The LSU football team’s loss Saturday against Alabama featured numerous lineup changes, mostly because of injury.Junior quarterback Jarrett Lee replaced sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who left the game with an ankle injury in the third quarter. Sophomore running back Stevan Ridley entered the game at tailback after senior running back Charles Scott left the game with a broken collarbone.
And sophomore tight end Deangelo Peterson started the game instead of senior tight end Richard Dickson, who did not play because of an unspecified injury.”[Peterson and I] usually talk about how we wish we were in there, and we would analyze stuff,” Ridley said. “But this time we got our chance, and we took advantage. Now it’s our turn.”Peterson certainly took advantage of his playing time and had his career-best performance in his second start of his young career.
The Baton Rouge native caught two passes for 40 yards, including LSU’s first touchdown of the game. The 12-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to Peterson was Peterson’s first touchdown reception as a Tiger.”I was just waiting for my chance to get in the game and see what I could do,” Peterson said. “I wanted to show [coach Les Miles] what I really could do and give him the confidence to put me in more.”
Peterson was considered one of the top 25 wide receivers in the 2008 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com.But with a plethora of receivers on the LSU roster, Miles decided to make a change this season and move Peterson to tight end.”Les Miles came to me in the spring and asked me if I wanted to play tight end, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it,'” Peterson said. “It gives me a better chance to get on the field quicker.”Peterson has seen the field in every game the Tigers have played since he joined the team, but he hasn’t gotten many passes thrown his way. Most of Peterson’s playing time has been on special teams.Prior to Saturday’s performance, Peterson only caught two passes for 27 yards, both of which were during this season.Dickson is on the verge of breaking nearly every tight end receiving record at LSU and is currently tied with Brad Boyd for the most touchdowns in LSU history by a tight end with 10.”I feel like it’s a privilege for me to be here while he’s still here,” Peterson said. “To learn everything that he did and went through, and when he leaves, I can just pick up from where he left off.”Miles said he was impressed with the way Peterson played in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and he expects to see more of the same from Peterson in the future.”He certainly is a very dangerous receiver on the pass, and I think his career is really just starting,” Miles said on Monday. “He’s the kind of guy that will eventually be a first choice for us in a lot of the passing sets.”But Miles is also looking for Peterson to contribute as a blocker.”The tight end that can block it and get out on a pass and certainly challenge somebody vertically through the middle of the field is your greatest asset,” Miles said.
Peterson said he’s not fully adjusted to the new position yet because he’s still learning how to block well enough to be a tight end. Peterson said his 220-pound frame faces a real challenge when he tries to block 290-pound linemen.”Right now, I’m nowhere near where I want to be,” Peterson said. “I’ve got [strength and conditioning coordinator Tommy] Moffitt with me, so next year I think I’ll be really bigger, faster and stronger than I was this year.”–Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected]