BATON ROUGE -- Les Miles played on the offensive line at hte University of Michigan, coached the offensive line as an assistant coach and still coaches the line on occasion as Louisiana State's head coach.
He knows one tried-and-true way to beat a dominant defensive lineman like the Univeristy of South Carolina's 6-foot-6, 256-pound Jadeveon Clowney, the Southeastern Conference freshman of the year and a freshman All-American last year who is second in the league now with 6.5 sacks.
"Go the other way," Miles said.
That may be one strategy when the No. 9 LSU Tigers (5-1, 1-1 SEC) host No. 3 South Carolina (6-0, 4-0 SEC) at 7 p.m. Saturday in Tiger Stadium. Unfortunately, the defensive end on the other side is 6-8, 267-pound senior Devin Taylor, who has batted down three passes at the line. The third defensive end is 6-5, 248-pound Chaz Sutton, who is sixth in the league with four sacks. And the fourth defensive end is 6-4, 269-pound Aldrick Fordham, who has another 3.5 sacks.
"I think their defensive ends are very talented, as talented as any," Miles said. "I certainly would compare their abilities with the very best defensive ends in the country."
'Flying around out there'
Clowney, though, jumps out in film sessions. He often could not be blocked last week in the Gamecocks' 35-7 win over Georgia when he had four tackles and a sack. He had eight sacks last season and is considered a likely first round pick as a junior in the 2014 NFL Draft.
"Very athletic, very long leverage, long arms, makes you miss," Miles said. "What you can do to contain him is put more than one body on him or go the other way. Make sure that your technique when you do single block him is very good. And rise to the level of competition and play well."
Exactly which player gets the "opportunity" to block Clowney remains to be seen. He usually plays on the right side, and at the moment Miles is unsure if Alex Hurst or Josh Dworaczyk will be at left tackle Saturday.
Hurst, the starter the last two weeks at left tackle, has missed most of the week's practice with a personal issue, but Miles hopes to have him back. Dworaczyk, who started games two through four at left tackle, could return to that spot. Hurst struggled with Florida's ends in a 14-6 loss last Saturday, and Dworaczyk had his problems against Auburn's ends.
Whoever gets to block or attempt to block Clowney Saturday could be a part of history. After his game against Georgia, some in the national media suggested Clowney should be a Heisman Trophy candidate.
"I don't really listen to that," Clowney said. "It doesn't matter. I don't worry about that stuff."
Clowney's dominating play is more routine to his teammates and coach.
"He just gets better and better each week, and that's the scary thing," senior defensive back Devonte Holloman said. "Just to see him flying around out there, having fun, using his hands and knowing where he is supposed to be is just getting scarier and scarier each week."
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is enjoying Clowney while he can.
"We all know he's a three-year player, which is fine," he said. "At Kentucky, they only get them one year (on the basketball team), and they're happy with one-year players. At least in college football, we get them three years."
With that logic, Spurrier may not have tailback Marcus Lattimore after this season. The junior is sixth in the SEC in rushing with 549 yards on 116 carries and appears recovered from a knee injury that made him miss the second half of the 2011 season. He was the SEC and national freshman of the year and an All-American in 2010 when he gained 1,197 yards on 249 carries.
"I think he's very, very close to 100 percent," Spurrier said. "We try to give it to him as much as we can."
Lattimore looked healthy against Georgia as he gained 109 yards on 24 carries to give him 467 in three games against the rival Bulldogs.
"He's not one of the best running backs in the country for no reason," Georgia defensive lineman Abry Jones said in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "His talent is something you can't really hold all day. You've got to give credit to his offensive line for giving him holes to run through. He pretty much picks which one he wants to run through and gets yards."
Georgia linebacker Christian Robinson may hope he doesn't have to play against him again.
"It's hard to get a solid hit on him," he said. "And if you do tackle him, he's still falling forward. He doesn't take direct hits. He's either bouncing off or he's making one last cut."
New generation
Clowney and Lattimore are part of the new generation of South Carolina players who have turned around Spurrier's program from a usual five-to-six-loss team to 11-2 last year. Both are home-grown -- Clowney from South Pointe High in Rock Hill and Lattimore from Byrnes High in Duncan. Both were No. 1 in the nation at their position coming out of high school in 2011 and 2010, respectively, and Clowney was the No. 1 overall prospect.
They followed cornerback Stephon Gilmore, a first round pick of Buffalo in the last NFL draft, and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, a second-round pick by Chicago in the last draft. Gilmore played at South Pointe High in Rock Hill as well and was the No. 2 overall athlete prospect in the state in 2009 and sixth nationally. Jeffery went to Calhoun County High in St. Matthews and was the No. 4 receiver in the state and 13th nationally.
"Really the first big-time in-state guy we got was Stefon and then Alshon in the same year," Spurrier said. "And then after those two, we got Marcus Lattimore, who is just a wonderful young man. So is Stefon and Alshon, and they helped recruit other guys. When we had Clowney visiting, we made sure Lattimore and Stefon got around him. It's sort of a chain reaction thing. You get one really good player, he'll help you get one or two more. Hopefully, we can keep that going."
link: http://www.thetownta...&nclick_check=1
He knows one tried-and-true way to beat a dominant defensive lineman like the Univeristy of South Carolina's 6-foot-6, 256-pound Jadeveon Clowney, the Southeastern Conference freshman of the year and a freshman All-American last year who is second in the league now with 6.5 sacks.
"Go the other way," Miles said.
That may be one strategy when the No. 9 LSU Tigers (5-1, 1-1 SEC) host No. 3 South Carolina (6-0, 4-0 SEC) at 7 p.m. Saturday in Tiger Stadium. Unfortunately, the defensive end on the other side is 6-8, 267-pound senior Devin Taylor, who has batted down three passes at the line. The third defensive end is 6-5, 248-pound Chaz Sutton, who is sixth in the league with four sacks. And the fourth defensive end is 6-4, 269-pound Aldrick Fordham, who has another 3.5 sacks.
"I think their defensive ends are very talented, as talented as any," Miles said. "I certainly would compare their abilities with the very best defensive ends in the country."
'Flying around out there'
Clowney, though, jumps out in film sessions. He often could not be blocked last week in the Gamecocks' 35-7 win over Georgia when he had four tackles and a sack. He had eight sacks last season and is considered a likely first round pick as a junior in the 2014 NFL Draft.
"Very athletic, very long leverage, long arms, makes you miss," Miles said. "What you can do to contain him is put more than one body on him or go the other way. Make sure that your technique when you do single block him is very good. And rise to the level of competition and play well."
Exactly which player gets the "opportunity" to block Clowney remains to be seen. He usually plays on the right side, and at the moment Miles is unsure if Alex Hurst or Josh Dworaczyk will be at left tackle Saturday.
Hurst, the starter the last two weeks at left tackle, has missed most of the week's practice with a personal issue, but Miles hopes to have him back. Dworaczyk, who started games two through four at left tackle, could return to that spot. Hurst struggled with Florida's ends in a 14-6 loss last Saturday, and Dworaczyk had his problems against Auburn's ends.
Whoever gets to block or attempt to block Clowney Saturday could be a part of history. After his game against Georgia, some in the national media suggested Clowney should be a Heisman Trophy candidate.
"I don't really listen to that," Clowney said. "It doesn't matter. I don't worry about that stuff."
Clowney's dominating play is more routine to his teammates and coach.
"He just gets better and better each week, and that's the scary thing," senior defensive back Devonte Holloman said. "Just to see him flying around out there, having fun, using his hands and knowing where he is supposed to be is just getting scarier and scarier each week."
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is enjoying Clowney while he can.
"We all know he's a three-year player, which is fine," he said. "At Kentucky, they only get them one year (on the basketball team), and they're happy with one-year players. At least in college football, we get them three years."
With that logic, Spurrier may not have tailback Marcus Lattimore after this season. The junior is sixth in the SEC in rushing with 549 yards on 116 carries and appears recovered from a knee injury that made him miss the second half of the 2011 season. He was the SEC and national freshman of the year and an All-American in 2010 when he gained 1,197 yards on 249 carries.
"I think he's very, very close to 100 percent," Spurrier said. "We try to give it to him as much as we can."
Lattimore looked healthy against Georgia as he gained 109 yards on 24 carries to give him 467 in three games against the rival Bulldogs.
"He's not one of the best running backs in the country for no reason," Georgia defensive lineman Abry Jones said in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "His talent is something you can't really hold all day. You've got to give credit to his offensive line for giving him holes to run through. He pretty much picks which one he wants to run through and gets yards."
Georgia linebacker Christian Robinson may hope he doesn't have to play against him again.
"It's hard to get a solid hit on him," he said. "And if you do tackle him, he's still falling forward. He doesn't take direct hits. He's either bouncing off or he's making one last cut."
New generation
Clowney and Lattimore are part of the new generation of South Carolina players who have turned around Spurrier's program from a usual five-to-six-loss team to 11-2 last year. Both are home-grown -- Clowney from South Pointe High in Rock Hill and Lattimore from Byrnes High in Duncan. Both were No. 1 in the nation at their position coming out of high school in 2011 and 2010, respectively, and Clowney was the No. 1 overall prospect.
They followed cornerback Stephon Gilmore, a first round pick of Buffalo in the last NFL draft, and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, a second-round pick by Chicago in the last draft. Gilmore played at South Pointe High in Rock Hill as well and was the No. 2 overall athlete prospect in the state in 2009 and sixth nationally. Jeffery went to Calhoun County High in St. Matthews and was the No. 4 receiver in the state and 13th nationally.
"Really the first big-time in-state guy we got was Stefon and then Alshon in the same year," Spurrier said. "And then after those two, we got Marcus Lattimore, who is just a wonderful young man. So is Stefon and Alshon, and they helped recruit other guys. When we had Clowney visiting, we made sure Lattimore and Stefon got around him. It's sort of a chain reaction thing. You get one really good player, he'll help you get one or two more. Hopefully, we can keep that going."
link: http://www.thetownta...&nclick_check=1
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