| Current Poll |
Who do you think should manage Ferriday water?
View Results
|
|
Story Archives: Drafting LSU players a chore
- 2013 - 300 articles
- 2012 - 856 articles
- 2011 - 635 articles
- 2010 - 1276 articles
- 2009 - 1591 articles
- 2008 - 1763 articles
|
Drafting LSU players a chore
If you want to read this column in English, press 1. Otherwise, move somewhere else.
So it's the end of June and with the College World Series closing out, things are slower than a Brett Favre decision.
So to pass the time until Lane Kiffin says something else dumb, I'm going to hold a different kind of football draft. Who would be the first 20 LSU players taken if every single player who donned the purple and gold were available after their senior year?
I told you I was bored football-less.
Of course I do have the advantage of knowing what these players did after college.
My first pick would be Bert Jones, who threw 28 touchdown passes over 17 career starts, but is known more for two games than anything else.
Jones played for Charlie McClendon, who liked to pass the ball about as much as Nick Saban likes to talk into a microphone at halftime of a football game.
Despite that, Jones finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1972.
Jones will always be remembered for his last-second touchdown pass to Brad Davis to beat Ole Miss. Also, his amazing effort against Notre Dame in Tiger Stadium in 1971 when the Tigers shocked the Irish 28-8, teaming up with cousin Andy Hamilton on three touchdown passes.
Jones went on to a brilliant career in Baltimore, where his leadership was a big reason for the Colts' success.
A cannon of an arm didn't hurt either. Jones' favorite target in Baltimore was Louisiana Tech's Roger Carr.
Speaking of Cannon, my second pick would be Billy Cannon, whose final year at LSU was in 1959. Cannon led LSU to an AP national title as a junior and won the Heisman as senior.
Cannon will be forever known for his thrilling 89-yard punt return against Ole Miss on Halloween night.
As big as Cannon was (OK, at 6-foot-1 it would not be as big now) he was just as fast. He was the third-fastest person in the country as a senior, finishing behind Abilene Christian's Bobby Morrow and Charlie Tidwell of Kansas in the 100-yard dash.
Cannon played running back for the Houston Oilers and tight end for Oakland in the pros.
Cannon is one of 20 players who played the entire 10 years of the American Football League's existence.
My third pick would be Johnny Robinson, who played at the same time as Cannon.
Ferriday native Max Fugler, who played along with Cannon and Robinson on the 1958 national championship team, told me last year that Robinson was the best athlete on the team.
"He was a super athlete," Fugler said. "A lot of people don't realize he was an all-State basketball player and was drafted as a catcher by the Cincinnati Reds. He spent nine years with the Kansas City Chiefs, but tennis was his strongest suit. His dad was the tennis coach and Johnny would leave practice and go beat the No. 1 player from the other team."
Robinson also won a Super Bowl ring with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Five times the interception leader on the Chiefs, Robinson redefined the role of the safety in professional football. A member of the All-time All-AFL Team and another of only twenty players who were in the American Football League for its entire ten-year existence, Robinson was a member of a team that won eight division titles, three league championships and Super Bowl IV. The Chiefs were an amazing 35-1-1 when Robinson made an interception.
My next pick would be Tommy Casanova, who finished up in 1971. Casanova actually pulled a Bo Jackson by playing offense and defense. He was so much fun to watch on punt returns. Casanova was an All-Pro with the Cincinnati Bengals at safety.
My fifth pick would be Dalton Hilliard, who finished up in 1985.
Hilliard was the lesser known running back, but by the time he finished, no one remembered how great Garry James was supposed to be.
I remember LSU coaches being down on their defense during summer drills, not understanding that hardly anybody could stop Hilliard, who had a great career with the New Orleans Saints. They soon found out it wasn't just their own defense having trouble stopping this guy. My knees still hurt watching clips of this shifty guy stop and go on a dime.
My fifth pick is Alan Faneca, who finished up at LSU in 1997. Faneca has been called one of the best offensive linemen in the game the past few years and also has a Super Bowl ring via the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Another rather unsung running back is my No. 6 pick. Joseph Addai has proven to be a valuable running back in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, also earning a Super Bowl ring.
Addai was the third running back selected by the Colts in the first round since 1994, when they selected Marshall Faulk with the second overall pick in 1994 and Edgerrin James fourth overall in 1999. During the 2006 season, Addai led all rookie running backs in rushing yards with 1,081. He also became the first NFL running back to exceed 1,000 rushing yards without starting a regular-season game.
My No. 7 pick is center Kevin Mawae, who finished up in 1993.
Mawae, a second round pick of the Seattle Seahawks, is one of the top centers of recent times, having been selected to the Pro Bowl on six consecutive occasions (1999-2004). His unbroken streak of 177 games came to an end in October 2005 with a serious triceps injury to his left arm, and he missed the rest of the season.
Anthony McFarland of Winnsboro comes in as my No. 8 selection. How can you look over some guy named Booger.
McFarland was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15th overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. He also played for the Indianapolis Colt and won two Super Bowl rings in his career - one with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII and another with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI.
Another guy with a Super Bowl ring - from the first ever played, comes in at No. 9.
Jim Taylor, who was an All-American at LSU in 1957, was a running back for the Green Bay Packers from 1958-66, and for the New Orleans Saints in their first season of 1967.
Taylor was selected in the second round of the 1958 NFL Draft, the 15th overall pick. He was a member of four NFL championship teams (1961, 1962, 1965, and 1966).
In the Packers 16-7 championship win over the New York Giants in 1962, Taylor set a championship record with 31 carries (for 85 yards) and scored Green Bay's only touchdown of the game. In January 1967, Taylor and the Packers played in Super Bowl I, in which they easily defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. Taylor was the top rusher of the game with 56 rushing yards and a touchdown (with his score being the first rushing touchdown in Super Bowl history).
My No. 10 pick is Y.A Tittle,
In his most prolific college season, Tittle passed for 780 yards, leading the Fighting Tigers to a 9-1 record and a No. 8 ranking in the final AP poll. LSU then tied Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl.
In a famous game against Ole Miss in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on November 1, 1947 (do you sense a pattern?), Tittle broke through the middle of the Rebel line and appeared to be on his way to a possible winning touchdown for LSU. Ole Miss tacklers, however, crushed Tittle's belt on his football pants while he was crashing through the line. As Tittle ran down the field, he continued to grab at his pants because of the broken belt. He was unsuccessful in his efforts, however, and when his pants fell to his knees, the Rebel defense caught up to him and tackled him short of the goal line. Ole Miss eventually won the game 20-18.
Tittle was the first and one of only seven quarterbacks in NFL history to have achieved consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons.
At No, 11 is Roy Winston, who was drafted in 1962 by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round.
Winston played 15 seasons in the National Football League, all with the Minnesota Vikings. He was one of the few players to play in all four of the Vikings Super Bowl appearances.
Winston delivered one of the most devastating tackles ever filmed. In a game against the Miami Dolphins in 1972, fullback Larry Csonka circled out into the flat to catch a pass. Just as he caught the pass, Winston hit him from behind with such force that the 240-pound Csonka was nearly cut in half. The tackle was so grotesque it was shown on The Tonight Show. Csonka dropped the ball and rolled on the field in agony. He thought his back was broken and literally crawled off the field (he was not seriously injured, however). After their respective retirements from the NFL, Winston and Csonka remained close friends. Csonka invited Winston to be his guest when Csonka was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
My No. 12 pick is Andrew Whitworth, who was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft by Cincinnati.
Whitworth was rated by CNNSI.com as the sixth-best offensive line prospect in the nation. He participated in the first ever U.S. Army All-American Bowl game on December 30th, 2000 along with other future LSU players Marcus Spears, Marquise Hill, and Ben Wilkerson. Whitworth's 52 career starts from 2002-05 rank second in NCAA Division I history behind Derrick Strait of Oklahoma (53 starts, 2001-04).
Going as the No. 13 pick is Jerry Stovall, who was the 2nd overall pick in the 1963 NFL Draft, selected by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals converted him to full-time defensive back. During his nine seasons with the Cardinals, Stovall had 18 interceptions in 97 games, and was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1966, 1967 and 1969 seasons.
After his NFL career, Stovall became a college football assistant coach. He eventually returned to LSU, as an assistant for head coach Charlie McClendon. Stovall became LSU's head coach as an emergency hire, after new head coach Bo Rein died when his plane depressurized and disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean.
LaRon Landry comes in at No. 14.
Landry was drafted by the Redskins sixth overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. LaRon's brother Dawan plays for the Baltimore Ravens.
Credited with 48 straight starts for the Tigers, Landry finished his career with 315 tackles and 12 interceptions. His 12 interceptions left him with the third-highest total in school history, while his 315 tackles rank seventh in LSU history.
One of his greatest hits in his collegiate career occurred his senior season against the University of Alabama when he blitzed quarterback John Parker Wilson and leveled him only a few seconds after taking the snap and a second after releasing the ball.
Taken as the No. 15 pick is Glenn Dorsey, the top pick of the Kansas City Chiefs last year. In 2004 as a true freshman, he started in 3 out of 12 games.
On his first collegiate snap he recovered a fumble against Oregon State. He finished the year with 18 tackles.
He was among LSU's 4-player rotation at defensive tackle which included Claude Wroten and Kyle Williams. He finished the season with 28 tackles and 3 sacks.
Dorsey was awarded the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Outland Trophy, the Lott Trophy and the Lombardi Award, becoming the only player to have won all four awards.
At No. 16 is Henry Thomas, a quiet defensive gem for the Tigers from 1983-86. Thomas was a third-round pick who was a solid performer for the Vikings.
Josh Reed comes in at No. 17
Reed was originally drafted by the Bills in the second round (36th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft.
At LSU in 2001, Reed was awarded the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's best receiver. He holds the SEC record for receiving yardage in a game (293 vs. Alabama in 2001) and season (1,740 in 2001).
Ronnie Estay comes in at No. 18.
Estay was selected by the Denver Broncos in the 8th round of the 1972 NFL Draft. He played for the British Columbia Lions in 1972 and Edmonton from 1973-82, and helped lead the team to five straight Grey Cup championships from 1978-82 as a key member of the "Alberta Crude" defense.
Estay was a two time CFL All-Star in 1977 and 1980. He played in nine Grey Cup championships, winning six times.
Mike Williams comes in No. 19.
Williams was an All-American cornerback in 1974. I will never forget when he ran down a Florida player at the Tiger 1-yard line, preserving a 3-3 tie in a game at Gainesville in 1972.
Fred Miller rounds out my draft at No. 20.
Miller was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League from 1963 through 1972. During that span he appeared in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V for the Baltimore Colts.
Needless to say the list could go on and on. It was certainly tough leaving out folks like Jacob Hester, Michael Clayton and so on and so on. But we're going to stop at 20 and probably refresh that list in the next few years. There's a lot more future pros waiting to don the purple and gold. |
|
| Frank Morris Murder Series |
|
|
E-mail Story
Print Story
