LSU Sports Interactive
Turning the Corner: Webster Plays Prominent Role in LSU’s Return to Glory
by Natalie Grantham
LSU Sports Information
No one could have guessed five years ago where LSU football would be before the arrival of Nick Saban. The Tigers have turned from a struggling program to a perennial conference powerhouse on the verge of their fifth straight bowl game.
Corey Webster, a fifth-year senior cornerback, has been around for the entire uphill climb of LSU football, but he had no idea how far the 3-8 team he committed to prior to the 2000 season would go.
“You couldn’t have predicted anything better than what’s happened,” Webster said.
Even less predictable for Webster was what his role on the field would be. He was recruited out of St. James High School in Vacherie, where he was a wide receiver and quarterback. It took a year and a half of eligibility for him to settle on the other side of the ball.
“First of all, I didn’t expect to be playing defensive back,” he said. “I expected to be playing receiver. But Coach Saban thought I might do better at cornerback.
“My whole life, I was offensive-minded. It was hard to see myself on defense at this level. But once I got over there I started making plays and I started to think (Saban) might be right.”
Saban was exactly right. Webster saw plenty of action in his first season-and-a-half on offense, but he became a star on defense. He led the SEC in interceptions in 2002 with seven. He followed with seven more in 2003. Webster was named first-team All-SEC in both seasons and in 2003 was All-American.
“He’s probably as fine a cornerback as I’ve had the opportunity to coach or see at college level,” said Saban earlier this year. “I always say there are three things necessary to be a good defensive back. You’ve got to play the ball in the deep part of the field, you’ve got to be a good tackler and you’ve got to be able to play man-to-man. I think he does all three of those extremely well.”
Webster