On the Lookout

David Rainey • August 13, 2022

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On the Lookout

Looking forward to the Saints’ first preseason game




            NFL FOOTBALL IS BACK!  Well… somewhat.  The preseason is here, but hey, that’s better than nothing right?  We’ve had a few games already take place this week, but the game that we’re all looking forward to the most is taking place this weekend. 


            The New Orleans Saints travel to Houston on Saturday to take on the Texans in their first preseason game of the season.  In my opinion, these are two teams that are likely to end up on opposite ends of the standings by year’s end, but none of that matters in the preseason.  The purpose of the preseason is to get the starters somewhat game-ready, but most of all, to give the young players a chance to earn a roster spot or make their cases for more playing time.  It's exciting to see a guy go from unknown to fan favorite of a one-month period. 


            Now, every off season we hear stories throughout training camp about players standing out or struggling.  Every day we see stories written about whether the offense or defense won the day.  But all we all want to know is what will carry over when the team actually steps foot on the field for a game.  And while the preseason may not be a game that matters to all, it means the world to a lot of these guys.  So, I still expect some solid football on Saturday. 


            With that said, here are a few things I’m going to be looking for on Saturday for the Saints!


-       Will anyone ease the concerns at the linebacker position?

            If you listen to our podcast (Who F’n Kneauxs Podcast), you know it’s no secret that I have major concerns when it comes to the linebacker position for the Saints.  Depth was already a concern for me coming into training camp, and to make matters worth, guys seem to be dropping like flies.  Rookie Demarco Jackson was placed on injured reserve, and second year linebacker Pete Werner is dealing with a groin injury.  That leaves Andrew Dowell, Kaden Ellis, Chase Hansen and Zach Baun to pick up the slack.  Do those names bring you joy? Yeah, me neither.  I’d love to see one of these guys step up and show that they can be a productive player at that position.  Maybe the Saints have a plan to utilize the safeties they have that can play in the box to help the weakness at linebacker. That might also be something to look out for Saturday night.


-       Does anyone begin to establish themselves as RB3?

           Some people are more concerned about the running back position than others.  I tend to lean towards the less concerned end of that scale.  That’s of course with the belief that Alvin Kamara plays the entire season.  If he ends up missing games to suspension or injury, then my level of concern will increase dramatically.  The Saints have a mixture of veterans and young guys that will be competing for the third running back spot behind Mark Ingram.  All of these guys come with a level of promise and potential, but will they put it together or will they force the Saints to bring in outside competition? As of today, it seems Dwayne Washington is going to get the first crack at the position, but I think the guy I’m looking forward to seeing the most is rookie Abram Smith.  He’s a big bruising back, and I have a feeling he starts to separate himself as the preseason goes on. 


-       Is there competition for Taysom Hill at tight end?

           Taysom Hill should be tight end one, and I don’t think anyone will debate that.  I, for one, and very intrigued and excited at the prospect of him being a full-time tight end.  His combination of size and speed is something that I’ve long said could make him a dominant player at that position.  But who is next in line behind him?  Is anyone going to actually challenge him for playing time or touches?  Behind him we have a few guys with potential that haven’t been able to be consistent when they’re on the field.  Adam Trautman is the obvious answer here being the investment the team made in him.  He had his moments, good and bad, during the season last year and in camp this year.  If he can put it together, the Saints could have a really great combo at tight end.  Juwan Johnson is exciting with his physical abilities, but the guy I’m most interested in is Chris Herndon.  I’ve always felt he was never put in a position to succeed in New York, and he just didn’t have enough time in Minnesota.  I’m looking forward to seeing him getting some action in the preseason and hopefully stealing a roster spot. 


-       Will we all still hate Caesar Ruiz?

          It’s no secret that Caesar Ruiz has been terrible his first two seasons in the NFL.  Sure, we can make the excuse that he hasn’t had a true normal offseason in his career to this point, but when you’re a first-round pick, you should still be able to at least show promise in games.  He hasn’t done that.  However, this year there’s a couple new coaches around Saints’ camp that should be to his benefit.  The Saints brought in Doug Marrone who is an incredible offensive line coach, and former Saints’ legend and Hall of Fame nominee Jhari Evans has been hanging around camp as a coaching intern.  If those two guys can’t fix Ruiz, then no one can.  It’s put up or shut time for Ruiz. 


-       The Rookies

         The Saints made the entire fan base happy by moving up for rookie wide receiver Chris Olave. They also spent their second first round pick on left tackle Trevor Penning.  We won’t get to see Olave work with Jameis, but I’m still excited to actually see how he moves in a real game.  I’m sure he will get limited snaps, but we’ll still be able to learn a lot from the time he is on the field.  Penning is the more intriguing of the two first round guys, in my opinion.  Mostly because he’s less proven than Olave and needs some work.  He should get a lot of reps, not only this week, but the entire preseason.  I’m hoping to see him prove he can compete against quality defensive ends, but also show that he can do so without getting penalized.  The last guy I’m looking forward to seeing is second-round safety/cornerback Alonte Taylor.  His selection confused a lot of Saints fans on draft night, but throughout camp he seems to have made a name for himself and become a fan favorite.  He also should get plenty playing time, and while I think Adebo has the CB2 position locked up, it’ll be interesting to see if Taylor can close that gap.  I want to see how much time he plays in the slot to see if he’s an eventual replace for *redacted*….


          I’m sure all of you are ready to see actual Saints’ football again as well.  We don’t have to wait too much longer! Let me know what you’re looking forward to seeing the most tomorrow night and throughout the preseason.


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Late Rally Sparks Another Tiger Comeback Over Vols

By David Billiot Jr • April 4, 2026
Friday Evening Recap For the third consecutive game, the LSU Tigers decided to be the Cardiac Cats. That’s nothing new for an LSU baseball team, but considering the struggles of this team in 2026, the mid-game deficits have seemed scarier than normal. Tennessee’s new Friday night ace Landon Mack was phenomenal and he had the Tiger offense in a pretzel. Through 7 innings, he struck out 10 and was mowing LSU hitters down. They only mustered together 3 hits, one of which was a Jake Brown solo homerun, representing the only damage Mack allowed. He finished his outing by retiring 14 straight hitters, which makes Josh Elander’s decision to not send him back out in the 8th inning with 96 pitches that much more confusing. He was showing no signs of slowing down. Hindsight is 20/20, though, and the Tigers went full-on attack mode with the Volunteer bullpen. A 5-run 8th inning flipped the game on it’s head and LSU never looked back. Coming off of his strange outing vs Kentucky, Casan Evans was pretty good from the very beginning. It was two pitches and two swings that resulted in the only damage that he sustained. Both were mistake pitches that were left in hittable spots and Tennessee hitters deserve credit for taking advantage of them. Aside from that, Evans was very good, despite not making it through the 6th inning. There was some shakiness in the 7th from the bullpen, but Santiago Garcia ended up receiving the win to bring his record to 1-0. Deven Sheerin’s second save of the season closed out a massive victory on the road in Knoxville, as the Tigers took game 1 by a final score of 7-5. Pitching Casan Evans got off to a great start in the 1st. Despite a 2-out single to the open part of the field due to the shift, he struck out two for a pretty easy inning. A leadoff single in the 2nd was quickly erased by a 6-4-3 double play turned by Steven Milam and Seth Dardar. Another groundout to Milam would retire the side in order. Tennessee made their first dent in the 3rd when Levi Clark hit a belly-high fastball out to left-center to tie the game at 1-1. Evans would retire the next two hitters to end the inning. The 4th is where he would find the most trouble. After a flyout to start the inning, the Vols would get a bloop single, followed by a Reese Chapman bomb to right-center field to give them their first lead of the game. Another deep flyout and a strikeout would end the inning there. Evans walked the leadoff hitter in the 5th, but then struck out three in a row to prevent any further damage. The Friday night ace would see the end of his night in the 6th after a walk and single put two runners on with 1 out in the 6th. He hung in to get a lineout, but with 2 outs, Jay Johnson would walk out to make the change. Final line: 5.2 IP / 6 hits / 3 runs / 6 Ks / 2 BBs / 90 pitches (62 strikes, 69%) Danny Lachenmayer was called upon for the third time in the last four SEC games, showing the inflated level of trust that the coaching staff has found in him. He came in to face a lefty Tyler Myatt and struck him out on 4 pitches to do his job. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 0 BBs / 4 pitches (3 strikes, 75%) Mavrick Rizy entered to start the 7th and was in the strike zone immediately, recording a 4-pitch strikeout, but then lost it and walked the next hitter on 5 pitches. A jam shot would roll right in to no man’s land with Dardar playing up the middle, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Omar Serna would get charged with an inexcusable passed ball to allow both runners to move up. Rizy came through with a massive strikeout with the infield drawn in, but then allowed another walk after a 2-2 count to load the bases. Final line: 0.2 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 2 Ks / 2 BBs / 24 pitches (11 strikes, 46%) Jay would call upon Santiago Garcia with 2 outs and bases loaded and left-handed hitting Blake Grimmer coming to the plate. Four straight balls would walk in a run to extend Tennessee’s lead to 4-1. Garcia was able to find the zone against Chapman, striking him out to prevent further damage. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 1 BB / 10 pitches (4 strikes, 40%) A 5-run 8th inning for LSU took them from down by 3 runs to up by 2, Jay turned to Deven Sheerin to try and get the final 6 outs of game. He recorded back to back flyouts to Chris Stanfield to start the inning, but even those were nerve=racking as he temporarily lost both in the sunsetting sky. A single and a walk put the tying run on base with 2 outs, but the junior got his first strikeout and let out a primal yell afterwards. After Stanfield added an insurance run in the top of the 9th, Sheerin returned in the 9th to close out the game. Despite a 2-out solo homerun to make it 7-5, he struck out the side with two of them looking to slam the door and record his second save of the season. Final line: 2.0 IP / 2 hits / 1 run / 4 Ks / 1 BB / 41 pitches (28 strikes, 68%) Hitting Derek Curiel’s 8th inning grand slam was, to no one’s surprise, was the Magic Moment of the game. Just when it looked as if LSU was going to waste a huge opportunity, the star sophomore did what stars do and changed the game with his one swing. He also singled earlier in the game and was the only Tiger to record multiple hits tonight. Curiel finished 2-4 with the 4 RBI and scored that one time. Chris Stanfield hit his second homerun of the game to add insurance in the 9th, but that was not his biggest at bat of the night. He was up second in the 8th and after Mason Braun drew a walk to lead off the inning, the senior outfielder laid off a few good breaking balls to draw the second walk of the inning, which eventually led the bases. Not many players could have held back from chasing all of those pitches and that game would have been completely different if he struck out in that moment. Stanfield finished 1-3 with the homerun, walk, RBI on the homerun, and also scored twice. Jake Brown and Seth Dardar both finished with identical lines. They went 1-4 with solo homeruns. Brown hit his in the 3rd inning to start the scoring for either team. Dardar’s came immediately following Curiel’s grand slam for back to back blasts. His actually ended up being the difference in the game, as it made the score 6-4, because Tennessee hit the solo homerun in the 9th for their fifth run. Although he went hitless, Mason Braun deserves to be noted for 2 walks. He finished 0-2 and also struck out twice, but one of the walks was the only one that Landon Mack allowed and the other was to lead off the big game-changing 8th inning. Up Next LSU and Tennessee will return tomorrow evening for game 2. First pitch is for 5 pm central, as the Tigers look to follow up their first SEC series win with their first road SEC series win of 2026. With today’s win, LSU is now 21-10 overall and back to .500 with a 5-5 conference record. Tennessee drops to 19-11 overall with a disappointing SEC record of 3-7. William Schmidt (4-1) will take the mound for the Tigers to make his second consecutive game 2 start. He is coming off of the win vs Kentucky in which he threw 5.1 scoreless innings. The Volunteers will answer with Tegan Kuhns, who had been their Friday night ace up until last weekend. The potential 1st round pick in this July’s draft has not had the season he expected, but is still very talented. He’s off to a 1-3 start in 2026 with his 4.08 ERA. Although he’s struck out 46 hitters in 35.1 innings pitched, he’s allowed 34 hits. LSU would love to strike first, as the trajectory of Tennessee’s early conference season is in a tailspin at this current moment. If the Tigers can come out hot, they will put a lot of pressure on the Volunteers. Follow me on X for much more @DCBilliotJr
An LSU Tigers baseball player in a yellow jersey yells and pumps his fist in celebration while wearing a purple helmet.

Massive Comeback Gives LSU First SEC Series

By David Billiot Jr • March 30, 2026
Sunday Afternoon Recap LSU had to have it. They had to have this series, which meant they had to have this game. Putting themselves directly behind the 8-ball with a loss on Friday night set up an uphill battle. An uphill battle that appeared to be too tall to climb after a disastrous start to the game on Sunday. Since the postgame on Friday night, we had been saying that the importance of Casan Evans battling through 6 innings in game 1 would truly have. In their first weekend without Cooper Moore, the Tiger pitching staff was going to be challenged. The performances of William Schmidt and Zac Cowan in game 2 put them in about as good of a position as they could have hoped for, which allowed Jay Johnson to call upon Gavin Guidry to start on Sunday. There is no one on the roster that is trusted more by Jay, so it was no surprise to see his name listed as starting pitcher about 90 minutes before first pitch. It was surprising just how much Guidry struggled, though. Control was an issue from the very first pitch. It wasn’t much better for a few guys that came after him, either, putting LSU in a deep hole. The pitching rapidly improved with Deven Sheerin and the stabilization on the mound allowed the offense to get to work and complete the comeback. Following a horrid game on Friday night, the Tiger lineup showed signs of life yesterday in game 2. Despite only scoring in 3 innings, they put up crooked numbers in each of them and that was a step in the right direction. Well, today was a gigantic leap in the right direction, because the offense went crazy. Jay described the performance of his team after the game as “zero quit”. After just one hit in the first time through the order, they picked things up in a hurry during the second trip through. Once they got going, there was no slowing them down. LSU scored in 5 of their final 6 at bats, with three of those times being 4+ runs. It was big swing after big swing, something we have rarely seen this year. Time will tell if this was truly the breakout game that they had been looking for or just an anomaly, but either way, they showed up when they were needed the most. Pitching It could not have been a worse start for Gavin Guidry. Needing as much length as you can possibly get from every pitcher that stepped on the mound today, a 39 pitch 1st inning was less than ideal. After an infield single to start the game, followed by a stolen base, he recorded a flyout for the first out. Guidry then issued three straight free passes to give Kentucky their first run since Friday night. A strikeout and an 0-2 pitch count would get him just one pitch away from escaping with minimal damage, but he’d lose him to give up his 3rd walk and bring in another run. A wild pitch would make it 3-0 before Guidry recorded a strikeout to finally get out of the 1st. Jay sent him back out for the 2nd, but it wasn’t much better. He recorded a flyout to start the inning, but then the hit barrage from the Wildcat bats got started. Guidry gave up a single, double, and then a walk, and was out of the game with the score 4-0. Final line: 1.1 IP / 3 hits / 6 runs / 2 Ks / 4 BBs / 48 pitches (24 strikes, 50%) Santiago Garcia took over after Guidry and immediately gave up a base-clearing double that made the score 6-0. He fought back for a flyout and a groundout, but the Tigers were already in deep trouble. Back for the 3rd, Garcia would walk the leadoff hitter and then LSU nearly turned a rare double play that doesn’t involve Steven Milam, but Zach Yorke was unable to scoop Seth Dardar’s low throw. A 4-pitch walk would be the end of the junior LHP’s day. Final line: 1.0 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 0 Ks / 1 BB / 20 pitches (7 strikes, 35%) Connor Benge entered with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, coming off of a good outing on Tuesday where he put out a fire. His job got even tougher after a passed ball on Omar Serna allowed both runners to move up, which set up a sacrifice flyout to centerfield to make it 7-0 and that would be all for Benge. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 5 pitches (2 strikes, 40%) Cooper Williams took over and was able to end the inning with a lineout. He returned in the 4th for another good inning. Despite a 1-out walk, the lefty struck out Kentucky’s 3 and 5-hole hitters, along with a nice defensive play by John Pearson on a slow roller. Final line: 1.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 1 BB / 23 pitches (13 strikes, 57%) After a fantastic outing by Mavrick Rizy on Friday where he threw 80% strikes, it was the opposite story today. He struggled from the very beginning and walked two of Kentucky’s worst hitters in their lineup, as per batting average. Their 7-hole hitter Will Marcy came in with a .200 average, while 9-hole hitter Carson Hansen was at .227 and Rizy walked them both with a strikeout between them. Following the second walk, his day was over. Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 2 runs / 1 K / 2 BBs / 18 pitches (8 strikes, 44%) Jay had to call upon Deven Sheerin far earlier he would have liked, especially considering that was the last of his “top” arms that was completely fresh for the weekend. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and only 1 out, Sheerin was being asked to come through in a huge spot with the Tigers having closed their deficit to 7-6. With the infield drawn in, Steven Milam took a ground ball and fired home to nab a potential run for out number to. Sheerin then had the next hitter down 0-2, but was struggling to finish him off with four straight foul-offs. Luke Lawrence eventually slapped a ball the other way off of the left field wall to drive in both runs. Bell followed with an RBI single and just like that, LSU was back down 10-6. From that point on, the big righty was nails. Sheerin struck out three in a row going in to the 6th, which ended up being the first 1-2-3 inning of the day for the Wildcats. After recording two outs to start the 7th, which made for 6 retired in a row, he hit a batter and that would be the end of the day. His ability to battle past the early hiccups played a massive role in bridging the gap to the end of the game for the bullpen. Sheerin earned the win to extend his record to 3-0. Final line: 2.1 IP / 2 hits / 1 run / 3 Ks / 1 BB / 1 HBP / 50 pitches (35 strikes, 70%) Danny Lachenmayer entered with two outs in the 7th for what was his second appearance of the weekend. This one was the biggest spot he has been in as a Tiger, though, and he delivered. He recorded a flyout to end the threat and preserve the 11-10 lead that LSU had just taken. He returned for the 8th, but gave up a base hit with to the open part of the field with the infield shifted. Final line: 0.1 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 5 pitches (3 strikes, 60%) Grant Fontenot entered and despite his shaky performance on Tuesday, he has been pretty good for the past month. After recording a flyout, he initiated a 4-6-3 double play that was beautifully turned between Dardar and Milam. Back in the 9th and now pitching with a 7-run lead, Fontenot cruised. Despite a 1-out single, he struck out two, including the final hitter of the game to clinch the game and LSU’s first SEC series win of the season. Final line: 2.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 0 BBs / 22 pitches (15 strikes, 68%) Hitting Set h Dardar was not only the offensive MVP of the day, but he was the best player at the plate for LSU all weekend. Today, his 6th inning 3-run homerun on to the roof of the Marucci hitting facility gave the Tigers their first lead after they fell behind 7-0 after the top of the 3rd. That wasn’t all for Dardar, as he also doubled and finished 3-5 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. His defense was impeccable all weekend. Jay has been searching for someone to take over the second base position and, as of now, the local kid has done just that. The other giant swing of the day belonged to John Pearson. A 2-out grand slam in the 3rd brought the Tiger back to within just 2 runs and brought both LSU and Alex Box Stadium back to life. Speaking of players taking control of positions, the sophomore has done just that at 3rd base. He has also shown big strides of improvement defensively, garnering praise from Jay after the game. Pearson finished 1-4 with the 4 RBI and a run scored, while also walking once. Derek Curiel had himself a huge day and was a part of every single big inning. He scored 3 runs and those came in the 3rd when LSU closed the deficit, in the 6th when they took the lead, and then in the 8th when they extended it way out of reach. He hit his second homerun of the year, a beautifully struck backside blast on a pitch that was on the outer half of the plate. Curiel finished 3-5 with 3 RBI, the 3 runs scored, and a walk. It wasn’t his first time leading off this season, but Chris Stanfield has not been in that position very much. Today, he may have shown why he should stay there. The senior went 4-5 and also drew a walk. He doubled and had two opposite field singles. One of those was immediately following when he fouled a ball right off of his knee and went down to the ground in major pain. Jay told us after the game that when he went out to check on his leader, Stanfield looked at him and said that he was ok and was going to come through. He did just that, lining a base hit to right field and driving in a run. He also walked and scored twice. Jake Brown didn’t drive in a single one of LSU’s 17 runs and the importance of that can not be overstated. I have mentioned multiple times in the past week that it is imperative that other players step up, because opposing teams are not going to allow Brown to beat them. Why would they? Pitchers have not given him much to hit and he’s had to work with what he’s given in many of these games. Despite the “quiet” day by his standards, Brown finished 2-5 with a couple of singles and scored 3 runs. Zach Yorke may not have driven in a ton of runs, either, but he was very active by getting on base four times. He finished 1-3, but he drew 3 walks and scored twice. Up Next LSU will stay home and welcome Southern for a midweek matchup on Tuesday. First pitch is for 6:30 pm central. The Tigers improved to 19-10 (4-5 SEC) with the win today. The Jaguars will come to Alex Box with a record of 10-16. They took 2 of 3 in a series with Prairie View A&M at home this weekend. Their common opponents with LSU include both Grambling, who Southern beat, and two games with McNeese, in which they split. Follow me on X for much more @DCBilliotJr
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