The 1st day of the NFL Draft is nearing completion, and it was a great day for LSU, having four former players get drafted in the 1st round on Saturday.

Not surprising to anyone, JaMarcus Russell was selected first overall by Oakland, joining Billy Cannon as the only other LSU Tiger football player to be selected first overall in the NFL Draft.  Russell joins Cannon, Shaquille O'neal, Ben McDonald, and Semoine Augustus as the only five players in LSU history to be selected first overall in each of their respective sports.

Joining Russell as first round selections were Laron Landry, Dwayne Bowe, Craig Davis.  The only surprise in that group is Davis.  Most, including myself, in my draft preview had him slotted as second round pick.  That being said, I don't think it was a reach for San Diego to select him.  Landry was taken by the Washington Redskins 6th overall, which off the top of my head, is the first time that has happenend in LSU's history....having two players taken in the top 10 I mean.  Bowe was selected 23rd overall by Kansas City, and Davis was the 30th pick by the Chargers.  Congrats to the Tigers who have been selected and good luck to the Tigers who await a phone call tomorrow.

As far the Saints, the team stuck to their guns by taking who they felt was the best player available.  Robert Meacham, WR, Tennessee, was taken by the Saints with the 27th pick.  The additions at CB during the offseason was reason enough to go WR in the first round, especially with the loss of Joe Horn.  The Saints traded their second round pick away to the Detriot Lions for an early third round pick and a fifth round pick.  The difference between their second round pick and third round pick was only 8 positions, so not a bad move to pick a late round pick.

We are a mere 24 hours away from the greatest spring weekend in football....The NFL Draft.  Be sure to visit www.geauxshow.com for an in depth breakdown of the draft with a new Geaux Show Podcast sometime next week.  Join Cody, Patrick, and I (Carey) as we take a look at where your favorite LSU Tigers will be making more money than you and I next season, along with any draft day surprises.  Oh, we might let JJ back on as well.  We will also grade Sean Payton and the Saints' draft as well.  And as always, we encourage listener feedback with your thoughts on the NFL Draft.  You can do this by emailing us at the Geaux Show inbox, which is geauxshow@gmail.com.  Or, contact the hotline and leave us a recorded message at 206-600-4LSU (4578).

It is my favorite time of spring.  No, I am not talking about the Red Sox sweeping the Yankees over the weekend, although I think that is outstanding based on the fact that the Sox are my second favorite MLB team behind Houston, and the Yankees rank right up there with Notre Dame, Tulane, and pretty much every NBA team as my most hated sports teams.  I am talking about the NFL Draft.  With the exception of LSU spring practice and the start of Mariner's spring softball, the NFL Draft is what I look forward to the most in the month of April.  You have to give it up to the NFL.  Only they can sell a product such as its draft and have people, such as myself, so riveted as to what it going to happen that we literally waste an entire weekend sitting on our cans at the risk of getting blasted by our wives for not helping around the house.

While I look forward to NFL Draft weekend every year, more importantly, I pay special attention as to where LSU players entered in the draft will end up.  If that is not enough reason to sit on my can and waste away an entire weekend, there is the prospect that JaMarcus Russell will be the #1 overall selection on Saturday.  Wait, there's more.  Laron Landry is slated to go in the top 10, and Dwayne Bowe could be a mid-first rounder.

So, in order to hopefully enlighten all of you Geaux Show fans as to what is going to happen in this year's NFL Draft as it pertains to LSU, I give you my LSU NFL Draft Preview.

JAMARCUS RUSSELL:

Unless you are Amish, you know that Russell has been talked about as being the first player taken by the Oakland Raiders pretty much since he lit Brady Quinn and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish up for 332 yards and 3 total TD'S in the Sugar Bowl back on January 3rd.  I have stated on more than one occassion that I do not want this to happen.  I hate the Raiders.  I hate the way Al Davis runs the organization.  I don't want Russell to go there and immediately get thrown to the wolves because that is exactly what is going to happen.  Who's gonna start ahead of him?  Josh Flippin' Booty?  Andrew Walter?  He got beat out at the begining of the season by Aaron Brooks.  Nevertheless, Russell even being considered as a possible #1 overall selection is fantastic.  It is fantastic for he and his family, LSU fans across the board, and for the university. 

What do I think is going to happen?  Well, unless the Raaaaaiiiddeeeerss make a play for a QB between now and Saturday, they will take Russell.  Speculation is that Al Davis is salivating more and more over Calvin Johnson.  But having all of those receivers does you no good if you only have Booty and/or Walter throwing them the ball.

Prediction:  This is wishful thinking, but what the hell.  The Raiders strike a deal with the Lions for Josh McCown, select Calvin Johnson #1, and the Browns swap places with the Lions and select Jamarcus Russell.

LARON LANDRY:

Behind Gaines Adams, DE from Clemson, Landry is the most sought after defensive player in this year's draft.  Landry started every game in his career at LSU and could have been a first round selection in last year's NFL Draft.  He was decribed by one college football publication at the beginning of the 2006 college football season as an NFL player in a college uniform.  There are two places where Landry is likely to go: Minnesota or Atlanta, who pick 7th and 8th respectively.  The only way Minnesota doesn't take Landry is if either Adrian Peterson falls to the Vikings at #7, or if they trade up to get Peterson.

Prediction:  I think Adrian Peterson could fall to Minnesota in the seventh slot.  The only other team that would take Peterson ahead of Minnesota would be Cleveland.  But based on my prediction about JaMarcus, that would not fly.  Therefore, I think the Falcons select Landry with the 8th overall pick.

DWAYNE BOWE:

Bowe is another LSU Tiger whose stock has risen as a result of NFL Pro Day workouts.  Bowe does not have the numbers that some of the other top receivers in the draft have, but his physical attributes and his peformance at the Senior Bowl practices and continuing at LSU's pro day's have him slotted to go somewhere in the middle of the first round up from a late first round pick as originally thought.

Prediction:  Bowe's fate depends on how some of the teams picking in the mid first round who need a WR rate him.  Bowe is sort of clumped together with Robert Meacham from Tennessee, and, for some reason, Ted Ginn Jr.  It's a toss-up as to who gets drafted first out of these three.  But, for purposes of this report, I like Bowe to end up in Tennessee in a Titans uniform come Saturday.

CRAIG DAVIS:

I stated above that Bowe didn't have the types of numbers that some of the other top WR's had.  Craig Davis is one reason why.  Davis, or as I always referred to him, Mr. Conistent, does all the little things that doesn't show up on stat sheets.  For example, Davis isn't going to be the guy whose 40 time jumps out at you.  But Davis only helped himself more in the draft when he started handling returns for LSU midway through the 2006 season.  His ability to successfully handle returns for LSU only solidfies Davis as 1st day draft selection.

Prediction:  Craig Davis will likely be taken somewhere in the second round, probably early to mid second round to be exact.  Perfect scenario would be Davis falling to the Saints at pick 58, but that is not likely to happen.  The Dolphins at pick 40 is a possibility, or the Falcons could nab their second LSU player with pick 39 or 44.

OTHER TIGERS OF INTEREST:

I believe Davis will round out the LSU players who will be taken on the first day.  The only other real possibility is Chase Pittman.  Pittman has good size and speed and could go in the third round.  Jesse Daniels endured an injury plagued last two seasons at LSU, but he could still be a second day pick somwhere in the 5th or 6th round.  Justin Vincent, despite all his hardships since his freshman season, could be another Tiger taken late on the second day.  Vincent still has great versatility.  He can run the ball, catch the ball, and is great at picking up blitzes.  If he ever regains his work ethic, he could be a very servicable third down back in the NFL.  Daniel Francis, Chris Jackson, Peter Dyakowski, and Brian Johnson will all most certainly earn themselves a free agent rookie contract.  Of those 4, the only two I see possibly being selected late are Daniel Francis and Brian Johnson.

 

This is a difficult story for me to post. The picture on the right is of Zhamal Thomas, one of the 3 LSU players who was arrested last week and subsequently dismissed from the team last Thursday. I say it is difficult because Zhamal was a guy I knew in high school in New Iberia. He was an extremely strong guy in high school, leading the schools' weightlifting team as a sophmore. I was excited during the '06 signing day to hear his name called, grateful that someone made it to the big time from NISH's dismal football team. Ever since I started this site, I hoped that one day I'd be able to post a pic of him taking down some defensive player during a game, just like he did so many times at NISH. As it stands, I hope he and the other former Tigers can clean up their act and land on their feet somewhere.

I was hoping this wouldn't happen. Pokey's Lawyers now claim that LSU forced her to resign and are seeking $900,000 (the last 2 years of her contract plus damages) in compensation. Lawyers for LSU deny the claim, saying that the university learned of allegations of sexual relationships between Chatman and former players who were then on the team and handled it properly and that the university will honor “the terms of the resignation, but no more." Looks like we'll have a court case to keep us occupied this summer.

The LSU Mens baseball team had another successful SEC weekend, defeating Mississippi State 2-1 in the series. After a dismal 3-12 loss on friday, The Tigers' bullpen led the charge, as Junior Jared Bradford allowed only to one run on six hits with five strikeouts against the SEC-leading MSU batters in his 3-1 win on Sunday. After starting league play 1-6, the Tigers have won 3-of-4 SEC series and are now 8-9-1, with a good opportunity to break .500 this coming weekend at home against Tennessee.

Coach Paul Mainieri-

“There’s no doubt that the most valuable player on our team is Jared Bradford. What a superb effort he gave us today after pitching the ninth inning yesterday. He is a great competitor with a tremendous amount of courage. I’m so proud of what he accomplished this weekend. I’m also very proud of our entire team. The players never got discouraged after the first game. Instead, they played as hard as they could and they were rewarded with two big wins.�


Pic: Jared Bradford
Pic and Story Source: LSUSports.net

Warning: This show was taped live at Starvin' Marvins birthday party/crawfish boil. It's definitely not a family show.

Wee, Pat, JJ, Ogeron, Justin, Bill, Wee's wife, and birthday boy Marvin discuss 2 weeks of LSU news, including the spring game, baseball, Final Four picks, and some Saints coverage. JJ also opens his mouth and removes all doubts about his lack of sports-debate skills as the O vs. D discussion continues.