When LSU played quarterback Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies last season, it shut him down and pulled out a 34-10 victory.
With Manziel gone to the NFL, the Tigers are planning to play against a run-heavy post-Manziel Aggie offense.
“Johnny is the kind of guy that if he doesn’t see his first two options, he’s going to roll out and try to make a play,” said sophomore defensive tackle Christian LaCouture. “[Freshman quarterback] Kyle Allen is definitely a pocket passer with a great arm. He’s got big bodies up front. We have to attack the line of scrimmage, move upfield and create havoc.”
After a suspension to sophomore quarterback Kenny Hill, Allen has taken the reins for the Aggies and is making his case to be the starter for games to come. He’s thrown for 884 yards on 79 completions and 11 touchdowns in his stint at starter.
“You don’t really know what you’ll get with a team like Texas A&M. You have to prepare for both the run and the pass,” said junior linebacker Deion Jones. “We aren’t desperate for a win, but we don’t like to lose. It puts a bad taste in our mouth.”
Thomas on the road to recovery
After suffering an ACL injury in his right knee against New Mexico State on Sept. 27, LSU sophomore cornerback Dwayne Thomas is making progress on the long road to recovery.
The New Orleans native was injured while blitzing New Mexico State quarterback Tyler Rogers in the second quarter. He cut with his body, but his knee buckled and twisted, tearing his ACL. Thomas needed crutches to get into the locker room.
“The first few days were painful. I woke up the next morning, and our doctors wanted to go to work that very next day,” Thomas said. “I started bending my leg the very next day with rehab. When we say we are the best at this ACL thing, we are. They started getting me ready right away. It has just been a blessing how my leg has gotten stronger in these five weeks.”
While healthy, Thomas played in five games and recorded 24 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one interception.
“When they told me it was a torn ACL, it hit me emotionally a little bit because I was having an exciting season. It was fun and started off fast for me,” Thomas said. “It was just a little setback and I felt like I could bounce back because it was just a torn ACL and not my meniscus or anything bad with it. My ACL is really healing faster than people think it is.”
Thomas medically redshirted his freshman season due to a sports hernia on his hip that left him nearly immobile. He was able to travel with the team throughout the rest of the season and learn from the more experienced defensive backs.
In 2013, he was able to participate in 11 of LSU’s 13 games, missing only the contests against Mississippi State and Florida. During that season, he had 10 tackles, five pass breakups, four tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles.
He said he has been receiving support from many people, including encouragement from former Tiger and current New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley, who also is undergoing rehab for an ACL injury.
“It’s a process that you have to go through,” Thomas said. “I have a lot of guys supporting me, a lot of friends and family supporting me, a lot of teammates, coaching staff and coach Miles supporting me. It’s just fun. It’s a little setback, but I’m coming back healthy and coming back stronger and faster. I’ll be back sooner than people think.”
You can reach Michael Haarala on Twitter @haarala_TDR.