Editor’s note: This story is the first in a series on new recruits’ impacts on the football team.Last season, sophomore Russell Shepard broke the mold for first-year football players Oct. 24 against Auburn.The then-freshman running back took a hand-off from quarterback Jordan Jefferson, busted through a hole in the opposing defensive line and then used his 4.36 40-yard dash speed to blister past Auburn’s secondary en route to a 69-yard touchdown.Shepard’s touchdown run was a rare sight for LSU rookies, who usually graze the sidelines instead of galloping past enemy defenses.Shepard and wide receiver Rueben Randle were two of the 2009 recruits to see the most playing time on the offensive side of the ball.This year’s recruiting class has its fair share of skilled players aiming to follow in Shepard and Randle’s footsteps.Scout.com four-star recruits Spencer Ware, a bruising running back from Ohio, and wide receiver James Wright, a 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pound wide receiver from Belle Chasse High School, headline the class and could vie for playing time this season.”Spencer Ware is definitely going to get all the opportunities he wants,” said Rene Nadeau, college football analyst for ESPN and TigerVision. “James Wright could see the field too because he plays a position of need.”Ware played quarterback for Princeton High School, passing for more than 1,000 yards while rushing for 13 scores his senior season. He also starred on the Princeton baseball team.”Spencer Ware is more SEC ready,” Nadeau said. The top of the running back depth chart is largely set with senior Richard Murphy, junior Stevan Ridley and redshirt freshman Michael Ford as the first three options.But Ware could see the field in his rookie campaign, considering five running backs had at least 27 carries last season.”If Spencer Ware can give them any minutes, that’s all they are going to need,” Nadeau said.Nadeau said the other two running back signees, Jakhari Gore and Alfred Blue, will probably not get as many carries. “Alfred Blue is looking like a redshirt,” Nadeau said. “Gore is not a big guy to begin with. He may need to get a little stronger.”Gore resembles his cousin Frank Gore, current running back for the San Francisco 49ers, in height but not weight.They both sit around the 5-foot-8-inch mark, but Frank Gore has almost 40 pounds on the 175-pound Jakhari Gore.Blue has a little more size at 6-foot-2-inches and 205 pounds. The Hahnville High School alumnus was the 27th-rated running back by Scout.Wide receivers from the 2010 class could see even more playing time than the freshmen running backs.Senior Terrence Toliver and sophomores Randle and Shepard, who switched to wide receiver this past spring, will be Jefferson’s first targets, but there is an open competition for the rest of the wide receiving corps.”You only have three really good wide receivers,” Nadeau said. “LSU has four and five receiver sets, and [the freshmen] may get some time in those. They will get opportunities to play.”Wright is one of LSU’s highest rated prospects and is looking to make his mark as a receiver, ranked as the No. 44 wide receiver in the nation by Scout and the 42nd best by Rivals.com.Kadron Boone, Scout’s 15th-rated wide receiver from Ocala, Fla., is another wideout with a chance to land a spot in the wide receiver rotation.Jarrett Fobbs from Shreveport and Armand Williams from Slidell also have a shot at cracking the depth chart.”I really think a guy that’s going to be a sleeper is Armand Williams,” Nadeau said. Williams was a late addition to the 2010 class after a last-minute offer from LSU coach Les Miles. The Scout two-star recruit claims a 41-inch vertical and won the Class 5A high jump title in 2010.Nadeau said getting time as a freshman at wide receiver and running back is easier than other positions.”You can get in a situation as a wide receiver or running back to get early time,” Nadeau said. “The learning curve is not as drastic for wide receiver or running back. You are closer to your comfort zone than a quarterback or cornerback.”–Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]
Recruiting: Freshmen offensive players look for playing time
July 13, 2010