Stevan Ridley was expected to only be a role player in the backfield next to Richard Murphy and Michael Ford entering the 2010 season.
But Ridley burst onto the college football scene with an impressive 1,147-yard, 15-touchdown season, earning 63 percent of the running back carries and a spot on the coaches’ first-team All-Southeastern Conference squad.
Now Ridley is gearing up for the NFL draft, which begins with the first round tonight at 7, hoping to surprise NFL teams in the same manner he did during his junior campaign at LSU.
Other offensive or special teams players, including former wide receiver Terrence Toliver, offensive tackle Joseph Barksdale and kicker Josh Jasper, are also counting on hearing their names called during the three-day draft.
Ridley, who said he’ll watch the draft from his home in Natchez, Miss., could be the first LSU offensive player selected in the draft and earliest Tiger running back selected since Jacob Hester in 2008.
Hester was picked in the third round, while Ridley is projected as a fourth-round pick by local NFL draft analyst Mike Detillier.
The 5-foot-11-inch, 225-pound running back said he has been in contact with the Detroit Lions, St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys, but he’s open to any team who gives him a chance.
“I’m ready to get after it,” Ridley said. “Wherever my name gets called I’ll be happy, but if it was up to me, I’d be in the South where it’s warm.”
Former Alabama running back Mark Ingram is the consensus No. 1 running back entering the draft, but the field is open after the 2010 Heisman Trophy Winner.
“There’s about 12 running backs that will get picked in the third or fourth round,” Detillier said. “[Ridley’s] a power back with good field vision.”
Toliver could be drafted around the same time as Ridley.
“He’s flashed some skills, but he hasn’t been consistent,” said Rene Nadeau, college football analyst for ESPN and TigerVision. “He’s probably a third-round pick.”
But Detillier has the 6-foot-4-inch, 212-pound wide receiver as a fifth-round pick.
“He’s a huge target,” Detillier said. “But he just maybe doesn’t have the go-to to be that elite receiver he maybe could have been out of high school.”
Toliver ended his senior season on a high note when he scored three touchdowns during the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M, capping off his career with 1,820 yards and 12 touchdowns in four seasons.
Detillier and Nadeau agree on Barksdale, who they both see as a fifth-round choice.
“He’s kind of a project guy, but he’s a guy that could get in a rotation and be around for awhile,” Nadeau said. “It’s going to take some time to tap into his skills and define them a little bit.”
Barksdale began his LSU career as a defensive lineman and then transitioned to right tackle before spending his senior season at left tackle.
“He held up pretty good on the left hand side,” Detillier said. “He’s a better pass protector than run protector. You would like to see him be a more aggressive player.”
The Detriot native was a seasoned veteran for the Tigers with four years of playing time in Baton Rouge, including 39 total starts with 13 coming at left tackle.
Jasper will be waiting longer than the top three former Tigers from the offensive side to get the coveted call from an NFL team.
The most accurate kicker in LSU history could be a late-round selection or a free agent, according to Nadeau and Detillier.
Former LSU specialist Dan Graff, punter Derek Helton, defensive back Jai Eugene and Murphy still have dreams of playing in the NFL, but the recent labor issues in the league will prevent teams from adding free agents until after the draft.
“It may affect your thinking in the seventh round more so than the earlier ones,” Detillier said.
Graff is still confident he’ll get a chance at the next level.
“[New Orleans Saints coach] Sean Payton talked to us after a tryout and told us, ‘The difference between the guy that’s drafted and a free agent is that they get a phone call,'” Graff said.
Follow Michael Lambert on Twitter @TDR_Lambert.
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When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell steps to the podium in Radio City Music Hall tonight, the clock will start ticking on the next chapter in the lives of a few LSU football players.
The 2011 NFL Draft will begin at 7 p.m., and LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson could be the first name out of Goodell’s mouth when the Carolina Panthers make their selection.
Peterson has been projected to be selected as high as No. 1 and possibly as low as No. 7. Defensive tackle Drake Nevis, linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and defensive tackle Pep Levingston are other former LSU defenders also likely to be drafted.
A cornerback has never been taken with the first pick. The highest picked cornerbacks to date are Bruce Pickens in 1991 and Shawn Springs in 1997, both chosen third overall.
Peterson took to his Twitter account Wednesday to express his confidence about how today will go.
“Obama is the first black president,” Peterson wrote. “Why I can’t be the first CB to ever be taking No. 1?”
Peterson held a pre-draft party last night in New York and said he will attend the draft despite the uneasy situation between the NFL owners and players union, formerly known as the NFL Players Association.
NFL draft analyst Mike Detillier ranked Peterson as the best player in the draft, but says it’s unlikely he’ll get picked first.
“I’m going to say he’s either going to Arizona [Cardinals] at five or San Francisco [49ers] at seven,” Detillier said. “Seven would be a low point for him.”
A defensive player hasn’t gone first overall since the Houston Texans selected defensive end Mario Williams in 2006.
Peterson has long been considered a rare breed because of his size. He weighed in at the combine at 219 pounds. Similar players like Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson play closer to 200 pounds.
“He’s such a big guy and yet he can run so well,” Detillier said. “He really does have that great skill and unique ability to play the football in flight. Either you’ve got that or you don’t.”
Nevis and Sheppard, both First-Team All-Southeastern Conference selections, have been projected as possible second- or third-round picks.
A 2010 All-America pick, Nevis improved his draft stock with an impressive senior season. Last fall he started all 13 games, had six sacks, 56 tackles, four quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.
“He really stepped up his game this year,” Detillier said. “I was impressed with that. He can push the pocket for an inside guy.”
Detillier said Nevis, like former Tiger Glenn Dorsey, would work best in a 4-3 defensive scheme.
Nevis and his father Darrell said the family have no specific plans for the draft, but wanted to keep it low key, either in Baton Rouge or New Orleans.
“He’s probably just watching with family in his apartment in Baton Rouge,” Darrell Nevis said.
Drake Nevis said he doesn’t have any specific idea of where he’ll go in the draft, but just plans to let the chips fall.
“I’m feeling relaxed,” he said.
Rene Nadeau, ESPN college football analyst for ESPN and TigerVision, said Sheppard has also increased his stock this year, and probably made the right decision by waiting another season to enter the draft.
“He’s gone about it the right way,” Nadeau said. “I think maybe a year ago he wasn’t ready. I think he’s met the expectations of the NFL teams.”
Detillier said Sheppard’s intangibles will help his draft stock, particularly his leadership.
“He’s always in the thick of the action, plays the run well,” Detillier said. “He’s gotten better as a pass cover guy.”
Nadeau and Detillier projected Levingston to go in the later rounds of the draft, likely finding a team as a role player.
“So many teams use a seven- or eight-guy rotation on the defensive line,” Detillier said. “He’s not going to be a great pass rusher by any stretch, but he’s around the action.”
 
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