A week after the LSU football coach Les Miles and his staff hauled in one of the top recruiting classes in the country, Tiger fans are still oozing with excitement.Twenty-five high school seniors signed national letters of intent on National Signing Day to play football at LSU next year.The Tigers finished with a class strong enough to rank them No. 1 by ESPN, No. 2 by Rivals.com and No. 3 by Scout.com.The class, headlined by wide receiver Rueben Randle, quarterback Russell Shepard and defensive back Craig Loston, has Tiger fans eager for the future to become the present.”I’m excited,” said Zach Anderson, biology freshman. “It seems like we got a really good class coming in.  All very talented — a lot of local players and in-state players. That’s what I liked about it.”The consensus among fans is a toss up between Shepard and Randle as to who will have the greatest impact.Will Onellion, computer engineering sophomore, thinks Randle will make the biggest impression.”I think Randle is going to start right away,” he said. “Physically he’s a lot like [Alabama wide receiver] Julio Jones … We can expect the same kind of production from him.”Rising senior wide receiver Brandon LaFell will enter the spring as the team’s main target, while Randle will compete with rising junior Terrance Toliver, rising senior Chris Mitchell and several other young players for playing time.Anderson thinks Toliver, a Rivals five-star recruit in 2007, will finally live up to the hype following the departure of wide receiver Demetrius Byrd.”Toliver is going to have his breakout season,” he said.Fans are still unsure what role Shepard will exactly have next year with the emergence of rising sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson.Jefferson led the Tigers to a 38-3 win against then-No. 14 Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.Travis Roy, biological sciences freshman, said although Shepard is a capable quarterback, he will play a role similar to former Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin.”[Shepard] can play anywhere,” he said. “I looked at a couple of highlight tapes. He’s more of a natural runner than he is a throwing quarterback, but he can get the job done at that position.”Other fans think Shepard will assume a role similar to the one Ohio State sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor had last year. Pryor, the No.1 rated prospect by Rivals in 2008, began the season as a backup to then-senior Todd Boeckman. Pryor gradually saw more playing time as the season progressed, finishing with 1,311 passing yards, 631 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns.”They will have a formation for him where he’s back at quarterback,” said Scott Gabel, chemical engineering freshman. “He’ll probably throw the ball a few times and maybe he’ll get a chance to play some quarterback in the blowout games.”Regardless of what role Shepard has, almost all fans agree he should be on the field. “He is too athletic to keep off the field,” Onellion said.Some fans think the quarterback competition this spring will only be a two-horse race between Shepard and Jefferson.Gabel does not see rising sophomore Jarrett Lee as a factor this spring.”With how well Jefferson played in the bowl game, and how many interceptions [Lee] threw, I just don’t see him reclaiming that spot as a starter,” he said.David Schexnayder, biology freshman, thinks Lee should be able to compete for the job.”Even though Lee had a rough start, I think he was thrown in there too early being a young quarterback — not enough experience, not enough practice,” he said.On the defensive side, fans will turn to Loston to make an immediate impact. Loston, who will most likely play safety, will compete with rising senior safeties Danny McCray and Harry Coleman, as well as rising junior Chad Jones. Rising sophomore Stefoin Francois and redshirt freshman Karnell Hatcher will also look to crack the starting lineup.”He’s ready to start right now,” Onellion said. “He could start for most Division I schools right now, but Miles has a tendency to stick with the veterans.”
 
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