LSU’s win over Mississippi State gave the Tigers a long list of players worth talking about, and in the latest edition of Stripes of the Week, the defensive front and a few new faces stole plenty of the attention.
Jordan Ross was the biggest mover on the list after stepping up in a major way with Princewill Umanmielen out early because of injury. Ross piled up six tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble, two passes broken up and one additional QB hurry.
That was enough to make him LSU’s highest-rated player on Saturday in Pro Football Focus’ grades, checking in at 92.8 overall. Ross had already earned two stripes after his Week One showing against Clemson, and this performance pushed him to three.
TJ Dottery also earned a stripe for a job that has become familiar: handling a heavy load in the middle of the defense. He finished with 12 tackles, but the number only tells part of the story.
With Whit Weeks still out, Dottery has taken over the green dot role, serving as the defense’s leader and on-field coach. He helped steer LSU to its first shutout win of the season against Jeff Lebby, a strong offensive coach.
Dilin Jones joined the list as well, and while his 18 carries for 85 yards were solid, that wasn’t the real reason he made it back onto the radar. His work as a receiver has taken off over the last two weeks.
In that stretch, Jones has caught 15 passes for 142 yards, which tops the 11 catches for 48 yards he had in the previous five games combined. The timing fits, too, with Sam Leavitt leaning more on checkdowns and Jones becoming a reliable option who can make defenders miss and break tackles when the ball finds him.
Jackson Harris continued to make his case as one of LSU’s most productive weapons. He caught six passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns, and this was his third appearance on the stripes list in the last four weeks.
He was also the second-highest-rated player by PFF with a 77.4 overall grade. Harris did leave the game later and was seen in a boot, so his status for Auburn and beyond will be something to watch.
DJ Pickett’s day was one a cornerback can live with. His name came up often, but for the right reasons. He made six tackles and broke up two passes, and he was just a toenail away from an interception.
Sam Leavitt also earned three stripes after putting together one of his cleaner outings of the season. He had zero turnovers for the first time this year, and that came after a game in which he showed more patience in the pocket, made his reads and leaned on the checkdown more often.
He finished 31 of 38 for 289 yards and four touchdowns, and his 81.4 PFF grade made him the highest-rated offensive player on the day. Leavitt has been productive all season - he is 14th in the country in passing yards, third among the top 15 quarterbacks in completion percentage, tied for 20th in passing touchdowns, and has added 270 rushing yards and seven touchdowns - but Saturday stood out because he cleaned up the turnovers that had been an issue.
The list also included Malik Elzy, who had two catches for 20 yards and his first touchdown as a Tiger, Ty Benefield with four tackles and his first interception as a Tiger, Dominick McKinley with three tackles and one sack, Stephiylan Green with three tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and half a sack, Deuce Geralds with six tackles and one QB hurry, and PJ Woodland with four tackles and two passes broken up.
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