Since 2000, LSU has put 17 Tiger defensive backs on NFL rosters. Recruiting the best athletes for these positions is a priority and LSU has been successful in the endeavor. It also doesn’t hurt that many play as true freshmen and eventually end up in the NFL. In 2011, LSU will have three players who could start for any team in the nation. Ron Brooks, Morris Claiborne, and Tyrann Mathieu will all be splitting time on the island this year.

Claiborne and Mathieu are penciled in as starters, but don’t count out Brooks. He will spend a lot of time on the field due to Chavis’ multiple uses for Mathieu. How does this equal a bona fide replacement for Patrick Peterson? Easy enough. While Peterson was taking away whole sides of fields from opposing offenses, it was Morris Claiborne who was quietly shutting things down on the other side. When LSU needed a big-time play and Peterson was covering a post or fly pattern down field, it was Mathieu turning into a one man wrecking crew. Who filled in when someone had to come off the field? Ron Brooks. All this happened with little to no drop-off in execution or performance. Patrick Peterson earned his bones and all the respect that goes with it, but his attitude and mentoring has left the Tiger cornerbacks in very good shape for many years to come.

What about replacing Drake Nevis? Kelvin Sheppard?

How do you make up for losing the motor of the defensive line as well as the team captain and leading tackler? Recruiting. Plain and simple: if you are LSU, you go sign the top rated defensive lineman in the country, Anthony “Freak” Johnson, bring him early and have him make the two-deep during spring drills. Then give him four months with Tommy Moffitt in the weight room and have him emerge as something more than human. The whole time, every last person in the program, even the cleaning lady, declares that there is no way that Freak Johnson stays off the field his freshman year, and that he is going to be dominant from the first snap. That’s how you make up for the loss of Nevis. That isn’t even mentioning the talent around Johnson in the rotation. Josh Down, Michael Brockers and Bennie Logan will all be mixing up with Johnson to draw double teams and wreak havoc on opposing offenses. FYI, since 2002, 14 Tiger defensive linemen have made NFL rosters. Johnson could be the cream of that crop.

Making up for Sheppard might not be that easy. Although his production can be made up through team contribution, it is the leadership aspects that need to be in place by the opening of fall camp. The 2011 linebacker corps has all the talent, speed and athleticism to make the plays from sideline to sideline. What is lacks is experience. Senior Ryan Baker will lead a two deep littered with freshmen and sophomores. While Baker, Kevin Minter and Stefoin Francois will all contribute, it will likely be safety Brandon Taylor calling the shots on defense. However, reading alignments and making adjustments doesn’t motivate a fellow player to find the stones to make a desperately needed big play. Sheppard had that quality. Hopefully, one or many are cultivating that spirit during team workouts and preparations for fall camp.

The Rest of the Gang

The defensive ends and safeties should be feeding off of each other greatly. John Chavis has stated that in no time in his career has he ever accumulated so much talent and speed at the end position. The two deep is loaded with legitimate SEC starters. Sam Montgomery is back from injury to rejoin his fellow merchants of menace, Lavar Edwards, Ken Adams and Barkevious Mingo. Chavis has claimed that Mingo will be the premier pass rusher in the SEC, bar none. Add to that mix, Ego Ferguson, who can move in and out along the line to create mismatches on any given down. Combined with stout pressure from the middle, opposing quarterbacks will have to get rid of the ball quick or get planted into the turf.

That type of pressure limits passing options, especially when combined with lock down corners. It also creates mismatches in protection, both of which benefit safeties. Brandon Taylor, Craig Loston, Karnell Hatcher and up and comer, Tharold Simon should enjoy a feast of errant passes, open lane blitzes and blowing up last resort receivers. While Taylor and Hatcher bring experience to the game, it is the big hitting ability of Loston that will likely draw the most comparisons to LaRon Landry and Chad Jones, two of the most ferocious Tiger playmakers in the past decade. Simon showed in the Spring Game that he has the talent to be on the field, which is no easy feat, considering all the talent on LSU’s defense.

Who will be “That Guy”?

By the end of 2010 all opposing offenses had starting accounting for a Tiger wildcard. He made plays behind the line of scrimmage, in the flats and in the secondary. His ability allowed John Chavis to play fast and furious on almost every down. This “Little Ball of Hate” terrorized opponents as a TRUE FRESHMAN (59 Tackles, 4.5 Sacks, 2 FF, 2INT). Tyrann Mathieu will be that guy for John Chavis. Mathieu adopted Patrick Peterson’s No. 7 and is ready to carry on the legacy of opposing offenses avoiding the number like the plague. The talent on the LSU defense is exceptional, and this allows Chavis to use Mathieu as nasty, ball hawking, destruction bent equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife. Mathieu can be relied upon to produce under any circumstance or condition, in other words – That Guy.