LSU Football 2011: 5 Unsung Heroes for the Magical Season

The LSU Tigers have received many awards for their accolades this season, and it’s time to give some love to LSU’s unsung heroes.

Obviously, the Tigers wouldn’t be where they were without guys like Tyrann Mathieu, Mo Claiborne, Will Blackwell, Brad Wing, Sam Montgomery, Chris Faulk, Rueben Randle, Eric Reid, Kenny Hilliard and the list goes on and on, but I firmly believe they wouldn’t have gone undefeated without the efforts of these unsung heroes.

It’s time to give some love and recognition to the guys that are just as deserving as the previous players I just named. These are the unsung heroes for the Tigers remarkable season.

Brandon Taylor

Brandon Taylor has been the glue that has held this secondary together, and he deserves a lot of credit for the season he’s had.

Claiborne, Mathieu and Reid get a lot of credit for the seasons they’ve had and rightfully so, but Taylor keeps it all in check.

He has great coverage skills, and he’s second on the team in tackles with 67. The only man he trails just so happens to be the Honey Badger, and he just so happened to be named a finalist for the Heisman.

Taylor also had a sack and two interceptions on the year too. Look, on a stingy defense like this, it’s hard to pick up a lot of stats while everyone else around you is creating turnovers and getting sacks as well.

Taylor has shown leadership both on and off the field this season, and for that, he leads off this unsung heroes list.

Ryan Baker

He may have had a somewhat down year compared to the expectations, but Ryan Baker has still been solid for the Tigers all year.

Baker was fourth on the team in tackles with 58, and he’s done a great job of handling coverages and playing well in big games.

With all the star power the secondary possess, Baker has been overshadowed all season long, but he deserves to be recognized for giving the Tigers solid play at linebacker all season long.

Alfred Blue

I’ve always said before the season that I preferred Spencer Ware and Michael Ford over Alfred Blue because they have more playmaking abilities, but Blue has had himself a great season.

Blue, Ware, Ford and Kenny Hilliard have provided the Tigers with a four-headed monster, and it’s allowed each of them to still have fresh legs all the way up until the SEC Championship Game.

Unfortunately for Blue, he doesn’t get the recognition that the other guys get, but the numbers don’t lie.
Blue has the highest rushing yards per carry average on the team with 6.9 and he’s rushed for 543 yards this season with seven touchdowns.

You’re my boy, Blue!

J.C. Copeland and James Stampley

The guys that help clear the path for all of those great running backs are J.C. Copeland and James Stampley.

These fullbacks are a couple of wrecking balls, and they destroy anything in their way. Not only has the offensive line won the battle in the trenches time and time again, but these fullbacks have allowed the running backs to break loose and score on multiple occasions.

Don’t get it twisted. The reason the Tigers rushing game is so tough to stop is because of these monsters at the fullback position.

Jarrett Lee

You really have to feel bad for this guy, and that’s why I’m about to give him a lot of love on here.

After throwing two interceptions in the Alabama game, Jarrett Lee was pulled, and ever since then Jordan Jefferson has been the guy taking the most snaps at quarterback.

To make matters worse, they’re not even sharing time in the game, and Jefferson has played the majority of every game since then.

That’s really unfair to Lee, and when you look back before the game against the Crimson Tide, Lee was having an outstanding season.

Before that game, Lee had 13 touchdowns and only one interception, and he led the Tigers to blowout victories over Oregon and West Virginia before Jefferson rejoined the team.

If the Tigers didn’t have Lee step up the way he did early in the season, LSU might not be undefeated right now, and I believe that with all my heart. Cheers to you Lee for coming up big when the Tigers needed you.