LSU Football Spring Game 2017: 5 things to watch for

2. Filling Jamal Adams’ Massive Shoes

In less than a week now, Jamal Adams will hear his name called in Philadelphia likely as a top-10 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The strong safety was the anchor of the LSU defense a season a go, a general and leader on the back end of the unit. He was tremendous as a box-safety coming up against the run and also flashed fantastic playmaking ability in the open field. Replacing Adams, put simply, won’t be an easy task.

At one safety spot, LSU is fortunate to have a player returning with experience under his belt. John Battle took over opposite of Adams in the 2016 season due to the Rickey Jefferson injury. He wasn’t a star, but he performed well above adequately. With more experience under his belt, he should be able to have even more success. However, that doesn’t answer the question of who will be slotting into Adams’ shoes in the defense.

What’s interesting for the Tigers is that they’ll likely have two early-enrolee freshman trying to do so. JaCoby Stevens and Grant Delpit were both top-100 recruits in the 247 Sports Composite rankings this past year, the former being the No. 18 overall recruit in the class. However, asking such young, inexperienced players to step into the void left by Adams’ departure is a tall task. We’ll see how up to it either of these players are to the task, starting on Saturday in the spring game.