THis is very impressive tape.. Forget the sacks, where he shows great straight line speed, but he dropped into coverege alot and looked fluid enough and most of the time, kept the ball from being delivered in his area, and he was in on most plays, and showed sideline to sideline ability and stopped RB one on one..etc Very good tape and one i'm sure most would be impressed by..Originally Posted by teaneck
I'm saying he was the best player on the Defense this past yr, not best player overall.. Hes a good looking prospect.. I understand why some have em in Rd1 is all.. I'd have em on my Radar as well...
Probably. Lsu does a crap job of coaching their DL talent. And that secondary is nothing special this year.
Ok let me rephrase ... he tackles soft. He's always being driven backwards and even when he meets someone at the line of scrimmage, the ball carrier still falls forward for like 4-5 yards.
He is consistent (as Slip points out) ... I just don't see him warranting all the attention he's getting (and not someone I would especially love to see drafted in any round). LSU is doing more for him than he's doing for LSU imo.
Sorry ... just not seeing his upside.
Minter lacks agility and does not have fluid hips in coverage. He often fails to shed blocks and gets swallowed up by blockers. I would put a second round grade on him. Hopefully the giants avoid him. We need a bobby wagner type not a slightly more athletic chase blackburn.
U feel that way about em, and u give em a 2nd rd grade??lol How would he not have like a 4th or 5th rd grade if u think he can't cover, can't disengage, isn't agile, can't flip hips...etc? Makes no sense...
Like i Said, this guys extremely good, and that FLORIDA game was INSANE< and as u can read in this article, guys like ERIC REID and MINGO were very aware during the game of just how good MINTER was... ERIC REID mentioned to MINTER during the game(huddle), that he was "in the zone" and MINGO agreed..
This guys not only a aweesome player, but a leader and never gets in as the article says " even a sniff of trouble"... As one LSU player says, its easy to look up to MINTER.. I just find it funny that some on here would knock his play in that ridiculous game he had against FLORIDA, and the players were well aware during the game how insane MINTER was playing.. I think i'm gonna have to side with REID and MINGO on that one..lol I've honestly never seen this long of a article just praising one player..
I want MINTER even more after reading this...
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softly, LSU's Kevin Minter has made his presence felt in a big way
LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter has been a quiet but dominant presence in the middle of the Tigers' defense this season with 111 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss. (Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune) By Randy Rosetta, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
on December 29, 2012 at 7:15 PM, updated December 29, 2012 at 9:40 PM Print
ATLANTA -- It was a sweltering day on the field in a hostile environment at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium back in early October, with LSU and Florida locked up in an intense defensive struggle. All of a sudden it hit safety Eric Reid as the defense huddled up for the next snap.
As linebacker Kevin Minter's spectacular day was unfolding -- as always quietly and without a lot of fanfare -- his teammates took notice.
"We were standing there, trying to catch our breath, and Eric looked over and said 'Kevin, do you know you've made every play?'" defensive end Barkevious Mingo said, trying to imitate Reid's respectfully incredulous tone when he realized what Minter was doing.
"Kevin was in a zone -- flying around and making plays. Making every play."
LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter: 'I had to work hard and compete for everything I got, and that's made me appreciate it that much more.'
Chris Granger, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
Well, maybe not every play, although it seemed that way. Minter was undoubtedly spectacular that day in The Swamp with 17 solo tackles and 3 assists. That turned out to be the signature game of what has been a special season for the fourth-year LSU junior.
That season winds down Monday not far from Minter's hometown in Suwanee, Ga., when he and No. 9-ranked LSU (10-2) square off with 14th-ranked Clemson (10-2) in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome.
And in his typical unassuming fashion, Minter is wide-eyed at the idea of stepping back on the field where some of his biggest games have unfolded.
"I played in the state championship game here and lost," Minter said. "I've also played here against North Carolina (the first start of his career in 2010) and in the SEC Championship Game. I've got a lot of history here. I've always played fairly well here. I love the Georgia Dome."
That's about as close as the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Minter comes to brashness.
On those 20 tackles he was in on against Florida, not once did Minter get up off the pile of humanity yapping or talking trash. Instead, every play he's a part of ends with him trotting back to the huddle or to his spot in the middle of the Tigers' defense.
Flip that around, and you won't see -- or hear -- Minter imploring teammates with passionate speeches or arm-waving demonstrations.
The most his LSU teammates usually get, Mingo said, is Minter firmly and quietly urging "Let's go!"
Barkevious Mingo
LSUSports.net "I tease him sometimes because that's all we get from him," Mingo said. "I tell him, 'That's it, man?' But that's a lot of emotion from Kevin."
No argument from Minter. He concedes that working up a verbal lather is not part of his repertoire.
"It kind of came with my personality," he said. "I've never been that kind of guy. I've always been somebody who leads by example. I was a lot more assertive this year as far as getting guys lined up and telling them where they need to be because it's kind of what this job demands. But I've never felt like I needed to yell or scream to make my point."
Nor has he had to rely on vocal theatrics to be an effective defensive quarterback a season after the Tigers' linebacker corps struggled most of the season.
Minter was a part-time starter in 2011, splitting time with Karnell Hatcher, as defensive coordinator John Chavis deployed a 4-2-5 scheme almost exclusively to accentuate the talents of Tyrann Mathieu as a ball-hawking playmaker.
When Mathieu was dismissed from the team prior to the season, on top of the losses of defensive backs Mo Claiborne, Brandon Taylor and Ron Brooks to the NFL, there was a gaping hole on the defense for somebody who could consistently supply a game-changing presence.
LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter played a key role in the Tigers' ability to slow down Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with a team-high 12 tackles.
Chris Granger, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
While Minter isn't the same kind of dynamo that Mathieu was, he has helped fill the void in different ways.
Chavis was more comfortable using three linebackers more often this season, with junior Lamin Barrow also emerging as a star on the weakside and several players taking on the task on the strongside when Tahj Jones was ruled academically ineligible.
Minter rewarded Chavis and the rest of the defense by delivering a huge season.
The performance at Florida was the centerpiece, but he also recorded three other games with 10 tackles or more and has 111 stops heading into the bowl game. Minter has notched 13½ tackles for loss - at least one in every game but two.
This wasn't an overnight metamorphosis for Minter. Without an ounce of hesitation, he describes himself as a system player and says he took his time to learn as he toiled behind Kelvin Sheppard in 2010 and shared time with Hatcher last season.
"I had to work hard and compete for everything I got, and that's made me appreciate it that much more," Minter said.
"I've always had the size, strength and talent to be a good linebacker. It was just a matter of getting the system down and gaining confidence in myself in the ability to move people around and tell them where they need to be."
There was an impetus to that confidence.
Chavis' pride and joy as a coach has always been stout linebacker play and when that unit came under criticism and scrutiny in 2011, LSU's defensive coordinator felt that sting as deeply as the players.
LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis
Associated Press So in the off-season, Chavis sat down with the player he knew could spearhead an immediate and necessary turnaround.
"Coach Chavis told me 'You've always had the potential and now it's time to start living up to that,' " Minter said. "That meant a lot to me - that he thought I was that kind of player. It motivated me to work a lot harder in the off-season and from the first game, it felt different out there. It felt easier, almost like I was back in high school."
The result of the heart-to-heart with Chavis was that Minter emerged not only as a team leader, but also as one of the best linebackers in the country.
"It was an opportunity, and certainly we needed for him to step up and be front and center," Chavis said. "Kevin is a real quiet guy, but I saw both sides, on and off the field, and I feel like I know him very, very well. He's the kind of leader that you want to have."
That applies off the field as well.
Minter graduated earlier this month and has never been affiliated with a sniff of trouble. In an age when players are closely watched, their social media habits are over-analyzed and news of arrests and suspensions have mushroomed, Minter relies more on politeness and letting his actions speak.
"He's the kind of guy who leads by example," said Barrow, one of Minter's closest friends. "He does everything right on and off the field, and that's naturally somebody you look up to. When he has to be vocal, he can be."
Added Reid, "He's a great example-setter for the young guys, somebody they can look up to and somebody they can count on if they have a question, they can go to him and he'll answer it and not embarrass them."
More than that, though, Minter has that hidden ability to do what coaches crave most in their best players: He makes those around him better.
Not with a bunch of bravado - remember, "Let's go!" is as much as he offers up - but instead with the personality that other players around him follow and emulate.
LSU linebacker Lamin Barrow: 'Feeding off (Minter's) energy has helped make me a better player this year.'
NOLA.com | Times-Picayune
"Feeding off his energy has helped make me a better player this year," Barrow said matter-of-factly. "We always dreamed of being out there together from the time we got here, and he just helps motivate me by showing me you can make your statement with the way you play."
At the team banquet a few weeks ago, Minter was voted by his teammates as the team Most Valuable Player.
Still seemingly stunned by that recognition, Minter paused and contemplated his answer when asked how significant that is to him.
When he finally did, he delivered what will eventually be a perfect and fitting epitaph to his LSU career.
"It tells me that my teammates see me as a guy who tries his best and does everything he can for his team," Minter said.
ALso notice, MINTER was voted by his teammates as TEAM MVP.. Not Defensive MVP, but TEAM MVP.. THis guys is insane, and a true talent!
Let me know when that talent shows up on tape.
At least we know he's talented in the locker room
That Florida tape is fantastic in my opinion, and he shows up all over in that tape, and has a great highlight reel as well.. Dude, Eric Reid and Mingo made it a point during that game to be like "dang man, u killing it!" basically... lol I mean, u think other players think that way without clear evidence?Let me know when that talent shows up on tape.
At least we know he's talented in the locker room
U combine his on field play and leading by example attitude, with his off field persona, u got one complete player worthy of a late 1st/ 2nd rd pick.. If he someone sneaks into the 3rd, its the steal of the draft in my opinion...
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