247Sports names LSU football’s most indispensable player
By Zach Ragan
LSU football has a player they can’t afford to lose in 2020.
247Sports recently named their most indispensable non-quarterbacks and it’s no surprise that an LSU football player made the list.
In the Tigers’ case, their most indispensable non-quarterback would be their most indispensable player even if 247Sports included quarterbacks.
That’s because 247Sports went with sophomore cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.
This was a fairly obvious choice. Stingley Jr is probably the best overall college football player in the nation. He’s certainly the best non-quarterback in the nation (and he’s only a sophomore?!?!?).
“Stingley enters his sophomore season as the top overall cornerback in the sport. The former five-star is a shutdown presence and almost a half-field eraser for opposing offenses,” wrote 247Sports’ Chris Hummer.
The main reason LSU football can’t afford to Derek Stingley Jr
Obviously no team would want to lose the best cornerback in the nation.
But Stingley Jr is especially important to the Tigers in 2020.
And that’s because LSU simply doesn’t have a lot of experience at the position outside of Stingley Jr (and outside of Kary Vincent, as noted by 247Sports).
Incoming true freshman Eli Ricks, who was rated as a five-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class, has the potential to be elite in the SEC.
But he has to prove it first. And even if he does prove that he can excel in Baton Rouge, he almost certainly wouldn’t be able to replicate the impact that Stingley Jr has on a game.
The Tigers are fortunate they get two more seasons of Stingley Jr — he’s a once in a lifetime player.
It’s going to be a lot of fun seeing how new LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini uses Stingley Jr in his “attacking style defense”.
Next. Game-by-game predictions for LSU in 2020. dark
The Tigers probably won’t dominate in 2020 as they did in 2019, but it could still be a special season for LSU.