LSU Football: 5 Players Who Must Deliver in 2012

The LSU Tigers may still be disappointed about losing the BCS National Championship in a very sloppy game, but it's time to put that behind them. Spring ball is kicking off, and before you know it, another great season of college football will be staring at us in the face.

When next season finally decides to kick off, there will be a lot of new faces as the Tigers only return a total of 11 starters. That means new and returning players will have to step it up in order for LSU to make a return trip to the national championship game.

Here are five players who must deliver in 2012 for the Tigers' season to be successful.

S Craig Loston

Loston was a top recruit in 2009, but he has always had to produce in limited playing time because of solid play from players like Eric Reed and Brandon Taylor. The good news for Loston is the fact that only one of those players is still on the team, which opens up the strong safety position just for him.

Loston has great speed and as the video shows you, he's not afraid to lay the hammer down on some poor opposing player. He's capable of doing it all, as he returned kicks his freshman season, played defense and earned his first interception of his career against Louisiana-Monroe.

He's still a little raw in coverage, but he provides play-making ability and a physical presence in a secondary that lost a few pieces during the offseason.  

WR Russell Shepard

LSU just saw a talented receiver in Rueben Randle leave the team after accomplishing very little on the collegiate level. This is Shepard's last season to avoid falling into that same category.

This receiver is a flat-out athlete and has great size at 6'2", 185 pounds. He's as fast as they come and has the ability to make plays when the ball is in his hands.

The problem is that in three seasons, he only has 52 receptions for 478 yards and a disappointing five touchdowns. 

Shepard has big play-making ability and must step up this season. At the very least, it would make the defense respect the passing game and lose a little bit of focus on stopping the four-headed monster in the backfield.

DT Anthony Johnson

We're not going to blame Anthony Johnson's disappointing freshman season on him. We'll just say that the Tigers were so talented on the defensive side of the ball that he didn't receive much playing time.

But now with Michael Brockers heading to the NFL, Johnson should see a lot more minutes in his sophomore season.

This is a guy that has great size at 6'3", 310 pounds and is great at rushing the quarterback. After all, he was Louisiana’s Mr. Football and finished his high-school career with 79 sacks. He's extremely tough, strong and is very quick off the snap.

Quarterbacks will know his name by the time his second season is over with.

CB Tyrann Mathieu

The Honey Badger had a fantastic season last year as he was the leading tackler on this team with 76 and seemed to make every big play at the right moment.

He forced fumbles, intercepted passes, returned punts for touchdowns and even sacked a couple quarterbacks.

But this defense only returns five starters and his tag-team partner in Morris Claiborne has taken his talents to the NFL. 

Mathieu went from being the play-maker on this team to becoming one of the leaders on the entire defense. He must step up and become an example for this defense.

If he does, this defense could once again be at the top of the rankings and he'll once again receive an invite to New York.

QB Zach Mettenberger

We all know which player has to have the biggest impact on the Tigers this season, and that's without a doubt quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

LSU lost two seniors at the quarterback position; this leaves Mettenberger running the show, which is drawing mixed reactions.

For one, he's a great talent. He has great size at 6'5", 222 pounds, throws a very accurate ball and has an extremely strong arm.

Physically, he is there and has all of the tools to become a quality starter. On the other hand, he's only thrown 11 passes in his career.

LSU relies heavily on their running game, so he won't be asked to carry the team, but he will need to make the throws when he's asked to. The first-year starter could either make or break the Tigers season.

Randy Chambers is a B/R featured columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail].