Spotlight #1: Louisiana Lafayette TE Ladarius Green
Spotlight #2: Louisiana Lafayette CB Dwight Bentley
1st quarter
13:43: Bentley does a great job going a long way in a short time to get a tackle for loss.
13:05: Bentley allows a short completion on 2nd and long to the back, good open field tackle.
10:34: Bentley in the slot in a zone, guy blows past him and deep man allows the long catch.
9:43: Lindley with a terrible decision, a near interception right to the linebacker after underthrowing the back. This has been his problem.
9:20: Green wins a jump ball deep despite pass interference. The 6-6 tight end looked like a wide receiver here.
9:08: Green has a bit of trouble run blocking on a short run.
8:42: Green almost catches one short out of the h-back position, but can’t hold on with a short cover man draped all over him.
8:07: Green overthrown over the middle.
5:04: Bentley misses a tackle in the backfield on a blitz.
2nd quarter
14:49: Bentley misses a diving tackle in the backfield, would have been a tough play.
13:16: Bentley in on a tackle after a long run.
11:30: Bentley allows a catch on 3rd and 6, just enough to move chains. Good tackle after.
10:22: Bentley in on an open field tackle.
9:51: Bentley thrown on again for a solid gain. Lindley not having a bad game at all.
5:55: Green targeted deep on a trick play, overthrown deep by the back.
5:52: Green with a decent block on the outside.
3:48: Green seals a block well.
2:34: Quarterback throws off his back foot under pressure to Green, terrible decision and throw, red zone pick. Not really Green’s fault.
0:49: Bentley thrown on deep, incomplete, could have been caught, but would have been a tough play.
3rd quarter
14:01: Green in stride in the seam, plucks one and a touchdown for a good amount yards.
12:40: Green with a good catch in stride and then a good run after, makes one guy miss.
10:21: Bentley on special teams, helps pin San Diego State at the one.
1:42: Green catches one on a slant on 3rd and 6, caught well in stride and good run after the catch on a catch short of the sticks to convert the 1st.
4th quarter
13:51: Green well covered, yet still thrown at, more likely to be picked off than completed.
11:20: Bentley blows up a play in the backfield for a tackle for loss on the back.
2:16: Green thrown back shoulder fade, jump ball in the end zone, could have been PI, but not called, incomplete.
2:12: Green had more contact on another back shoulder fade, couldn’t fight through it, no call, deflected at last second. Larry Parker does a nice job here, as he has all game and season.
1:58: Lindley almost throws a game ending pick, dropped.
1:01: Bentley thrown on, incomplete, with better instincts this one could have been picked.
0:00: Ryan Lindley is a 4 year starter at San Diego State during the rebirth of their program and has all the physical tools at 6-4 230. Last season, he completed 57.7% of his passes for an average of 9.1 YPA and 28 touchdowns to 14 picks. With a good senior season, he could have made himself a real mid round sleeper in the 2012 NFL Draft.
However, he has not had the best senior season at all, completing just 53.0% of his passes for an average of 7.1 YPA and 23 touchdowns to 9 picks, all against not the toughest of competition. The toughest defense he’s faced this season was probably TCU’s, a game I watched and I came away really not impressed. He was erratic and displayed poor decision making all night. The tools were there, but he hardly looked like anything more than a late rounder with upside completing 15 of 41 for 201 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 picks.
This game was better for him, although it wasn’t nearly as tough of a defense. Lindley completed 28 of 49 for 413 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no picks, but I still wasn’t that impressed. San Diego state lost this game 32-30 to an inferior opponent and that was after what should have been a game winning drive by Lindley that wasn’t even that impressive. Lindley was aided by a dropped pick, something Louisiana Lafayette did at least 2 or 3 times in the game, as well as a bad throw on Dwight Bentley that could have been picked had Bentley made a better play on the ball. He was also aided by a borderline pass interference call that the refs refused to call on back to back plays in the end zone on San Diego State the drive before. He still seemed to make some poor decisions and probably would have had a much worse game against a better defense.
Louisiana Lafayette’s best defensive player is cornerback Dwight Bentley. Bentley wasn’t terribly impressive. Though he was the #1 cornerback, Lindley had no fear throwing on him and had a good amount of success throwing on him. Bentley also should have made a play to get the game winning interception late, but didn’t. He made a couple of nice tackles, but also missed a couple tackles in the backfield, though he did have a really good early tackle for loss and two total tackles for loss. On the season, the 5-11 180 pound cornerback had 71 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3 picks, including two against Oklahoma State, and 6 deflections. He’s undersized, but showed good blitz ability and solid coverage ability so he may be able to function as a nickel or dime back at the next level, but he’s nothing other than a late round pick.
The best draft prospect for Louisiana Lafayette was tight end Ladarius Green. The 6-6 230 pound tight end is a bit undersized, but he’s an excellent pass catcher, leading his team with 51 catches for 606 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season. He’s got 4 years starting experience and 3 years of great production (32/533/2, 44/794/7, 51/606/8). Tonight he was basically unstoppable. He caught 5 passes for 121 yards and 1 touchdown, proving to be unstoppable in the seam as Louisiana Lafayette’s quarterback had a career high 470 yards passing on 24 of 40 for 3 touchdowns and a pick. He was his team’s 2nd leading receiver.
He looks like a wide receiver out there when he plays, but he does need to bulk up some. He’s not the worst blocker, but it’s an area he needs to improve in. If he can weigh in at 6-6 240 by the combine, his stock could really go up as he has the ability to be a good pass catching receiver. He’s a real matchup problem with good athleticism and reliable hands. He catches it like he’s taught, but at the same time, he was outphysicaled in the end zone on back to back plays by a cornerback, though PI could have been called on either one. Generally, he’s a reliable end zone threat, but physicality is an area he needs to work on.
The cornerback matched up with Green in the end zone on those two plays was Larry Parker. Parker is one of two good cornerbacks along with junior Leon McFadden. Parker does have 7 picks on the season, but he’s undersized at 5-11 170 and consistently thrown on rather than McFadden. McFadden, a junior, is a little bigger and better seems like the better future pro prospect. Parker has had a good season statistically, but was torched in this game in general and could have been whistled for PI on either of the two end zone plays against Green. He’s looks like an undrafted free agent.
San Diego State does have one other draftable prospect, the running back Ronnie Hillman. Hillman is an undersized redshirt sophomore, but he runs bigger than the 5-10 190 he is. He’s reportedly considering declaring for the draft after 1711 yards and 19 touchdowns on 311 carries, as well as 24 catches. He had a big season in 2010 as well, with 1532 yards and 17 touchdowns on 262 carries with 9 catches. However, he did not have a good game here and that should force him to consider returning for another season after 55 yards on 24 carries. He also struggled against TCU with 55 on 20 and 8 on 3 against Boise State. His game log really does show he has been beating up on weaker opponents and he didn’t look ready for the NFL in this performance. If he does come out, he’ll probably be a mid rounder, which would be a mistake for him.
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