LSU Football: 5 Players Who Surprised Us, 5 Who Need to Step Up

The LSU Tigers’ journey toward perfection will be put on hold for a month, and so it’s time to take a look at the players who have surprised and disappointed fans over the course of the season.

In a season filled with very few lows, picking players that have let down fans was rather difficult. I really had to nitpick to find five guys, but I think fans will agree with me on these five.

As for the players who have surprised us, I really had a ton of great athletes to choose from.

These are the players that dropped Tigers’ jaws and made Tiger fans scratch their heads over the course of the 2011 season.

Surprise: Jordan Jefferson

After suffering boos at the hands of his own fans, Jordan Jefferson stepped up to the plate, and while he didn’t knock it out of the park, he certainly gave fans plenty to cheer about.

Jefferson has only thrown the ball 83 times this year, but he has managed to complete 50 of those passes and has thrown six touchdowns. That’s one fewer  touchdown than he threw in over 200 passes last season.

Jefferson has not only made plays with his arm and his feet this year, but the biggest difference has been the way he’s played.

I give a lot of credit to Steve Kragthorpe for getting Jefferson ready for this season, and both Kragthorpe and Jefferson have made the option a weapon this year. The same cannot be said about last year—just ask any LSU fan.

More importantly, Jefferson is taking care of the football, and he has only thrown one interception this year, compared to his 10 that he threw last year.

This guy has overcame a lot of adversity, and he deserves to be applauded by the Tiger faithful for the hard work he has put in this season.

Step Up: Deangelo Peterson

There were rumors all year that he had been playing with a stint on his broken thumb, but he has still underachieved.

This is the same guy that called Alabama’s linebackers slow, but didn’t back up his trash talk at all. In fact, Peterson had minus-two receiving yards against the Crimson Tide.

Peterson had a good first game against Oregon,  when he had 64 yards receiving, but since then, the tight end has only gained 110 yards receiving. That’s called lowering the bar.

Surprising: Ron Brooks

So much talk going into this season has been about the playmaking abilities of Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid and Mo Claiborne, but Ron Brooks has made some magnificent plays this season.

Brooks had a pick-six in the game against Auburn, and that wasn’t his only one this season, either. He was named SEC player of the week for his efforts against Ole Miss a couple of weeks ago.

Brooks has really been more than exceptional this year, and has provided the depth to the secondary that makes them so scary.

Step Up: Odell Beckham

This is what I call nitpicking. Odell Beckham has been great this season, but he’s been somewhat absent in recent weeks.

Beckham had really strong stats going into the Florida game, but since then, he hasn’t really dazzled fans like he did early on.

Now look—I know there’s a lot that goes into that. From the quarterback play to the offense rushing the football the majority of the time, his touches have been limited.

Beckham will be an outstanding football player at LSU, and I’m sure that he’ll get more touches in years to come, but for right now, he’s on my step up list.

See how hard it was to make this list?

Surprising: Kenny Hilliard

The mack truck Kenny Hilliard has been a pleasant surprise for Tiger fans this season.

Hilliard was used early in the season as a fullback and was given more carries at running back when Spencer Ware was suspended for the Auburn game.

Hilliard took the opportunity and ran with it—pun intended. Hilliard played outstandingly, and is coming off of an SEC-record-tying performance in the SEC Championship game.

Hilliard had three touchdowns, and I believe he will be the difference-maker against Alabama this year.

Hilliard’s carries against the Crimson Tide were limited on Nov. 5, but I look for the big fella to get the rock more in the BCS Championship.

Step Up: Alex Hurst

The entire offensive line for the Tigers have played outstandingly all season long.

They’ve bulldozed opponent after opponent, but I’ve seen Alex Hurst get beaten on a few occasions. That’s going to happen, and after having once played on the offensive line, I understand that you’re not going to get the better of your opponent every single play.

Hurst is a great offensive lineman, and I guess I just expect more from the guy.

Hurst was beaten a few times against Georgia, and the Tigers are going to need their dominant tackle to play lights-out against Alabama in the BCS Championship.

Surprising: Bennie Logan

Where did this guy come from?  I had the privilege of getting to watch the Tigers play Oregon in Dallas, and for most of the game, I was going, "Who is this Bennie Logan guy?"

Logan kind of came out of nowhere, claimed the starting position and never looked back.

Logan has been dominant on the defensive line and made big plays for the Tigers all season long. He has 51 tackles this season, and he will be a big key to a Tiger victory over the Crimson Tide once again.

Step Up: Anthony Johnson

I have a confession to make. I pretty much have this guy on here because I think so highly of him as a football player.

I know Logan and Michael Brockers have been outstanding for the Tigers this year, but I really thought “The Freak” would come in right away and make a tremendous impact.

He hasn’t done that, but it’s okay because he’s a freshman. That doesn’t mean that the young defensive lineman hasn’t made plays, though.

He has 12 tackles on the season, and has at times shown glimpses of greatness. At a university that should be renamed to Defensive Lineman University, Johnson will be yet another stand out.

Surprising: Michael Brockers

The other defensive lineman gets the nod for the last surprising slot. Michael Brockers, like Logan, has been a dominant force up front that provides the Tigers with the ability to only rush four guys and still get to the quarterback.

The reason that these two defensive tackles have been surprising is because all the preseason hype went to Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo, and rightfully so.

Those guys are beast,s and they’ve proved it this season, but Brockers and Logan have proven that there are absolutely no weak links on this defense.

For that reason, they have me giving much love to the big men on the defensive line.

Step Up: Spencer Ware

I know, I know—how could I, right? Look, you try picking players to step up on one of the greatest teams that college football has ever seen.

And yes, I firmly believe that if the Tigers beat the Crimson Tide again in the BCS Championship, they should go down as one of the best ever for beating eight ranked teams in one season.

Back to Spencer Ware,  though. I love the way he runs and I know he’s been sharing carries, but he’s gone a tad bit absent over these past couple of weeks.

He had a 70-yard rushing performance against Ole Miss a couple of weeks back, but other than that, he hasn’t put up the kind of numbers he was putting up in the first half of the season.

Like I said, I know he’s been sharing carries, but the stats still stand. Looking at the players that I’ve chosen to step up, I’m getting even more confident about the Tigers' chances of beating Alabama one more time.