Freshmen will have a say in Alabama-LSU showdown
Freshmen will have their say in Alabama-LSU game
Amari Cooper, Marcell Dareus, Leonard Fournette and Patrick Peterson are recent top-five NFL draft selections who competed each November in the Alabama-LSU game.
This Southeastern Conference matchup consistently provides as much or more future professional talent than any other college football showdown, and the baptisms, whether in Tuscaloosa or Baton Rouge, often occur for players as freshmen. It will be no different Saturday night, when the No. 1 Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0) visit the No. 3 Tigers (7-1, 4-1).
It’s a grander stage than any Alabama or LSU freshman has experienced to this point, but it’s also the ninth game of the season for both teams.
“I don’t view them as freshmen at this point,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “They’re ready to go, and we wouldn’t put guys in if they weren’t ready. Obviously it’s not the first big game for either side.
“In fact, I like freshmen playing, because it brings a new attitude to your team.”
Freshman receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall certainly have added to the attitude of LSU’s enhanced aerial attack under
“I don’t view them as freshmen at this point. They’re ready to go, and we wouldn’t put guys in if they weren’t ready. Obviously it’s not the first big game for either side.”
— LSU COACH ED ORGERON
the direction of quarterback Joe Burrow, a graduate transfer from Ohio State. Chase had a 21-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter against Ole Miss that erased a 3-0 deficit and ignited a 45-16 blowout victory by the Tigers, and a 37-yard Marshall reception in the first quarter against Georgia set up the first points of LSU’s 36-16 upset win.
LSU also has a freshman, Chasen Hines, starting at left guard.
Alabama’s freshman contingent is headed by receiver Jaylen Waddle and cornerback Patrick Surtain. Waddle has 21 catches for 457 yards (21.8 yards per catch) and three touchdowns so far this season, and he ranks fourth nationally with an average of 16.1 yards on punt returns.
Waddle had 146 all-purpose yards in his collegiate debut against Louisville, and he outscored Louisiana by himself with a 63-yard punt return for a touchdown and receiving scores of 20 and 94 yards.
Surtain has 16 tackles, four pass breakups, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble and an interception, and he could very well spend Saturday night guarding another freshman.
“We know that they’re young players, and we know that they have to learn to grow and that we have to have to have patience to teach them and help them grow,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “They’ve also developed quite a bit of experience throughout the course of the year, and the hope is that the experience will help them have more confidence and be able to play with more consistency.”
Alabama has won seven consecutive series meetings against LSU, with freshmen playing prominent roles.
Henry Ruggs had a 47-yard reception in Alabama’s 24-10 victory last season, accounting for the longest play of the night for the Crimson Tide. Quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed 20 times for 114 yards (5.7 per carry) and a touchdown in Alabama’s 10-0 win two years ago, with his score coming from 21 yards out with 13:08 left to break a scoreless tie.
In Alabama’s 30-16 win in 2015, Calvin Ridley led all Tide receivers with 51 yards on seven catches.
Saturday night’s encounter will be quite a sophomore showcase, whether it’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, receiver Jerry Jeudy and inside linebacker Dylan Moses making plays for Alabama or running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, safety Grant Delpit and cornerback Greedy Williams starring for the Tigers.
Yet freshmen are sure to have their say, as both coaches inch closer to college football’s most anticipated game of the season to this point.
“Our goal is to explode Saturday night and not before that,” Orgeron said. “We have a process that we do on Saturday. We trust in that process, and we’ve gone through it with some big games already. Our guys are ready to go, and I don’t want to temper them much once the game starts.
“I want to let them fly. We’re going for it with everything that we’ve got.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.