LSU Football: Will Tigers' Claiborne Continued to Be Ignored?

So I typed "LSU" and "cornerback" into a Google search earlier today, and the first six results that were spit back at me were stories on sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu. The next two stories were about Patrick Peterson who played at LSU last season.

If I were Morris Claiborne, the top cover cornerback on the Tigers' roster and a likely first round selection in next year's NFL Draft, that would probably get on my nerves.

But I'm not Claiborne, and chances are, with the National Championship less than a month away and a bright NFL future ahead, it probably won't faze the All-American cornerback. Tyrann Mathieu has received every bit of national coverage an individual can possibly receive on the No. 1-ranked Tigers.

If Mathieu is Batman, Claiborne is his Robin. At least the media makes it look that way.There has been more publicity and attention surrounding Mathieu this year than Claiborne has received in total over his three years in Baton Rouge.

But don't buy into that. As good as Mathieu has been this season for the Tigers' dominant defense, Claiborne has been even better. A dominant junior defensive back, Claiborne has been responsible for shutting out some of the top wide receivers in the nation this season.

Earlier this week, Claiborne was presented with the annual Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the nation's top defensive back.

You would think that would get him some love on the Google search, right?

During his time in Baton Rouge, Claiborne has played behind Patrick Peterson and Courtney Hawkins. Peterson was an All-American and the No. 5 selection in last Spring's NFL Draft to the Arizona Cardinals; Courtney Hawkins is now pro and currently plays for the Tennessee Titans.

With Mathieu stealing so many headlines this season, Claiborne always seems to hide in the shadows. That won't be the case for much longer.

Claiborne has all the tools needed to be successful at the NFL level. He has good size (6-foot-1), good speed and is arguably the best cover corner in all of college football. And if the college football world doesn't know about how good he is, they certainly will after he takes the field on the biggest stage of all in the BCS National Title Game against Alabama.

Headlines aren't everything—but if Claiborne plays the same lock-down defense against Alabama as he has all season long, and he is able to shut down the Tide's top play-making receiver, senior Marqius Maze—he should make plenty of his own headlines.

And chances are that you can find them on Google.