The following is an article gleaned from the pages of LSU's own Reveille. BATON ROUGE, La. -- Several highly recruited defensive football players have joined the LSU Tigers for the 2003 season, but assistant head coach Lance Thompson said the player who is most likely to see time on the field this season is Kenneth Hollis. Hollis, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker, comes to LSU after a successful junior-college season. The Adamsville, Ala., native finished his 2002 season with 104 tackles and four sacks. He is a National Junior College Athletic Association preseason All-American. Thompson describes Hollis as a physical player who possesses strength and maturity. ADVERTISEMENT "He'll be a guy we can look to early on," Thompson said. Three safeties come to LSU hoping to help fill the void in that position. "We don't have the depth [at safety] that we'd like to have, so those guys will have a chance [to play]," said Sam Nader, assistant athletic director for football operations. Defensive backs Jessie Daniels, Daryl Johnson and LaRon Landry were all highly recruited when they signed with LSU. Daniels, a 5-foot-11 186-pound player from Breaux Bridge High School ranks No. 32 on Rivals.com's top safeties list. Johnson, from O.P. Walker High School in New Orleans is No. 19 on College Football News' list of top defensive backs. The 6-foot-2 195-pound safety also was selected to Fox Sports Net South's "All-South" first team. Landry, a graduate of Hahnville High School in Boutte, La., comes to LSU No. 22 on College Football News's list of top defensive backs. The 6-foot-2 180-pound freshman also ranks No. 5 on College Football News' list of top athletes. Thompson described Daniels, Johnson and Landry as intelligent and hardworking. Kirston Pittman and Carnell Stewart were highly recruited at the defensive end position and Thompson said they have stood out during summer practice. Pittman from East St. John High School in Reserve, La., is ranked the No. 5 outside linebacker in the country by Rivals.com. The 6-foot-4 245-pound defensive end is ranked No. 13 on Lemming's list of top defensive ends on ESPN.com. Despite his size he runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. Thompson said Pittman's extreme quickness is what really makes him stand out. Stewart is a 6-foot-5, 285-pound defensive end from John Curtis High School in River Ridge, La. He ranks No. 9 on Lemming's Top 25 Defensive Tackles at ESPN.com. Stewart also ranks No. 3 on Rivals.com's list of top defensive tackles.
