COVERITLIVE.COM

11:53

Kevin Spain, T-P - Hello everyone, we'll be going live with James Varney shortly. Go ahead and start sending in your questions.

12:01

Kevin Spain, T-P - OK, everyone, we're going live with James Varney and taking your questions.

12:01

[Comment From LSUUUUUUUU]
Why did Harry Coleman change from Safety to LB?

12:04

James Varney - Miles had hinted someone might make the move from secondary to linebacker - both to reporters and, apparently, the d backfield. But no one knew who might make the move until Monday morning when Coleman said Coach Cooper called him. Chad Jones has long been talked about as a possible linebacker/d back, but he is apparently having an excellent spring as free safety and is a lock to start there. Also, Miles noted the team likes three players - Ron Brooks, Danny McCray and Karnell Hatcher - at strong safety and has Loston, among others, coming in August. So Coleman was odd man out, so to speak.

12:04

[Comment From Tickle Me Mike the Tiger]
Who is gonna take over the kicking duties now that Colt David is gone?

12:06

James Varney - You're taking away my next story this week! At this point, the punting is between Derek Helton, a transfer from a Kansas JUCO, and Josh Jasper. Helton has the edge there. At FG/XP/KO Jasper is atop the depth chart - he handled kickoffs mostly last year. Drew Alleman is apparently competing for the PK job but not at punter. Andrew Crutchfield, a scholarship player who was unable to break through, is reportedly still at LSU and enrolled but is not practicing.

12:06

[Comment From jack-e]
So, Jim, do you think our baseball team is really that good? I mean, they keep winning the SEC serieses, so maybe they'll be battle tested by the end of the season. What do you think?

12:08

James Varney - I think your point about winning series is right on the money. That's the approach every baseball team should take - win this series we have right now - and LSU seems to have perfected it. Obviously Tennessee at home should be some ripe plucking for another series win. As to whether they are that good, I wish I had seen the Georgia and Alabama games. I think the starting combo of Ranaudo/Coleman/Ross is very, very good (Coleman should be an All-American) and Ott has been a revelation out of the pen. The freshman class Mainieri assembled is clearly outstanding. I guess that's a long winded way of saying they look like the best team in the SEC to me, and that's usually v. good.

12:08

[Comment From LSUUUUUUUU]
With Terrance Tolliver down, who steps into the starting role?

12:10

James Varney - That will be interesting to see. They have kind of been looking at three players there - Chris Mitchell, R.J. Jackson and Tim Molton - and it's hard to figure out where those three are sorted. If Toliver doesn't go Saturday we should get a clearer picture on who the 3rd receiver is. That depth chart of five players does not include Reuben Randle, obviously, who won't be on campus until August but appears likely to get serious consideration for playing time as a true freshman.

12:10

[Comment From later doucet]
Since it seems that Auburn might be dropping off the map, do you think Ole Miss is ready to step up and be a factor and a key opponent for us this season and in the future? We seem to think Bama is going to be there for a while. Thoughts?

12:14

James Varney - A member of the Doucet family? Anyway, Auburn does seem to have panicked after losing badly to 'Bama but that offensive coordinator they hired is obviously good at his job. If Ole Miss is going go get to Atlanta this is its year. It has Bama and LSU at home. Snead, a v. good quarterback, is back. But they lost some guys, too. Nutt is a good coach and Snead is noted. But I can't help thinking they might not be quite as good as they were last year. The same is true of Bama. Who is Bama's QB going to be? How about their o-line? It seems to me Bama last year was the team we all expected this year. Maybe the Tide peaked in 08? Certainly I don't see them going undefeated in the regular season again, although they do get LSU at home and Tennessee, Bama's permanent Eastern rival, seems off.

12:14

[Comment From Tickle Me Mike the Tiger]
In a report by Jeff Duncan earlier this week he linked to a story at Yahoo Sports about the "character" of this years draft crop. Tyson Jackson was mentioned as one of the guys that does in fact have "good character". Would you agree with this statement? I have hard time believing this after he drew multiple bone headed roughing the passer/unneccesary roughness penalties last year. Also, I have heard that he is not the most cooperative person during interviews

12:17

James Varney - What you heard about him and interviews is incorrect. Jackson has always been available and polite and doesn't duck questions. I think I can speak for the press corps as a whole when I say none of us have bad things to say about Tyson. He's a class act there. Now your point about a couple of bonehead penalties is well taken. I'm not sure why he seems to have lost his composure on one or two critical plays (although you could argue the call in the Bama game was ticky-tack). Certainly it wasn't Tyson who lost his cool in that grotesque Arkansas meltdown last season. Overall, I think if I was an NFL team I would not worry about Jackson's character.

12:17

[Comment From LSUUUUUUUU]
Between you and Kleinpeter, there is a lotta chatter about Richard Murphy. But he never seems to get a lot of game time touches. Why do you keep singing this kids praises?

12:20

James Varney - I'm not sure what you are refering to here as I haven't written about Richard this year, beyond noting he is one of the three with Scott and Williams at tailback. I did speak with him this week and was going to try to work him into a story. I would say this: I like Richard Murphy. I think he's a good kid and will do well in life. But he is third on the tailback depth chart and I don't see him moving up. He talked to me this week about becoming more consistent and trying to run north/south more, be more physical and committed to the hole. Those are absolutely the things he needs to concentrate on - Keiland could work on those exact same aspects, I think. But, at the end of the day, I'm not sure Richard is big enough to be the main back in an SEC offense.

12:20

[Comment From seamhed]
On the long-term outlook for the baseball team, I'm hearing there are some good recruits coming in. Do you think we're going to still be a young team next season, but we might be even better?

12:22

James Varney - I confess I haven't paid any attention yet to next year's baseball recruiting class. As I mentioned a moment ago, I think this year's class is terrific: Ott, Mahtook. Hanover, Dozar - these are guys that are going to play (and are playing already!) some serious baseball at LSU. They will all be sophomores next year. This kid Zeigler who had the freakish bad luck to pop out his arm while warming up last week is by all accounts a killer at the plate and may yet contribute to the team off the mound. So they are going to be young and good next year regardless of who comes in this fall.

12:23

[Comment From pete]
Who do you think is the top NFL prospect for next year's team?

12:27

James Varney - Most people would probably pick Ciron Black and I wouldn't object strenuously to that. Black is also a polished, friendly guy about whom NFL teams will have no worries. He's already a pro in many off-field respects. And he plays left tackle, a prominent position in today's game. I think LaFell will go high if he builds on his junior year. He's going to be the main receiver in an offense that should be much more settled at QB and he also blocks and is embracing a leadership role the NFL will like. I also like Rahim Alem a lot - I mean, I like him as a person. He's just a very interesting guy and I think he's an awfully good football player, too. The coaches tell me there is not a player who has grown up more during his time at LSU than Alem and they think he's going to be an explosive presence for them this fall. He could wind up being a first-day guy, though his size might keep him out of the first round.

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