The New Wave Part 2
David Rainey • September 8, 2022
This is a subtitle for your new post
The Next Wave Part 2
Every team’s 2022 breakout candidate
Preseason is wrapping up. Teams are having to make tough decisions to get down to 53 players. Not only does that mean we are about to see REAL football , but it also means we survived the dead period on the sports calendar. So, let’s raise a glass to that shall we?
With the beginning of every new NFL season comes a plethora of new storylines. Who are this year’s favorites? Who will be the surprise team of the year? While we’ll discuss those two questions in greater detail soon (stay tuned), today we are going to discuss a different topic. Who are the players to watch this year? Or in other words, who are the breakout candidates for the 2022 NFL season?
We’re going to examine every roster and identify players I believe are primed for “breakout” seasons. Now, I say “breakout” in quotes because of the parameters I’m using to pick these guys. I’m not only looking for breakout candidates, but I’m also looking at guys who could have a rebound season. Guys that may have had a solid start to their career but dealt with injuries or down seasons but are now ready to make a comeback. The only players I want to exclude for this list are quarterbacks and rookies, simply because it makes this list a little more challenging.
Let’s dive in!
NFC East
- Dallas Cowboys – Tony Pollard (Running Back)
- If you play fantasy football, you know who Tony Pollard is. He is by no means an unknown player, but he is underappreciated. Even by his own team, if you ask me. Pollard is known as the backup to Zeke, but in my eyes, he’s been so much more than that. For about 2 seasons now I’ve stood my ground on my idea that Pollard is the best back the Cowboys have. When you turn on a Cowboy game, unlike Zeke in recent seasons, Pollard jumps off the screen. He has the juice these days. The only thing, or should I say person, that I think could hold him back from showing his true potential is Jerry Jones. He seems adamant about forcing the ball to Zeke. I think it would be wise for Mike Mike Mccarthy to get the dual threat Pollard more touches and let him take over that backfield. Zeke is aging and not aging well. I think Mccarthy comes to this realization at some point this year and allows Pollard to become the household name he deserves to be.
- Philadelphia Eagles – Kyzir White
- Washington Commanders – Benjamin St-Juste (Cornerback)
- Full disclosure, finding a player on the Commanders’ roster was difficult. They don’t have a ton of young great talent outside of guys like Chase Young who has already been to a Pro-Bowl. So, choosing him as a breakout guy would feel like cheating. But there is one guy I came across in my research that I’m intrigued by, and that’s second year cornerback Benjamin St-Juste. I’m sure you’re saying to yourself, “Who?” That’s understandable given that St-Juste was a third round pick last year that only played 9 games due to multiple concussions. But why do I think he’ll breakout? Well, it’s tough to go off stats when talking about cornerbacks or defensive backs in general, but if you go by the “eye-test,” St-Juste had played well during his rookie year until he was shut down. But what really stands out to me is his size. He’s 6’3 200 lbs. which is way above average for a cornerback, outside of the guys from the legendary Legion of Boom. I think he showed promise last season, and I think with his physical traits and another year of NFL coaching under his belt, he’s going to turn a lot of heads this year. Keep an eye out for Benjamin St-Juste.
- New York Giants – Kadarius Toney (Wide Receiver)
- There have been a lot of second year wide outs that have stood out to me while researching this article, but I’m not sure any of them excite me more than Kadarius Toney. Toney had his rookie year derailed by injury, terrible coaching, and average quarterback play. But when he was on the field, the talent was evident. Toney is incredible after the catch. If you get him the ball in space, he is an electric player. As I mentioned before, bad coaching held Toney back last year among other things, but that won’t be an excuse this year. The Giants hire ex-Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to be their new head coach, and if his time in Buffalo is any indication, creative offense will not be a problem. I fully expect Daboll to find as many ways as possible to get Toney involved and allow him to make plays that fans will see in the highlight reels week after week. The second-year breakout is on the horizon for Kadarius Toney.
NFC West
- Los Angeles Rams – Van Jefferson (Wide Receiver)
- Arizona Cardinals – Rondale Moore (Wide Receiver)
- The Cardinals have a lot of young talent, but there’s not too many guys in the league, let alone on their roster, as exciting of a prospect as Rondale Moore. He started off last season with a bang with games of 4/68 and 7/114/1 TD. However, he fell off a little bit after that. He still had a solid season for a rookie with 54 receptions and 435 yards. That’s a pretty good season, especially considering how crowded the Cardinals’ wide receiver room was last year. They had Hopkins, AJ Green, and Christian Kirk. Kirk left for Jacksonville and Hopkins will be suspended for the first 6 games. That should create a path for Moore to become the WR1 in Arizona. He’s an electric player that can absolutely fly. Just get him the ball in space and let him work. If the Cardinals can do that, Moore will have a monster year.
- San Francisco 49ers – Brandon Aiyuk (Wide Receiver)
- This is one of those teams where the quarterback would be a good choice, but since I can’t choose Trey Lance let’s choose someone who will benefit from him. Aiyuk started off last year somewhat quiet, but as Deebo transitioned into his hybrid role, Aiyuk started to take off at wide receiver. One thing that held Aiyuk back was Jimmy G. He doesn’t have the arm to take advantage of Aiyuk’s speed and ability to make plays down the field. Trey Lance, however, is a different story. Everything coming out of 49ers camp is pointing towards Lance and Aiyuk having great chemistry. I believe Aiyuk will be the greatest beneficiary of the upgrade at quarterback and turn out his best season yet.
- Seattle Seahawks – Noah Fant (Tight End)
- New situations lead to new opportunities. Noah Fant was one of the key pieces that Denver sent over to Seattle in the trade for Russell Wilson. I’ve long been a fan of Noah Fant and felt he was undervalued in Denver. Fant is a dynamic player and fantastic athlete at the tight end position. At 6’4 250 lbs. and a 4.5 40-yard dash, he can be a mismatch nightmare for defenses. He’s hovered around 600 yards in each of his first three NFL seasons, but as I mentioned, I never felt like he was a focal point of the Denver offense. I think that has the possibility to change in Seattle. While Seattle will certainly want to run the ball and get DK Metcalf involved heavily, I think they wanted Fant in return for a reason. I’m expecting Fant to finally be an important piece of an offense and have a career year if he can get competent quarterback play from Geno Smith or Drew Lock.
NFC South
- Tampa Bay Bucs – Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
- The Bucs are another one of the veteran-filled teams that made it difficult to find breakout candidates. One guy that seemed to keep catching my eye was outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. JTS is in his second season with the Bucs after coming out of Washington. He’s an easy guy to find on the field, as he’s one of these massive linebackers that rocks a single digit jersey number (9). JTS played limited snaps last year as he mostly was a rotational piece behind veteran pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul. But this year, JTS will get his chance to be the guy full-time. In his limited playing time last year, he managed four sacks, 29 tackles (5 for loss), 10 quarterback hits and three pass deflections. This is simply a case of more opportunities leading to more production. He will be on the field often for the Bucs and will show everyone why he was a first-round pick.
- New Orleans Saints - Paulson Adebo (Corner Back)
- Carolina Panthers – Jaycee Horn (Cornerback)
- It pained me as a Saints’ fan to see the son of Joe Horn be drafted by a rival, but boy did I love me some Jaycee Horn. Flip on the tape of Jaycee at South Carolina, and you’ll see why it was so easy to fall in love with his game. Unfortunately, the Panthers first round selection had his season ended very quickly after an injury in week three last year. However, in those games he allowed a total of two receptions on 7 targets and recorded 1 interception. Jaycee didn’t have the opportunity to put his talents on display in his rookie year; however, he’s healthy and back in his second season to show the world what he’s all about. I fully anticipate that he will be one of the next great shutdown corners in the NFL, and I believe it could happen as quickly as this season.
- Atlanta Falcons – Bryan Edwards (Wide Receiver)
- I promise this next statement is not a result of me being a Saints’ fan. The Atlanta Falcons don’t have a ton of good young players on their roster. I think their record over the last couple years is evidence enough for that. However, they have made a few additions and added some guys over the years that I think will be solid contributors for them. Cornerback AJ Terrell is a guy I think is ready to make a name for himself, but he had somewhat of a breakout season last year. So, with that said, I’m going with new wide receiver addition Bryan Edwards. Edwards had moments last year with the Raiders that started to get him some recognition, but he was overshadowed by other guys on that team like Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller. Not to mention all the drama that surrounded the organization. Edwards moved to on to Atlanta where he was going to be the number two receiver, but a Calvin Ridley suspension has catapulted him to the number one spot. Of course, tight End Kyle Pitts is the main attraction in that offense and rookie Drake London is assumed to be a guy who can take over that number one role at some point. But I think this is the season Bryan Edwards shows that he can be a good receiver in this league. I think he’ll have the best opportunity of his career to prove he can be the guy, and I believe he takes advantage of it.
NFC North
- Green Bay Packers – Rashan Gary (Defensive End)
- I’ll admit, I didn’t know much about Rashan Gary before doing research for this article. I honestly was going to pick one the Packers wide receivers given that SOMEONE must catch passes from Rodgers this year. But, as I looked into the Packers’ defense, Gary stood out. Gary had 9.5 sacks last season, which is a solid year for any player but leaves room for improvement. According to Packers beat writers, Gary has been dominating Packers’ camp this offseason. If we look at his numbers more deeply, he had 20 QB hurries. So, if he sees his snap percentage increase and generates more pressures and converts them into sacks at a higher rate, he should end up with a VERY impressive sack number this season. A 13+ sack year doesn’t seem unreasonable.
- Minnesota Vikings – KJ Osborn (Wide Receiver)
- My Miami Hurricane bias might shine through here with this pick, but it’s my prolonged exposure to KJ that makes me confident he can take a leap forward. KJ spent most of last season as a special team’s player for the Vikings and a rotational slot guy. He saw his snap percentage take a leap in week 12 and became a mainstay in the lineup from then on. He’s an incredible route runner and one thing he proved that he could do for certain, is score touchdowns. He scored seven TDs with five of them coming after week 12. KJ should see his role this year begin where he left off last year. If he continues to see that snap percentage, he should be able to show off his big play ability and find the endzone often!
- Chicago Bears – Darnell Mooney (Wide Receiver)
- The Bears don’t have much going for them, as they’re poised to be one of the worst teams in the NFL. However, Darnell Mooney, the Bears wide receiver 1, showed he and quarterback Justin Fields have fantastic chemistry last season. You could argue that the Tulane product had his breakout season last year after putting up 81 catches, 1055 yards and 4 touchdowns, but I believe he can still take an even larger step forward. As I mentioned, he and Justin Fields have an incredible connection, and the bears don’t have too many other weapons at the wide receiver position. Therefore, I expect Fields to force feed Mooney this season, and we’ve already seen that Mooney has big play ability. Expect Mooney to see his targets go through the roof and take advantage of the extra workload.
- Detroit Lions – Amon-Ra St. Brown (Wide Receiver)
- Amon-Ra St. Brown. I don’t know what happened after week 12 last year, but whatever it was turned Amon-Ra into an animal. He was quiet as a mouth from weeks 1-11. But from week 12 on, he made is case as one of the best wide receivers in his rookie class. As a matter of fact, he outproduced his fellow rookie Jamar Chase from week 12 on. Chase had 31 catches, 549 yards and 5 touchdowns. St. Brown recorded 51 catches, 560 yards and also had 5 touchdowns. Those numbers speak for themselves, and I think Dan Campbell will make sure to have St. Brown be the focal point of the Lions’ offense going forward. I don’t expect Amon-Ra to come off the field often, and with that, he should put up incredible numbers.
A quick share helps us a lot!
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
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