LSU’s Hester could be the difference in “Cat Fight”

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, September 14, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

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Every football team needs a Jacob Hester or two. Just ask LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles.

"Everything you ask him to do, he does well," Miles said this week of the junior back, praising Hester's play in last Saturday's 45-3 victory over Arizona. "He was the guy who tackled the punter and got credited for a blocked punt. From special teams, to fullback, to tailback, in really anything you ask him to do, he is capable. He takes his responsibility and his role on this team very seriously. He's a guy we count on."

The 6-foot, 228-pounder played fullback last season, barging into the limelight for the first time by running for 70 yards in a resounding Peach Bowl victory over Miami.

Against Arizona last week, he ran eight times for 43 yards and a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass.

"We've been working different stuff," said Hester, "me working at different positions. But whatever they call, I've got to execute."

So far this season, Hester has helped ease Alley Broussard and Justin Vincent back into the offensive flow while they recovered from injuries. At some point, he may return to his primary job of blocking for them. Right now, going into Saturday's key "Cat Fight" matchup with No. 3 Auburn (like LSU, known as the Tigers), he's part of the tailback rotation.

Interestingly, Auburn will send out a very similar back in Brad Lester, a playmaker who can run inside or catch passes. And in a game that's expected to be close and low-scoring (LSU is first, Auburn seventh nationally in scoring defense), with a lot of defensive attention paid to Broussard, Vincent and Auburn's Kenny Irons, either Hester or Lester could tip the balance.

Hester graduated from Evangel High School in Shreveport, which also produced the Booty brothers, Josh and John David (the current Southern Cal quarterback) and is a distant cousin of Terry Bradshaw, further solidifying his football pedigree.

Some day, Broussard and Vincent will probably be playing in the NFL. Hester might wind up there, too, but probably as a special teams demon. In the meantime, all his does is his job.

As writer John DeShazier of the New Orleans Times-Picayune put it:

"How do you sit a player like Hester, who always seems to do exactly what he's supposed to do?"

At 4.6 for the 40, he's not really fast enough to be a major college tailback. At 228 pounds, he's on the small side for a fullback. So since he isn't really the prototype for either position, Hester plays both of them equally well.

When he's not blocking punts.

NOTES: It will be interesting to see what sort of adjustments LSU will make to defend against Irons, who shredded the Tiger defense for a career-high 218 yards last season ... in his weekly press conference, Miles praised the play of sophomores Tyson Jackson (defensive end) and Derry Beckwith (linebacker) ... LSU's only significant absence on the trip up to Auburn with be TE Keith Zinger, still recovering from a stomach ailment that hospitalized him.

Get more on the LSU Tigers at Realfootball365.com
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