Backs to the wall at LSU?

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, August 25, 2006  |  Comments( 6 )

LSU Tigers
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Uh, about all that depth at running back for the LSU Tigers.

Thus far in preseason scrimmages, the best-looking back on the field for LSU has been Jacob Hester. The problem is, Hester plays fullback, not tailback.

Both of the Tigers' marquee backs, Justin Vincent and Alley Broussard, are rehabbing knee injuries. And offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher may begin having knee problems, as well -- from all that praying.

"The SEC is too big and too physical and too strong for you not to have a stable of running backs," Fisher said last week, "because these guys are going to take a pounding."

Last season, for example, Broussard went down with a torn ACL in his right knee in the first fall scrimmage, which left Joseph Addai and Justin Vincent to carry the load. But Addai limped through much of the year with a nagging ankle injury, contributing to LSU's rather meager 150 rushing yards a game. Then Vincent hurt his knee on kickoff coverage in the Peach Bowl.

The Tiger who showed the most elusiveness after the team's second-to-last scrimmage was head coach Les Miles. When asked by the Shreveport Times about the progress of the running game, Miles delivered a response worthy of a Louisiana politician caught with his hand in the public till.

"We ran the football to a point," he said. "We need to run the football a little better, in my opinion. I think if you looked at yards per carry, we didn't. I think we were very efficient running the football, but we need to run the football a little more effectively."

OK, coach. Sure. But what about Alley Broussard?

"Well, I think he's coming," Miles said. "I think he's getting healthier day after day. I think it's a process. It'd be tough for me to tell you if he was looking more aggressive or less aggressive. That would be a difficult call."

More tellingly, perhaps, the LSU sports information office didn't release Broussard's stats from the scrimmage. The 6-foot, 250-pound powerhouse from Lafayette has been off-limits to both tacklers and the media all through preseason practice.

As a sophomore in 2004, Broussard led the team with 867 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, including a monumental 250-yard, three TD performance against Ole Miss. He runs with pad-popping power, but is also fast enough to have been a member of the state champion 4X400 relay in high school. The question is, what's left after two knee surgeries?

As for Vincent, he's still rounding back into form after offseason surgery of his own. Compounding the tailback problem for Miles has been the continued absence of highly touted Keiland Williams, who still has the NCAA eligibility committee mulling over his transcript from Hargrave Military Academy.

On the bright side, true freshman Charles Scott has taken the opportunity to assert himself in practice. A 5-11, 221-pounder out of Jonesboro-Hodge (LA) High School, Scott gained 2,039 yards at an 8.23 yards per carry clip as a prep senior. He runs a 4.5 and bench presses 330.

In the team's final full-scale scrimmage before the Sept. 2 opener with Louisiana-Lafayette, Scott led the backs with 62 yards in 10 carries. Redshirt freshman Antonio Robinson had 46 yards on 12 carries, Vincent 26 in four.

And Alley Broussard? Four carries, nine yards.

Better get out those kneepads, coach Fisher.

Get more LSU Tigers coverage at Realfootball365.com
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