#5 might get into the rotation, along with Nick James. The one player I wish we definitely had was Cody Prewitt...he's a serious player.
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Conner is the one OM player I would want on defense.
http://www.teamrankings.com/college-...r-rush-attempt
This is my go to for CFB team stats.
In team defense yards per carry, we rank 7th only giving up 2.4 ypc. Old miss ranks 77th giving up 4.4 ypc. And old miss hasn't played a team with LSU's OL and RB talent. By looking at ypc, you're also eliminating the number of running plays element for a truer sense of run defense.
More interesting numbers:
We rank 116th in opponent passing attempts per game at 42/game and 112th in opponent % of passing plays at 56.88%
We rank 12th in opponent completion % at 50%
We rank 15th in sacks per game at 3.5/game
We rank 36th in opponent passer rating
We rank 79th in yards/attempt and 119th in yards/completion
So it appears our total yardage numbers are driven not just by big plays, but the shear number of passes we've faced compared to the rest of the country. If we keep our opponent completion % at 50% and eliminate a couple of big plays per game, we'll be in great shape.
That's crazy talk. People always try to downplay Nkemdiche just because there seems to be a rivalry between him and Jones, and we want to pimp Jones as the better of the two. But Nkemdiche is a dang good football player and I'd love to have him on our D-line. His brother? Heck no. I think Johnson would help, but he definitely wouldn't be a starter for us and would be 2nd or 3rd string. I'd definitely take Conner and Prewitt, as well. There's no one else on their D I'd take over ours.
No way I take RN over CJ or Preston Smith. I know Nick James is just starting to really play, but I'm really pumped to see what that big man can accomplish now that he appears to have his head screwed on straight. I suspect he may have more upside. Our 4th DL may not have RN's tools, but we've got some damn good choices that come close, and don't have the baggage that comes with RN.
So, believe it or not, I wouldn't want RN, despite his ability, because I think his "value-add" would be more than offset by the headaches he would bring with his attitude. I like the way our guys really seem to like one another, and don't think RN is a good fit. I think RN is exactly where he belongs, in a place where image is everything.
We can agree to disagree. And I'm not arguing for him to start. I would still start CJ and Smith (even though CJ doesn't even start for us), but he would most definitely be our 3rd best DT at worst. Now if we are talking character, I can see where people are coming from, but from a strictly talent and football stand point we could definitely use his skills.
And call me naive, but I don't think Nkemdiche would be near as big of a problem child if he had come here rather than Oxford, especially if he was away from his brother.
Smith, Jones, Kimchee, and CJ would be an epic DL.