By Ryan Rogers
LSUsports.net
LSU knew the pressure it was going to face heading into the 2001 season with such high expectations. After back-to-back losses to Tennessee and Florida and still searching for its first SEC win, LSU is looking for leaders to emerge and help the team recover.
The usual suspects – Rohan Davey, Trev Faulk, Bradie James, Robert Royal and Ryan Clark have all done their part to help the team stay focused.
Joining this bunch and quickly emerging as a leader on the team is senior strong safety Lionel Thomas. Thomas is the most improved player on LSU’s defense and onlookers are starting to take notice.
“I think the biggest reason why I’ve improved since last year is my hard work in the offseason,” says Thomas. “I really was determined to be a better player this year. I lifted weights, ran sprints and did exercises and drills to improve my agility and ball skills all summer long,”
The LSU front seven has been great at stopping the run this year. LSU is third in the SEC in rush defense only allowing 101.5 yards a game. This is impressive when considering the Tigers have faced four running backs that are as good as anyone in the nation.
Tennessee’s Travis Stephens leads the SEC in rushing. He has 588 yards on 119 attempts.
Utah State’s Emment White is an All-American runningback that shattered the NCAA all-purpose yards record in 2000.
Tulane’s Mewelde Moore has nearly 1,000 yards rushing already midway through the season. He has 1,369 all-purpose yards and may be his conferences premier player. Moore has cracked the 200-yard barrier three times and only missed breaking 100 yards against LSU. The Tigers held him to 61 yards rushing.
Finally, Florida’s Ernest Graham is second in the conference with a 5.5 yards average per carry. He doesn’t get the ball as much as the other backs, but that’s just because he plays in a passing orientated offense. If Florida wanted to give Graham the ball 30 times a game he is capable of putting up big numbers.
When these talented backs have slipped through the cracks, Thomas has done an outstanding job of making sure they don’t run any further. He has 23 solo tackles on the year.
Playing with more confidence than he ever has before, Thomas is third on the team in tackles with 31. His numbers are consistent with last year’s, but it is obvious that his level of performance and intensity has risen since last year.
Thomas, or “Tiger” as he goes by, is making plays that he didn’t make in prior years at LSU. He is one of the best open field tacklers on the Tigers. Being a strong safety, Tiger often finds himself in a situation where if he doesn’t make the tackle, no one will.
Many Tiger fans are wary about the play of LSU’s secondary so far this season. Keeping in mind that pass defense is severely crippled without a pass rush, the LSU secondary is taking a lot of unwarranted criticism.
“We just have to stay focused and help the younger guys stay confident and develop into better players,” adds Thomas. We all need to get better if we want to improve and become the team we know we can be.”
Playing defensive back is not easy. Most coaches will tell you that overall, defensive backs are the most talented group on any football team. Coaches will also tell you that talent doesn’t mean much if the defensive back doesn’t have the proper mindset to play the position.
“You have to have a sort of amnesia to play defensive back. You are going to get beat. It happens to the best defensive backs all the time. The key is to forget about the last play and focus on the next one,” says Thomas.
It’s also important to realize the pressure that defensive backs face while playing alone on an island in the secondary.
“Something people don’t realize is that when a defensive lineman makes a mistake, he has a linebacker to back him up. When a linebacker makes a mistake, he has a defensive back to back him up. But when a defensive back makes a mistake, he has no one to back him up,” Thomas points out.
Thomas has done admirably in making those key plays that determine the outcome of games. His pass defense has improved significantly. He recorded his first interception of his career against Tennessee when he picked off Casey Clausen with a one-handed grab.
“I’ve improved so much in pass defense. Since I moved from drop linebacker to strong safety I’m more comfortable because I get to play in open space. It helps me cover receivers a lot easier.”
Thomas, along with all of his teammates, is not getting rattled by the slow start in conference play. They are determined to turn things around very quickly.
“I think we can get better. This team has a lot of talent, heart and will to succeed,” adds Thomas. “This team has too much heart to let this season get away from us and this defense has too much pride to keep letting teams beat us.”
It is very evident in watching and being around players like Thomas that this team has truly come together in times of adversity.
LSU is still in good shape to make a run at the SEC West title. The Tigers have yet to play a game against a Western division team and won’t until its October 20th match-up with Mississippi State.
“The important thing for us is that we can still reach our goal which is to win the SEC West. I think its possible for us to win all of our remaining games. It’s going to be very tough, but we are a tough group of guys.”