With less than 3 weeks till the start of Spring Football, lets get this thing started.. The impact from 2015's early enrollees Shea Dixon - 19 hours ago LSU has made a habit of bringing in early enrollees each January, giving a handful of incoming freshmen a head start on their college careers with the opportunity to not only enroll in school a semester early, but also work through an entire spring with the coaches and weight room staff. Kevin Toliver's decision to enroll early could pay huge dividends in 2015 (Photo: Greg Oyster, 247Sports) Earlier this month, LSU signed 25 prospects in the 2015 class - four of which have already been on campus since classes started in January. Five-star cornerback Kevin Toliver II - who ranked as one of the Top 10 overall prospects in the country - headlines an group of early enrollees in Baton Rouge that includes one Louisiana graduate in David Ducre and a pair of Texans: Hanner Shipley and Justin McMillan. For Toliver, the decision to enroll early still left him with a longer wait than nearly any other prospect in the country, committing to the Tigers in November 2012 and riding out the decision until his enrollment last month - which LSU head coach Les Miles feels was just as impressive as his abilities at cornerback. "Kevin Toliver sets an all‑time record for being committed for that length of time and then going to the school of his choice,” Miles said. “For him to stay committed through time is just a tremendous thing for him and with his view of his opportunity here at LSU." That opportunity - furthered by his decision to enroll early - will likely come quick for the Floridian. Toliver enters the mix at cornerback with a legitimate chance at grabbing the No. 2 cornerback role next season. Junior Tre’Davious White will keep his role as the team’s top cornerback, but with Rashard Robinson and Jalen Collins now gone from the lineup, the door is open for Toliver to step in and grab playing time. His biggest competition returning from last year’s lineup will be Ed Paris and Dwayne Thomas, though Thomas has shown an ability to thrive in the nickel role, meaning the battle for full-time duties on the outside will likely be between Toliver and Paris - with five-star cornerback Donte Jackson joining the competition when he enrolls this summer. "There's no finer (cornerback) prospects in America than Toliver and Jackson,” Miles said. The rest of the early enrollees are on the offensive side of the ball, with the quickest impact likely to come from Lakeshore High’s David Ducre - a 5-foot-11 and 235-pound running back prospect who left high school ranked as the No. 1 fullback in the country. And with the Tigers returning just two scholarship running backs and no scholarship fullbacks (or any fullbacks with experience, for that matter), Ducre will likely be needed at both spots. “Our loan fullback is the No. 1 fullback in the country,” Miles said. “And he’s a very, very talented man, and very bright student.” Miles said he expects Ducre to play a similar role to Kenny Hilliard, who saw significant action in all four years of his LSU career, often contributing in the ground game as both a fullback and a running back. A name that will help pave the way in the ground game for Ducre and the rest of the backs will be fellow early enrollee Hanner Shipley, who checks in at 6-foot-5 and 280-pounds, giving the Tigers another blocking tight end comparable to Dillon Gordon, who is headed into his final year with the team. “He has the ability to block the line of scrimmage, but also has real ball skills,” Miles said. "It will be interesting to see how he develops. I would think that he would be that style of tight end that we have been used to having.” However, one of the most intriguing early enrollees might be quarterback Justin McMillan, who enters the program during a time of quarterback turmoil - though his arrival didn’t create much of a splash during the recruiting process despite the reality that LSU only had two scholarship quarterbacks on the entire roster. So, what aren’t fans seeing in the three-star, southpaw prospect out of Texas that convinced Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron that he was the man for the job when it came to building depth at the position in the 2015 class? "We see him as having ball skills and a craftiness about him that will allow him to compete extremely well,” Miles said. "He's a guy that you need to watch him play first. You watch him in his evaluation film, you see him have the ability to make plays and he's competitive as they can be. "I watched a game live versus another very talented team right there in Texas, and it was back and forth and back and forth. And for the quarterback to stay in that game and make big plays, and really have a knack to him, that was awfully important to me. “So, to watch him this spring will have to be what we do. You're going to have to see him. We know he certainly would be a developmental player, but we don't know that he might not be a guy that could step forward and play early.” LSU kicks off spring practice on March 7.
I think this is one guy that wants to get back on the field... LSU's Travonte Valentine ready to break out in 2015, per site Travonte Valentine. (Photo by Andrew Lopez, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) By Julie Boudwin, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on February 19, 2015 at 12:45 PM, updated February 19, 2015 at 1:31 PM Sports Illustrated released its 10 redshirt freshmen that are ready to break out in 2015, and LSU defensive tackle Travonte Valentine made the cut. Valentine was kept off the field in 2014 for academic eligibility issues, but was allowed to practice with the team starting in October 2014. In December, Valentine confirmed he scored a 2.5 grade-point average during the fall semester and that he was ready for spring drills. The site added: "A talent like Valentine who can clog the middle should make for a nice addition." The 6-foot-3, 335-pounder, a former four-star recruit, recorded 31.5 tackles in his senior year of high school. Michigan's Jabrill Peppers and Alabama's Marlon Humphrey also headline the list.
After watching him in the US Army game, I saw a player that wouldn't take long to get into the mix at LSU. Now that O is here, I can see this guy putting in to work, with the help of a very good DL coach. I'm ready for the Spring.
What about the DE or DT we signed from Oklahoma City, the kid that had the sick mom? Whats the status on him?
Shipley seems like a monster TE. Wonder if he will shed some pounds and under Moffit and pickup speed.
Or to the OT position, remember Andrew Whitworth started at TE in high school. then moved over to OL. Years ago Va Tech had 4 OL playing that were former TE's. LSU has had a few guys that have played the position at one time or another, Henry Thomas, Stephen Perterson, Todd McClure, etc.
