Skyler Green might be the most dangerous punt returner in the country while running in the open field, but LSU coach Nick Saban said the secret to Green’s big punt returns is his ability to make the first guy miss.
“I think the key to any good punt returner, and Skyler does this as well as any guy I have ever seen, is he has ability to focus on the ball, catch it and make the first guy miss,” Saban said. “Then, if you get the rest of them blocked or walled off, he runs off his own colors and he does that extremely well.”
Green racked up 462 punt return yards on 25 chances last season for the 2003 national champions and scored two touchdowns. He averaged 18.5 yards per punt return.
Green’s longest punt return was an 80-yarder for a touchdown against Florida. He also had a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown in LSU’s 59-13 win over Arizona.
“The punt return against Florida for a touchdown, there were two gunners down the field,” Saban said. “He made one miss, then the other. Everybody else blocked and he was out the gate. He’s very difficult to deal with in space one-on-one.”
Saban said when you have a guy like Green returning punts and his teammates know he is a potent weapon, that makes them even more motivated to do a great job of executing the punt return.
“I think both his ability and their ability to execute as a group all contribute to having a really good punt return team,” Saban said.
Green is also LSU’s top returning wide receiver with 48 catches for 518 yards and five touchdowns in 2003. Green was on the receiving end of the game-winning touchdown pass from Matt Mauck in LSU’s 17-10 win over Georgia in Tiger Stadium.
His teammates said he has been working hard to improve to lead next year’s receivers.
“Skyler has worked real hard and improved in the off-season program,” said quarterback Marcus Randall. “He’s the veteran receiver coming back, knowing that Bowe and Buster haven’t played a lot. He’s been the leader for his group out there on the field.”
Other receivers
Losing Michael Clayton and Devery Henderson to the NFL draft left the Tigers with some open wide receiver positions, and Saban has not been disappointed with the guys trying to fill them.
“Buster and Dwayne Bowe have not been disappointing in the way they’ve played,” Saban said. “They’re starting to make big plays, and that’s welcomed.”
Davis had seven catches for 63 yards last year while Bowe had nine catches for 106 yards.
Saban said running back Joseph Addai and cornerbacks Corey Webster and Ronnie Prude also have been getting work at wide receiver, just to give the Tigers some depth at the position for the spring. He said Prude has not gotten much action because of having to learn new positions on defense.
“We don’t have the numbers at the position, nor the depth,” Saban said. “That’s going to have to come from some of our freshmen.”
Amp’s injury
Saban said freshman receiver Amp Hill is probably about 75 percent in his recovery from an injury that forced him to sit out last season and take a redshirt.
“The rehab had been very, very difficult because he didn’t have any motion early on,” Saban said. “Then we had to do another surgery because he had swelling of scar tissue, so he went a long time and couldn’t do anything.”
Saban said Hill’s biggest problem now is the strength in his leg, and he said you can tell when you look at his leg.
“That’s going to take time,” Saban said. “We’ve got to take it slow because if he has overuse, he’s going to get swelling. We’re hopeful by the fall we can get him back to 100 percent. We’re not going to take any chances with him in the spring. We’re trying to get him to do some things and learn some things and all that.”
In the trenches
After losing offensive linemen Rodney Reed and Stephen Peterman, one of the main concerns going into the spring would be LSU’s offensive line.
But, Saban said the he likes the way the offensive line is starting to shape up.
“Nate [Livings] is doing a good job at right tackle,” Saban said. “He and [Andrew] Whitworth are two really good tackles. Rudy [Niswanger] played a lot at the start of the year last year. [Terrell] McGill played a lot at the start of the year last year. Ben [Wilkerson] has played a lot of games for us.”
“The guys that have been surprising are Brian Johnson, Will Arnold and Doug Planchard have really done a good job. Peter Dyakowski has really shown some improvement. Where I thought we would really lack depth, I’ve been pleased with the way some of those young guys have started to show some promise.”