins the field position battle in this game, puts those quarterbacks in good situations, and lets Cam Cameron make play calls that are suitable to what those guys can do, not having to... to tear off 80 yards on a drive, having to tear off 45 to 50. So things like that to me are going to be really important. I'll say this, it'd be my guess that starts that you see Harris probably in the third series. I think the only way that that changes is... is if they get down on a goal line and maybe they have something or short yardage and there's something, you know, from a quarterback design run standpoint that Harris gives them. I think the other way that could potentially change is if, I mean, just hate, say Jennings leads them on two touchdown drives or touchdown to field goal to start the game. I don't think you're taking that momentum away if it starts that way. So, you know, in a really interesting kind of way, if Kenny Hilliard, if Terrence McGee and maybe Leonard Fournette, if those guys... come out of the gate charging hard and they're able to stake El Shudu a lead on the ground, that could do just absolute wonders for the starter and it could leave him in for a longer period of time. So, you know, if that guy is Jennings, he'd be wise to stick it in the gut of those players and if they can take him there, it may be that he stays in for a long period of time. Yeah, that's definitely I think something else you can use a crutch use as a crutches that run game and a strong offensive line They don't have to put as much pressure on this too young quarterbacks who are coming to this game You know really further looking at their first extended playing time of their careers It's easy for them to settle in when they can hand the ball off to someone like Terrence McGee or Leonard Forneff on that big offensive line and really let themselves get used to the environment and use of that atmosphere. I think we talked about last time how often are these guys going to be running the ball compared to throwing because if you look at it on paper, you would think that LSU and really Wisconsin for that matter as well if you wanted to run 60-70% of the time. Couple topics we definitely want to hit on in the duration of our show here on TSD Radio. One of them is going to be true freshman playing. We'll talk about Tanner McAvoy. Getting the nod at quarterback for Wisconsin, what that does for the LSU defense. And we have a number. notes and tidbits from yesterday's LSU player interviews. But before we get there, there's a point that I've heard a good bit this week. I want to bring it to our show here on TSD radio. We haven't talked about it yet, but Les Miles and that staff assumed some responsibility for how Anthony Jennings played in that Outback Bowl last year against Iowa. They said that... They didn't necessarily prepare him for the full gauntlet. They kind of, they paired it back a little bit if they were conservative and they maybe didn't prepare him to try to be a game winner, they prepared him to kind of manage the game and not let LSU lose. Do you think we see something that's similar to that using both quarterbacks game or do you think that they kind of turn them loose a little bit more knowing that if you don't, this stands the risk of being another tight game in the late in the third quarter, fourth quarter that they really can swing either way. Yeah, you know it wouldn't be very exciting for the fans to see a game plan like that one against Iowa in the Outback Bowl I think the weather and that game kind of played a part in that too. The field was pretty sloppy and then you also had Rekha, who was just playing like a monster out of his mind. You just got to keep putting the ball in his hands and that as well. But yeah, I mean, I really, I don't put too much stock into that Iowa game when I'm considering, you know, Anthony Jennings experience and anything like that. I know after that 99 yard touchdown drive, he was on top of the world and all of a sudden after that Iowa game, it seemed like all the fans were ready to turn them in. But so, you know, I really don't put a lot into that, but you know. I'm expecting LSU to be conservative. I don't think they're going to be that conservative. I think they're going to want to see what the passing game can do as far as, since they're still trying to determine what they can do as far as who's going to be the quarterback, you're going to want to test them a little bit. You know, just want to hand it off to, you don't want to keep it battle that way. So to answer your question, I guess I don't see it being as conservative, but I definitely do. I don't think they're going to be throwing it around all over the place. Yeah, I can't help but agree with you there. I don't think who gives the best handoff is going to win this quarterback job. So eventually those guys are going to have to do something. I mentioned this on a radio show earlier this week and I'll kind of plug it here because I think it's relevant. But you said something important there that kind of tied me back into it. Made me think about it, Hunter. It was a sloppy track. Maybe not as sloppy as that 2009 Capital One ball, if you remember back to LSU playing on that quagmire. But it was still raining, still kind of a, you know, not an ideal situation in the Outback ball on New Year's today. This will be a lot different in a controlled environment at NRG Stadium in Houston. I think that LSU really has a chance to use its athletes more in space, let that speed. play more of a factor than it did in that game. So, whereas a quick screen pass, a bubble screen wasn't really a viable option in that Outback Bowl, you couldn't get traction, it's easier for defenders to run downhill on you. I think else you've got a chance to do that. So if you're Jennings or you're Harris, yeah, you want to lean on that crutch that we talked about in the run game, but... I'll tell you what, finding Trayvon Corral, D.R.S., Quinn, finding those guys behind the line of scrimmage or a little closer to the line of scrimmage for a horizontal passing game, I think that can pay dividends in a game like this in an environment like NRG Stadium. Yeah, I agree with you and I think that's that's probably might be something that might give Anthony Jennings a little bit more of an advantage If I'm not mistaken, I think that's kind of how his offense was built in high school He was tasked to get in the ball of his hands a lot quicker and I think we saw in the first week of camp You know camp cameras really getting great and Harris on his on his drops being a little bit too long and taking a little bit too long to get that ball out of his hands So yeah, that's something definitely a weapon that that Anthony Jennings can use I think Brandon Harris definitely has a better deep ball. So maybe If they're doing a little bit more deconductable screens, as far as that passing in, maybe give them a nod to anything, which I think is a little bit. Still talking LSU football here on TSD radio in a minute. We'll go over to the Wisconsin side and and discuss Tanner McAvoy You know winning the job apparently over Joel Stave, Wisconsin what that means for the LSU defense But before we get there Hunter has an article up right now on Tigers for just calm a free article You can go check it out Talking about the freshmen Les Miles said on Monday. He expects between 6 and 12 true freshmen to take the field He thinks that many of six could have a key role a significant role and an impact on the opener against Wisconsin. So Hunter, if you can, take us through that article and why don't we start at the top and our picks for the guys who we think could play key roles in this game Saturday. Yeah, because that was one aspect of it that Les Miles said. He said 6-12 can play and he said he expects 6 to have key roles and I was looking at it and I think he and I really agreed on 4 maybe 5 guys that we could say have key roles and obviously we talked about Brandon Harris and Leonard Fornes and obviously given their running back even though he might still kind of be behind Terrence Meaghey and Kenny Hilliard a bit. The guy I'd say that might have the biggest impact is Jamal Adams. We talked about his roles when Jayla Mills comes down and closer to the box and coming in at safety. Him coming in maybe even the Mustang package and his passing downs or even on special teams. So I think if you're looking at key role guys, I think the three givens are definitely Brandon Harris, Four Net, and then Jamal Adams. And it might be a little bit of a toss up between Malachi Dukri and Trey Quinn. And that's something that we kind of differed on a little bit is to have which ones of those guys will have a bigger impact On the season I think Malachi Dupree will have a bigger impact on this game I think it's Trey Quinn and I know that's something that you know back and forth. I mean, there's just no question that Dupree is the better physical talent. I don't know the better wide receiver. I think that guy in high school was probably Trey Quinn. I mean, you can throw the rankings aside. I mean, as far as player rankings, star rankings, all that garbage. There's one guy who set a national record for a number of catches. There's another guy who played an option offense at receiver. So one guy's definitely more polished. And that guy, Trey Quinn, stayed healthy. for the whole entirety of fall camp played in a number of scrimmages. We heard about him catching sometimes three, four, five balls of scrimmage. It's my take that Dupree will play in this game probably not a ton But he will play some at wide receiver But Quinn will play and probably catch a ball or two maybe even three or four So I just think he comes in Because of the injury that maybe said Dupree's development back that said his learning curve on the offense back a little bit I think Quinn may have the advantage, but if they get in a pinch, I mean There's not many guys on this LSU team that have a better physical stature to go up and get a ball or to create separation with your body then then somebody like Dupree so I certainly see where you're coming from I'm just not sure it's gonna happen in game one but by seasons end I think Dupree will be one of those top two guys Yeah, and I agree with you, especially when we talk about how conservative LSU might come out in this game, how much they're going to run the ball. There might just not be enough pass attempts to get a bunch of balls to Trey Quinn and to Trey Quinn and Malachi Dupree. I think another thing I enjoyed about finding this little piece on the freshmen was looking at the guys, you know, the other freshmen that might get in there, whether it be on special teams or something like that. And I think we had a chat earlier in the week and somebody asked, you know, who's that? who could be that special teams guy to really set up step up. And the first guy that came to my mind was John Battle, the freshman from South Florida who's going to be a defensive act safety, but I think he's going to really excel on special teams, you know, assuming he's on that kickoff coverage unit. I know one thing I really liked about looking at his high school tape when he was coming up as a recruit was how physical of a tackler he was, how quick he was to close up space and, you know, close on the ball. I think those are traits that really, really, really translate well to special teams. I think he's due for a big role there in this first team. You look at the guys and unless a three or four seasons who else you watch to put out there on special teams coverage units I'm talking about the true freshmen and they like to go a little lighter and faster I mean, it's typically your DB's occasionally it's your linebackers and Very very rarely if you've got a Daniel Hunter type freak that comes in as a freshman You can have your defensive end out there chasing down kicks, but typically it's those DB. So I'm with you on John Battle, you know, I think that pretty quickly too, you're going to get some guys like Clifton Garrett, Donny Alexander, Ed Paris absolutely is a guy that will be out there running down kicks out with a match. I feel like we're missing a DB, who was the other one? Not Battle, but... I don't know, as far as freshman go. Yeah, there was one other DB. I think that will list but you know, I guess this gives you an idea if we're talking about mostly You know corners safeties and linebackers I think else he's got a number of those guys that maybe won't be first or second teamers on defense just yet and though Jamal Adams in there, too He'll be playing on special teams. Absolutely May even get a chance to return a kick or two this season But I think it's mostly those guys we talked about, you know in the back seven defensively that'll make an impact on special teams Yeah, I think looking back the last couple of years, two guys as true freshmen that really kind of made names themselves there were Deion Jones and then Duke Rowley had a pretty big role there as a freshman. So I think as you were saying earlier, the kind of mold of guys that like put there definitely is a John Battle type, a Donny Alexander type, and a Paris type. When I was kind of thinking of who I would put on special teams, even if I was looking at the freshmen, those were immediately the types of guys I was looking at. So that's kind of how I came to the conclusion of the guys that I mentioned already, but definitely... Special teams is definitely where these young freshmen start to make the name for themselves and where they get their feet wet somewhat. And then that really helps them develop later on. And they're not so untested when they are called upon to be no actual defenders. Devin Voorhees is, I guess, who I was thinking of. And he wouldn't be as high on my list as John Battle or Ed Paris. But I think there's a chance that they're looking to get some of those freshmen involved. He may be there. Yeah, definitely I can see that as well. I think based off what you hear Les Miles say a lot, I keep hearing John Pattles mention this about every time he brings up the defensive back, so I think that has something to do with why I'm so high on him as far as this impact that he can have on special teams. Alright, before we kind of finish this freshman chat, two more guys I want to ask you about the roles you think they may be able to play wherever, whether special teams or on offense. DJ Charke, a player who... Look, let's just call it what it is. I think there was some head scratching going on when he was a take last year as a commit from a lot of people. LSU looking good though. He comes in and has grown two and a half, three inches over this offseason. And all of a sudden, you put that with his speed and he becomes a dangerous weapon maybe in the return game. At some point in his career, you would think of wide receivers. So does DJ Chark factor into this game? And then another guy, Daryl Williams. Will LSU go forward deep and running back against Wisconsin? You know, those are both guys that were kind of the tail end of at least my thinking was for this this piece on the freshmen But the DJ targets been a big surprise for me except I hate to say something negative about the kid But he was definitely you know Definitely the bottom of the order is or is the recruits they brought into this class He's definitely earned the praises in this first couple weeks of the early season and you know Whether he's gonna have an impact, you know, I don't know if he's gonna be a kickoff coverage guy He's definitely looks like a return guy in the future. So what role might he carve out? You know, let's just said a couple of times that he doesn't expect him to redshirt. So it sounds like they have a role for him somewhere I'll be interested to see where that comes in and then you also mentioned Darrell Williams who's a big physical bruiser of a back looks even bigger than he did in high school when he was a huge kid coming out of high school So I think he if LLC does go for running backs. I wouldn't be surprised I think they've done in the past and if we were into the assumptions that they're gonna run it a whole lot and they kind of find some carries for somebody so maybe they're in a goal line situation they need a Goal of fourth and one and maybe maybe they handed over the freshmen see what he's got Hunter and I are gonna try to go a little more Wisconsin heavy for our last podcast of the week, but you can catch on Friday On on TSD radio, but today the one thing we will talk about the quarterback It's the cats out of the bag. I believe at this point Tanner McAvoy gonna be the guy not Joel Stave for this for this opener It's easy I think to kind of categorize him kind of like it is Brandon Harris as a guy that's a little more athletic a little more mobile, you know guy that they could do some things when he gets out of the pocket or when plays break down but your sense of What it means to the LSU defense to have to defend him and and if this changes anything from a scheme standpoint Yeah, I was actually really interested I was reading that piece that you combined with our friend Ben work love there that there runs our Wisconsin site just to get a little bit of background from what they're thinking up there and I was interested to read that they think that Tanner McAvoy kind of signals a transition that this whole Wisconsin offensive identity it wants to be and you look back to Gary Anderson and what he had back this previous stop who's definitely he'd like to have a little bit more mobile quarterback and that Really contradicts with what you think of a badger football just handed off right up the middle and sitting behind some huge offensive line and just powering at you So it definitely brings an added wrinkle that LLC is going to have to respect Well, I can think of another major college football program that you know has spent the last 10 years running the football into oblivion That's doing that and that's how it's you I mean when they look at the guys that they're recruiting and you can speak to this That's something that Les Miles and Cam Cameron want to have so and I guess while we have a little time here Take us on that tangent, you know some of the guys that LSU already has committed some of the guys that LSU's looking at over the next year or two that that you know, look at Ben Wargle with our Wisconsin site is talking about how Wisconsin is moving in that direction Obviously LSU doing the exact same thing Yeah, and I think that ever since really cam Cameron came on board He made it pretty clear that he wanted to have a mobile option That's why he saw Brandon Harris jump so quickly up to his board I mean, don't get me wrong first thing first the kid has to be able to throw a fellas He's gonna be looking at you at quarterback But they want to have at least the threat that we can make in a play with his feet and that and that's where we see you look at the kid They have committed in 2015 Justin McMillan He's a guy a little bit more of a project as far as a passer, but he can make some plays with his feet as well And then Felipe Franks is a big kid. He's not necessarily your natural dual threat kid, but he can move as well. And he's got that big strong arm. So I think that the theme you see, and I assume Wisconsin's kind of going with the same idea as our, I'm sure tons of other schools around the country. But you know, these schools want quarterbacks like throw it, but they want to at least have the threat that they can make play with their feet because that does have to keep the defense up. To keep the defense honest, they can't just tune in on your team being one-dimensional offensively. I guess staying on this topic with Tanner McAvoy announces the starting quarterback of Wisconsin to this opener. The teams that else he's played in the past that have had mobile quarterbacks I mean the easiest one to think of is Johnny football Obviously, he's a different cat than the McAvoy or anybody else who's probably played the college game But you know is there and to me there's enough evidence that else you likes to play small like some way fast on defense I don't know that an offensive scheme that revolves around a quarterback that likes to take off and run is the best way to go against LSU I don't that you're gonna beat those guys to the sideline more often than not if you're trying to go horizontal in your ground attack. So that's one thing I kind of think of with this McAvoy deal, but at the same time, I don't think that that's necessarily his main intent. I think that he's somebody like Brandon Harris that wants to stay in the pocket. So is that your kind of your feel of the situation is that he's better when he takes off and runs when the pocket breaks down and maybe that's what separates him from Joel Stave when things get ugly, he can make a better play than Ken Stave. Yeah, I agree with you 100% on that one. That was pretty much my first impression when I saw they were going with Tanner McAvoy and what I've seen of him. They want to throw the ball and really I think running the ball with quarterback is more of a last resort contingency plan. You know, I don't think that you're gonna see too many designed runs not too much read option But you never know really I guess in today's day and age, but yeah, I definitely he's gonna be throwing it more often than he's running it even though he people are calling him and built for adoption just don't see Wisconsin go into some kind of mobile heavy quarterback and running it with them all the time Well close shop on on football recruiting in about a minute or two here But before then give a glimpse into the player interviews that you recently went to it LSU You know, maybe the top couple of tidbits you got from guys that were available Yeah, I think one thing I talked about with them was, you know, Wisconsin's got a very interesting defensive front. They're replacing a lot of guys that they lost to graduation last year and they have a, I guess it's more of a traditional 3-4 front, but the offensive lineman would tell me that they'll switch it at the top of a hat, they'll switch it, you know, right before the snap starts and that really puts a lot of pressure on the offensive line to know their individual assignments so if they don't have enough time to communicate, they just pretty much have to read each other's minds and know that everyone's responsible for their own deal. And one thing that Also made that interesting to me is that if you're thrown out a freshman like Ethan Posey there at center that's put a lot of responsibility on him to read the defenses and make those calls because it is his job and Does help though that the rest of the offensive line is so experienced they can back him up a little bit We promised to end on recruiting. We do a lot of that talk over at Tigersportsdigest.com and that's what we're gonna do. Football recruiting is the game today. Nothing really new to update you on the hoop scene, although I believe that is coming. Maybe by the time we do our next podcast, I'll have more to share with you there. But on the football front, LSU not allowed to have contact with any... perspective, you know, signees or whatever, targets that are at the game on Saturday night. But that game being close enough to where a lot of recruits are, I'm sure they're going to make their way there. What can you tell us about kids you know are planning to attend and even though else you can't talk to them, maybe what else you playing in a venue like that does for their chances. Yeah, I think the two big names that I've heard that plan to be there at least are a couple of 2016 guys that are going their junior year. One of which being Deontay Anderson who's a safety firm from right. He lives real close to the NRG Stadium. So it's not too far dry for him. And the other one I've heard is Christian Fulton, the cornerback out of Rummel in New Orleans. He said he plans to be there as well. So like he said, I don't believe the LSU coaches are allowed to talk to him, but you know, the kids get to see them. You see LSU play with their own eyes. They get to see what... what they're like on a game day, what kind of energy they bring. I think that pays a lot of dividends. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Xavier Lewis was at that game last year in Dallas and got to see LSU in person, I think maybe right after he committed the first time or right before it. And then obviously he went through that whole process of committed again. But it's definitely good for kids to see your team play in person and that definitely gives them a better idea of what your team is like and what they can expect. And then obviously once LSU starts having some home games, they can bring up that, you know, that Tiger Stadium atmosphere and really sell that point later on in the season. I'm going to get, I'm going to get us out of here on this question and just piggybacking off what you just mentioned. There is obviously merit to do playing these, these kickoff classic games. They've done it now in Atlanta, multiple times in Dallas. This will be the first time in Houston. It would not surprise me at all if they're playing one of those in New Orleans once they start up a kickoff classic game in the next few years. But I guess if you're weighing the pros and cons between having another home game that you can bring recruits to, that your fan base can come and be in Tiger Stadium for, to you, do those outweigh the cons to having a game like this for recruiting purposes? Only I understand there's a huge alumni base, but just in terms of recruiting, would you rather have another home game even if it's more of a layup or would you rather have this showcase piece? I think ideally if I was signed just from recruiting sample I'd like to have some home and home games with these big opponents and then you get the Wisconsin's and teams like that into Tiger Stadium and get a really get a big game in that big atmosphere but yeah it's it's tough recruiting it's not a huge benefit to play neutral side games as far as recruiting goes you know you're not really allowed to host the kids you're not allowed to trot them around the sidelines and show them you know make them believe that this is going to be them one day so From a recruiting standpoint, I'd much rather be having home games. But I think if you look at all the other things like I went to an administration's, you know, decision to do something like this, namely the dollar signs and the big piles of money they make off it, I think that's why you're seeing LSU make such a big push to start all these neutral site, you know, season openers. Good stuff as always he's hunter panayagua. I'm Ben Love both of us with Tigersportsdigest.com Be sure to head over you check out all the latest hunter mentioned a piece from from our Wisconsin sister site We've got Ben Wargel the publisher of their abadrination gave us a great breakdown a know-your-foe piece on Wisconsin kind of gave us the insight of Tanner McAvoy you know, what him starting means, who the guys are in line behind Melvin Gordon that LSU fans should know about, and then who the receiving targets are that LSU fans should know about. And not only, they have a great tight end there, they replaced it even better one, but they have a young guy, Sam Arneson, that's coming in to roll a tight end. So, you know, Ben Wargo gave us a sense of where Arneson fits into the passing game and which new receivers, you know, maybe, you know, red zone threats, which of those guys are better between the 20s. A lot of good stuff there. You can read Hunter's piece on the freshmen that should play. Recruiting content. We have a live chat with our chat transcript there. Ton of stuff you can get there at Tigersportsdigest.com. For Hunter, I'm Ben. You've been listening to the TSD radio. We'll be back in a few days. One last preview of LSU Wisconsin on TSD radio. LSU fans, the time has finally come. Download the free Tiger Sports Radio app now from iTunes for all your iOS devices. Get all the latest news on LSU Athletics on demand or via our 24-hour live stream. Tiger Sports Radio, all Tigers all the time. Keep up with Tiger Sports Radio on Twitter to get the latest with all things LSU. Follow Tiger Sports Radio at TigerSPRTSRadio for information, commentary, and links to all of your favorite shows. Tiger Sports Radio, all Tigers, all the time. This is Tyler Nunez with Tiger Sports Radio and I'm here with your daily news brief. If you haven't already bought your ticket for this weekend's contest between LSU and Wisconsin and Houston, you might be out of luck. Lone Star Sports and Entertainment officials announced today that all tickets to the AdvoCare Texas kickoff, pitting the number 13 Tigers against the number 14 baggers and NRG Stadium have been sold. The two programs are scheduled to meet again in 2016 when the Tigers will travel for a rematch in Lambeau Field. LSU baseball's senior infielder Connor Hale and junior outfielder Andrew Stevenson have been named to the perfect game Summer League All-America teams. Hale was the first team selection and Stevenson was voted to the third team. The Summer All-America teams recognize players who turned in outstanding performances during collegiate Summer League competition. This has been Tyler Nunes with your daily news brief. Have a great day. Hello and welcome to our first edition of Tiger Talk with Tyler and Tommy. My name is Tyler Nunes. I'm a staff writer for the Daily Reveley LSU student newspaper and with me I have our columnist Tommy Romanok. Hey Tommy. How's it going Tyler? It's going well. Tell the viewers a little bit about yourself. Well, I'm the as he said the sports columnist for the daily Reveley. I'm also a sports intern right now at Noah comm in the Times Pecun and I've Been covering for the daily Reveley for about 30 semesters now Great. Yep. I've been there for about two years myself me and Tommy are pretty close friends. We work well together and We're really excited to bring you this radio show So now that we got it now that we have all that out of the way. Why don't we get started? Alright, well, the first thing that I think we should get to is the topic that I think everybody is talking about. That's the quarterback battle at LSU between Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris. Now, Tyler, you've talked about Harris and Jennings before. You've talked to Cam Cameron about the subject. You've been to most of the player in Les Miles' availabilities. What can you tell us about that? Well, like everyone else, not much. Everyone's been very secretive about it. Coach Miles and Cameron won't even mention either quarterback's name in press conferences, especially when talking about scrimmages. We don't know who's doing what in scrimmages. We just know that a quarterback is doing them. Les Miles did say that they had made a decision yesterday during his weekly press luncheon, but he would not reveal who it was. Yeah, that's really true. I mean he made a joke about it himself saying that you know he knew it was but he wasn't reviewing names I think that's kind of Les Miles style You know you they talk about all the time you know players will talk about how much they love Les Miles Because he's such a players coach, and I think what he did yesterday was part of it You know he's not gonna reveal who it is to the media before you know before he reveals it to everybody else on the team. He's not going to reveal it until much later into the week. And I think that that builds confidence within the team, so I'm fine with him doing that. It is frustrating for being a part of the media, but you know, to each his own, I think it's good for the team. Oh, I would think it would be frustrating to Jennings as well. He's the one who has game time experience. He's the only true freshman to ever start in a in a bowl game, let alone win one. So I feel like most quarterbacks in that situation would expect to start this season. But you don't get that when you talk to him. He seems very okay with the situation. He believes that the best man will play and he's hoping he's that guy. Well, number one, he feels, I mean, I think he should feel okay about the situation. He underperformed in that Outback Bowl despite winning, and he underperformed in the spring game as well. So, I think he knows that competition was coming, and he knows how talented Brandon Harris is as a whole. So, anybody who's honest with themselves should know that, you know, it might go either way. But, yeah, I can see the frustration, but Anthony Jennings has got a good head on his shoulders. He's responded to the pressure very well. And players don't seem to have a problem with playing with both of them either. I was talking to a few of the wide receivers today and all of them pretty much echoed each other saying that they're not going to have a problem transitioning from one quarterback to another because they play similar styles and Coach Cameron, our offensive coordinator, Coach Cam Cameron has put together great packages for both of them that work for both of them. They absolutely do. I think The thing we're going to see in the Wisconsin game, and I think many games down the road, is that you're going to see them being inserted in and out during these games. Because I think Miles knows who's starting. I don't think he knows who's his number one down the road. And he's always liked to use multiple quarterbacks. So for LSU fans, I'd expect something of that variation. Yeah, a lot of people were surprised Jennings didn't get more playing time early last season with Mettenberger, but obviously, he, Mettenberger obviously separated himself as the season progressed and there's no question as to who is going to start the rest of the season, but it does seem to be that they don't know yet. Miles did say that the starter, who will be the starter, is a significant thing to talk about and thing to think about but it's not writing anything in stone the quarterback position is very much up for grabs I'd say it's they booking unique assets I think Jennings with another year under his belt, has a better understanding of the playbook. Therefore, it's someone that Cam Cameron would trust more in running the system and knowing what to do, you know, on a consistent basis. However, Brandon Harris, I believe, has a much better arm, and therefore, I think he could work out sort of like... I think Jared lead it a couple of years back when Jordan Jefferson was starting where he might be the guy you bring in if you need to complete a long pass or complete a pass downfield or you know kind of provide a spark in the team. Harris also seemed to be better reading pressure and getting away from it than Jennings was in the spring game. That's right. Jennings was sacked four times between both teams. Harris wasn't sacked once. Jennings had a little bit better of a completion percentage but overall Harris outperformed him, which is really what sparked this quarterback battle. I agree. He was by far the better quarterback in the spring game and I think the one benefit LAC fans should have is that both of these guys can run and I think we're going to see a lot more running type plays that we saw in the Jordan Jefferson era. You know, maybe not as much as we saw, but you might see some options, you might see some pitches, and you're going to see a lot of scrambling, which is always another dimension you can have that really helps your team succeed. Yeah, they were really practicing that read option a lot. It's interesting, this is different than most quarterback controversies that LSU has faced. Normally it's an athletic running style quarterback versus a pure passer, but both of these guys seem to be true dual threats. So it's a little interesting that both of them are going to get playing time, but I think it's really just a matter of one of them separating himself from the other. I agree. So, as far as predictions go, Tyler, who do you think is going to be the guy that's going to be not only starting in Wisconsin, but what do you think is going to be going also down the road? I think Jennings, my personal opinion, I think Jennings is going to start the Wisconsin game. He has the game under his belt. You want, he's not going to have the first drive jitters that Harris might have or that most people would be worried about a true freshman having but I do see Harris pulling away from him as the season progresses and that raises some questions as to what Jennings role will be after that but Harris seems to be have a really solid head on his shoulders and good legs under his feet. I'll stick to what Ivan's saying. I agree with you with Jennings starting and for the same reasons that you don't want Harris just going out there and his first game of his career and having to start a quarterback for LSU I think Jennings does start but I think it's just gonna be constant throughout the year than going back and forth because you know you Unless Miles can say that he's got a quarterback for the rest of the year after like Mississippi State game or the Florida game or something but you know once that QB one starts messing up once he starts having a bad first half, you know You're gonna have those second thoughts to bring in that other quarterback because you've got someone who's You know by all count equally as talented as the other one Yeah, it's definitely interesting situation. We may be talking about this for the next three years, Jennings and Harris. It could be another Jordan Jefferson, Jared Lee situation where people pick sides and pit them against one another. But I think both of these guys really enjoy working together. I think that's the mindset that Miles and Coach Cameron have ingrained in them. And like Cameron told me at Media Day, they don't have one starting quarterback. They have five. is that's the mentality they go into, which is a little silly to think that Brad Kratthorpe's going to go and take a snap against Wisconsin. But that said, that's the mentality they have. They all want to work together. They all want to be as good as possible and make each other better. And I'll tell you what, the biggest thing you can take out of that, like I've said before, the Jared Lee Jordan Jefferson experiment worked. The last two seasons, LSU only lost three games and two of them were to the eventual national champions. So I think that LSU is in good shape. If this occurs, I think Miles knows what he's doing. Yeah, you're probably right. But enough about quarterbacks are going to be hearing about them. Yeah, oh, why as the season progresses here. Next two guys are going to talk about are people you're not going to hear about a lot. Their names are Hoko Finica and Evan Washington. They've been battling all preseason for the right guard, the starting right guard position. And it was announced yesterday, Miles said that Hoko will likely start against Wisconsin, but Washington is definitely going to get a fair share of playing time. Both of these guys have improved dramatically since last season. Yeah, absolutely, you know it was kind of a surprise for me at least when Trey Turner announced that he was going to the NFL Draft But this is kind of the one spot on the offensive line where there might be a question You know once Trey Turner left every other part of the line It seems kind of dead said that those guys know what they're doing these Evan Washington and Hoka Faneka, they are talented, kind of just unheralded part of the offensive line. They've been battling it out throughout the year. They're actually teammates, they're actually roommates, and I think both of them, whoever it is, Faneka's going to start, but I'm sure it'll be going back and forth throughout the year. Whoever is that firm starter, I think it's going to do well. And Tyler, you actually wrote a story about them. Perhaps you could give a little more information. Well, it's funny, they're two... It's funny to think about them living together. Just to correct you, they don't live together anymore. Oh, okay. Yeah, Hoko still lives on campus and Evan moved out. But it's funny to think of them living together because they're two opposite personalities, at least when they're talking to us. Hoko's very quiet. He's kind of like the quiet artist. He plays multiple instruments. He has a Polynesian background. He's the first LSU player to have a tongue in heritage. And Washington's the exact opposite. He's loud, he's boisterous, he's hilarious, he's always cracking jokes, whether it's on the field or with the media. He's always trying to make everyone laugh. But it works. They're really good friends off the field. They met each other when Hoko transferred here last season. And they're just really good friends. Hoko said they're one of the best. Watch Evan said that Hoko's one of his best friends on the team and that they've been working all offseason to make each other as good as possible and let the coaches decide who's going to win that spot. You know, that's something I see. almost at every position at LSU, you know, you feel like, you know, when you're battling for a position as a starting role on the LSU football team that the person you're battling with, you might get some angst towards, but angst towards, but You don't see that at all with either of them, but I find their answers completely true when they say that they wish the best for each other and they're just glad that they're competing with each other and making each other better. Yeah, you see that a lot, especially at the running back position at LSU because it's usually so stacked. I mean, even this year you've got Terrence McGee, Kenny Hilliard, and of course Leonard Fernet, and all three of them just look like they all look up to each other. They all respect each other. to the utmost and they really want each other to be as good as possible and be as successful as possible not just at LSU but in life and in their careers. Well, you know... Oh, it's used offense kind of runs and you could say defense as well runs a little different. Not many places do we see kind of the running back carousel that we've seen in the last five years where, you know, one of four guys might actually go over, go for more than 100 yards in a game or, you know, A receiver who hasn't had a catch in three games might catch two touchdowns the next game. You know, it's a mentality of, you know, any man can step up that night. And that's been ingrained and institutionalized at LSU's football program. And I think that's why you see the friendliness during position battles. Yeah, definitely. And at the running back position, you see that a lot. They put a lot of trust in their offensive line. They rely on those guys and that's why they're able to hand it off to so many people. Yeah, you may not, someone may not be able to get in a rhythm throughout a game, which has been the argument against playing so many running backs throughout a game and a season. But... each one of these guys can blow up at any time and they want to keep them all as healthy as possible and honestly the ultimate goal especially at LSU is to get them NFL ready that's what people that's what players come to LSU for at least elite players and that that's the ultimate goal of all these guys and LSU allows them to do that and without absolutely wearing them out now let's talk a little bit about the offensive line as a whole This has been the one part of LSU's team that I don't think anybody has questioned. I think every analyst has given their opinion that it's the best part of the team. How essential is this going to be to the team, not only for having the arsenal of running backs do well, but keeping two young guys in Jennings and Harris at bay and giving them a solid foundation? Oh exactly. That's absolutely essential. I mean with two young quarterbacks who don't have more than two games of experience between them, they're absolutely going to rely on this offensive line to get a good push on every single play so that if the quarterbacks aren't working out, they can give it to one of their stud running backs and let them take it to the house. I absolutely agree. I think one of the problems we've seen, LAC has had against teams like Alabama or Florida two years ago at Florida they They did struggle against pressure. I think this offensive line is experienced enough and Has enough get as as played enough games has enough mileage to compete against you know those better defenses like the Alabama's in the Florida's in the world and once you have that you know, it's up to the quarterback to do their work and So, that's the last few seasons. I'm sorry, I lost you at the end there. Oh, well I was just saying that that's what the ability to go against teams like Alabama and Florida with a better offensive line is what they have compared to the other teams. Right, and that's, I mean, that's gonna be their staple, especially if it turns out to be true. It's still a little bit questionable. A lot of these guys are still a little young, but They do have the experience, which is something that most of these SEC teams don't, which is why people have them so high up. They're definitely going to outperform their... They'll definitely have to perform better than they did last season. Yes. But luckily they also have two running quarterbacks that might be able to bail him out a couple times. Yeah, anybody who saw the Alabama game and that famous shot of, you know, Zach Mettenberger trying to get off the ground, you know, I think that was the low point for the offensive line. I think they've learned from that and learned from those experiences, and I think they're going to be a lot better than this year. But let's move on to the next topic on our show, which is the decision of whether to play at neutral sites and home games. As you know, LSU is playing Wisconsin at a neutral site this week in Houston, and they're going to be playing at Lambeau Field next year. And it was said, two seasons from now, thank you. But it was said Gary Anderson was asked at Big 10 Media Days if what he thought about just doing a home and home series against LSU, and he said he wouldn't be opposed to it. So it seems like LSU was the reason this happened. Tyler, what do you think about the comparison between neutral sites and home and home? Well, I don't think it actually has much to do with coaches. I don't think they have much say in the matter. I think that coaches would love to play in front of their home crowd as many times as possible. But I agree with you that I'm not a big fan. You wrote a column on this that ran today about how this trend needs to kind of not necessarily go away, but at least happen less frequently because it's not fun for fans, man. Like, in Baton Rouge, you have to drive four hours to go to Houston and that's not fun. That's like a no-way game in the SEC and it's been even longer the last couple times in Dallas. So it's just not fun for fans. And who doesn't want to see a powerhouse non-conference matchup in their home stadium? Those are games that people are going to pay to go watch. They're going to line up the seats for that. I know I would. Those are games I really want to see. It's a matchup you're not necessarily going to see a lot of times. And asking fans to travel for these games just seems a little silly, especially when the rest of your non-conference games are just Not up to par. You know a couple of days ago I was talking to my dad and he told me his favorite game he ever attended when he went to LSU was When they played a number one in the nation at USC team actually ended up losing to the team But he said it was the loudest he's ever heard the stadium and it was just a feeling of being able to beat You know such a foreign team like USC and I joked with them right then I said If this was 2014, that game would be in Dallas, but it's a fact. LSU wants to... you know, become national. They want to expand their brand and by playing at AT&T Stadium and playing in prime time against ESPN, against teams from the Pac-12 and Big 12, that's going to sell. You know, that's going to make their brand bigger and they'd rather do that than just host a team. Yeah, I think it's also a recruiting tool. I think it helps enforce their pipeline to Texas. That's true. I think That's why you see a lot of guys like Russell Shepard came here from Dallas, Evan Washington, or from Houston, I'm sorry. Evan Washington himself is from the Dallas area, a lot of those guys. Jaylen Mills from Dallas. Exactly. And I mean, Texas is a huge, huge football state. So as many games as you can. Maybe the biggest. I mean, it competes with California for sure, and maybe Florida. But... I mean, those are pipelines. You, I mean, to succeed in the SEC, you have to have. So I believe that's why we're, I mean, this is the third time in four years they've opened their season against the top 25 opponent in Texas. That said, I am really looking forward to watching LSU play in Lambeau Field. I really hope I get to go to that game. That's one of the coolest neutral sites I've ever heard of. I'm not, I'm opposed to a lot of neutral sites, but when it comes to Lambeau Field, I'm, I'll take exception to that. eight, seven year old kids, you know, they might not have a college team and they might just pick their team on the team they get to see. If their dad takes them down to NRG Stadium in Houston or AT&T Stadium in Dallas or the Georgia Dome and they see LSU, you know, beating up some other team, that might become their team. That might be the team that for the next few years they're going to be buying merchandise from. and LSU is going to be earning a significant amount of income off. That might seem small, but it adds up and it works. Oh, absolutely. LSU is all about branding. They love branding. That's why they're LSU. That's why they've been able to build this huge program is because they love branding. But to get back to reasons why they shouldn't do it,