BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - LSU head coach Ed Orgeron has been hammering home the idea that the players will have to create their own energy in a mostly empty Tiger Stadium for the game against Mississippi State and it’s just about time to see if they can do it.
For a place with a reputation for being louder than loud, the crowd size will be more like that of a spring game. In fact, there were more LSU fans in Nashville for last year’s game at Vanderbilt, where they can’t go this year, than we’ll see in Death Valley on Saturday. But Tiger Stadium won’t be completely empty. There will be about 25,000 fans and those in attendance will have plenty to cheer about.
Another form of motivation for Tennessee native and senior leader JaCoby Stevens is wearing the No. 7 jersey.
“With No. 7, the meaning is really great to me; that’s one of the reasons I wore No. 7 in high school," said Stevens. "When I played AAU basketball, I wore No. 7. Not only what the meaning is, Patrick Peterson and what he did here. I looked up to him going through high school. I think we’re not going to struggle with our own energy for that first game because it is the first game. I know last year and the year before that, the first game is always the biggest game. It’s always the game everyone is excited about. Why, because it’s the first game. I don’t think we’re going to struggle coming out with energy for that game. It’s also special because we open with an SEC West opponent. So, that’s multiple things that are going to allow us to get us ready and hyped up for this upcoming Saturday.”
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound safety from Murfreesboro, Tenn., is going into his third season as a starter for LSU. He earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2019 and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week three times. He’s LSU’s top returning tackler from a year ago. He recorded 92 tackles with 9.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, and three interceptions.
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He has been named to the Thorpe Award, Bednarik Award, and Wuerffel Trophy watch lists.
Kickoff for LSU hosting Mississippi State is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on WAFB.
The Tigers are 75-35-3 in the all-time series against Mississippi State and hold a 49-19-1 advantage when playing in Baton Rouge.
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