LSU junior linebacker D.J. Welter can be found going through his notes twice a week for an hour and a half.
He isn’t flipping through a playbook or studying game film. Instead, he’s sitting in an economics lecture as the professor reads through the projected PowerPoint slides at the front of the classroom.
After missing all of the 2012 regular season due to academic ineligibility, Welter is taking all the steps to ensure he stays on the field as the No. 6 Tigers march into Southeastern Conference play.
NCAA rules state that student-athletes must earn at least six credit hours each semester to be eligible for the following term and must meet minimum GPA requirements related to an institution’s own GPA standards for graduation.
Welter was unable to participate in games until he regained eligibility in the Chick-fil-A Bowl loss against Clemson, where he recorded two tackles.
“It actually made me better, sitting out a year,” Welter said. “It taught me not to take it for granted and to come out here and work hard and get to be able to play on Saturdays. Once your four years of eligibility are up, you’re done.”
In every situation, though, actions tend to speak louder than words.
The LSU linebacker corps needed a boost after Kevin Minter declared for the 2013 NFL Draft, meaning a player like Welter would have to do everything in his power to get onto the field when fall camp opened in August.
The Crowley, La., native has done just that — both in the classroom and on the field.
“I took a step back and got a schedule down,” Welter said. “I actually started reading the material and actually getting into it. I was actually being a student instead of just trying to get through a test or get through a class. It was about actually going to class and paying attention.”
Replacing Minter’s production is no easy task. Minter recorded 130 tackles, four sacks and an interception in 13 games played last season.
Welter is working to solidify the new-look group, recording six tackles — one for a loss — and a sack through three games.
Senior safety Craig Loston said he likes what he has seen from Welter thus far in 2013.
“D.J. does a great job of just being him,” Loston said. “He does a good job of reading his keys and being in the right place and making plays for us, and he did that this past weekend. That’s all you can ask for from anyone.”
The true test for Welter and the Tiger linebackers will come Saturday against Auburn, as LSU opens up SEC play in Tiger Stadium.
Welter has never made a start against an SEC opponent. His only extensive playing time prior to the 2013 campaign was in 2011 as a special teams player and reserve linebacker. He recorded three tackles against Ole Miss, but is still relatively new to the division matchups.
Auburn averages 238.7 rushing yards per game, meaning the LSU linebackers will have to be prepared for the fifth-best rushing offense in the SEC.
Loston said he isn’t worried about the guys in front of him on defense. He said he expects them to only get better as the season progresses.
“I see him living up to what our linebackers have done in the past, and as a corps, they have the potential to be better than the ones in the past,” he said. “That’s not going to come overnight. It’s going to come as they work week by week and day by day.”
“I actually started reading the material and actually getting into it. I was actually being a student instead of just trying to get through a test or get through a class. It was about actually going to class and paying attention.”