3 Tigers apply for early entry to draft
LSU lost three key players from its No. 2-ranked football team Thursday when cornerback Morris Claiborne, wide receiver Rueben Randle and defensive tackle Michael Brockers applied for early entry into the NFL draft.
Claiborne, a consensus All-American, and Randle have one year of eligibility remaining and Brockers has two. Claiborne and Brockers announced their decision at an afternoon on-campus news conference with coach Les Miles.
Randle’s father, Emmett Randle, later confirmed in a telephone interview with The Advocate that his son had filed his paperwork with the league Thursday.
None of the players has hired an agent, which means they could still withdraw from the draft and regain their eligibility, but all three seem to have made final decisions.
One other Tiger — junior wide receiver Russell Shepard — appears on the brink of leaving early. On Wednesday, Shepard tweeted, “Thanks for your support Tiger Nation...but I have to do what’s best for my family and myself...Geaux Tigers.” On Thursday, ESPN reported a teammate of Shepard’s told them that he would enter the draft.
All four players were signed in 2009, and Brockers was the only one of the four to redshirt.
The early departure of Claiborne, who is projected to be a high first-round pick, was widely assumed.
“Mo is expected to be in the top 10 players if not in the top five players selected in the NFL draft,” Miles said.
“The opportunity to improve his draft position really doesn’t exist.”
Claiborne is projected to be the first cornerback drafted and has been ranked as high as the No. 3 player overall. He also could be a valuable kickoff returner.
He earned numerous awards this year, including the Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back. He was named the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year as voted on by the league’s coaches. Claiborne had 51 tackles, six interceptions and six pass breakups. He led the nation in interception return yardage with 173 and returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the win over West Virginia.
“We sat down and we thought about, what can I do? Can I improve my stock?” Claiborne said. “We saw that there was no possible way. Top three, even top five or top 10, it doesn’t get any better than that. It was time to go.”
Nonetheless, Claiborne said it was “a tough decision for me all the way around.”
“Every day here has been special to me,” he said. “I’m sad about leaving, but you only get this opportunity once in a lifetime.”
Brockers, a second-team All-SEC selection, was a starter for the first time this season and helped anchor the Tigers’ second-ranked defense, which was a key to them going 13-0 before losing to Alabama 21-0 in the BCS National Championship game on Monday night.
He started all 14 games, made 54 tackles, including 10 for loss and two sacks, and made one interception. He blocked a field-goal attempt Monday night. He said he graded as a late first or second-round draft choice with the NFL.
“I think Michael Brockers has the potential to improve his overall draft position,” Miles said, “but is making in my opinion a decision that allows him to fulfill an obligation to his family.”
Brockers, like Claiborne, said the loss to Alabama didn’t impact his decision.
“We went undefeated in the regular season, won the SEC Championship, played in the BCS championship,” Brockers said. “I feel like I’ve done pretty much everything I wanted to do coming to LSU. I feel like this is the best opportunity. You only get this opportunity once in a lifetime, and I wanted to take advantage of it.”
Claiborne arrived at LSU from Fair Park High in Shreveport and was looked at as a wide receiver and a cornerback before the coaches quickly settled on him as a defender. Brockers was recruited out of Houston as an offensive tackle by some schools. LSU signed him as a defensive end, but he made the transition to tackle.
“Both men have done everything we have asked them to do,” Miles said, “and they have both represented this program in an exemplary way both on and off the field. We are going to miss them, and their teammates will miss them as well. They are quality men.
“They both exhibited how to do it: went to practice, worked hard every day, improved, did all the right things. Both these guys paid their dues to this program. Both have had consistent growth as people and as student-athletes academically. Both have been very humble in their approach to learning football. It started at a level much less to the level they are at now. They improved and improved and became tremendously competitive.
“They have put themselves in a position to enter the NFL draft early at an advantaged position.”
Claiborne credited secondary coach Ron Cooper for working overtime with him to help him develop as a cornerback. He also said he got advice from former Tigers cornerback Patrick Peterson, who left early after last season and was the fifth player selected in last year’s draft.
“It’s amazing to come from where I come from,” Claiborne said, “hardly being recruited, coming here as a receiver and to keep putting in the time and effort with my teammates and the results coming out this way.”
Randle’s father said the NFL graded his son as a second-round pick after the former Bastrop star’s breakout season. Randle, the Tigers’ leading receiver with 53 catches for 917 yards (a 17.3 average) and eight touchdowns, made his decision after discussing his options with his family.
“There was no one particular thing,” Emmett Randle said. “It was a combination of things that told him he needed to move on.”
If Shepard were to leave, LSU would have little experience at wide receiver. Either way, the leading returning receiver will be Odell Beckham Jr., who started nine games and caught 41 passes for 475 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman this season.
No other receiver besides Randle or Shepard caught more than seven passes.