{"id":15088,"date":"2023-08-29T18:28:50","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T23:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=15088"},"modified":"2023-08-29T18:28:50","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T23:28:50","slug":"aaron-anderson-takes-over-as-lsus-punt-kick-returner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/aaron-anderson-takes-over-as-lsus-punt-kick-returner\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Anderson takes over as LSU\u2019s punt, kick returner"},"content":{"rendered":"

No. 5 LSU is set to take on No. 8 Florida State on Sunday to open the 2023 season, and head coach Brian Kelly<\/a><\/strong> kicked off the week with some notable news.<\/p>\n

The Tigers have a new starter on both kick and punt returns.<\/p>\n

Aaron Anderson<\/a><\/strong>, a Louisiana native who transferred into LSU after one season at Alabama, has won both jobs. And it could turn into one of the biggest storylines of the season. <\/p>\n

Simply put, Anderson is a home run threat who has the potential to score every time he touches the football.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s pretty dynamic,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a different look back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson one of Louisiana\u2019s best high school special teams stars over the past decade<\/h2>\n

For those that followed New Orleans high school football from 2018-2022, Aaron Anderson was a household name.<\/p>\n

He was a four-year starter for Edna Karr, and he accounted for more than 6,000 all-purpose yards between time spent on special teams and wide receiver.<\/p>\n

As for his role in the return game, Anderson had no peers. By the time he left the Edna Karr campus, Anderson had totaled more than 20 career special teams touchdowns. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the very few, and rare, freshmen to ever make an impact at Edna Karr. That\u2019s not typical,\u201d said On3 National Recruiting Analyst Sam Spiegelman<\/strong>, who saw Anderson in person every year of his high school career. \u201cHe\u2019s the best player I\u2019ve seen come from Edna Karr, which a large part of that is what he did on special teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s high praise for the Edna Karr, but the production across his high school career backs it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had some turnovers in the return game when he was younger, but by the time he gradated from Edna Karr, he had erased all of that,\u201d Spiegelman said. \u201cHe had one of the biggest improvements we saw when it came to a prospect\u2019s hands developing across high school. The Karr offense was designed to get him in space, and that transfers over to the special teams realm. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he did it in big moments, whether at home or on the road or in the Superdome. He\u2019s experienced in very big games.\u201d<\/p>\n

LSU getting more than just a \u201creturn specialist\u201d<\/h2>\n

Anderson left high school as the No. 36 overall prospect in the 2022 class, and not just for his head-turning stat lines on special teams.<\/p>\n

He was ranked as the No. 4 wide receiver prospect in America, a final ranking that came after a senior season when Anderson caught 74 passes for 926 yards and 14 touchdowns. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnderson is one of the more dangerous open-field threats in the 2022 cycle,\u201d said On3 National Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power<\/strong> following Anderson\u2019s senior season. \u201cHe\u2019s a compact receiver and pairs the initial burst with high-end straight-line speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

During fall camp, LSU head coach Brian Kelly<\/a><\/strong> circled Anderson\u2019s speed, backed up by plenty of sub-11 second 100-meter dash times in high school, and elusiveness as two reasons the Tigers can capitalize on the speedy wideout in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is going to be a lot more to see from him as we continue to build the offense,\u201d Kelly said this month. \u201cYou will see him involved in touching the ball in other areas (beyond slot receiver), as well \u2026 from the backfield and in the special teams game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got speed, explosiveness. He\u2019s what we thought he would be. Our strength coaches really liked his work ethic. He\u2019s very strong in the weight room. I think we\u2019ve just scratched the surface of what we can do with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does Anderson turn the 2022 special teams woes into a strength?<\/h2>\n

If there\u2019s an under the radar pick for one of LSU\u2019s MVP\u2019s this season, Anderson might be it.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s set to see time on offense in a variety of ways, but the boost he brings to the return units on special teams is where his most important touches might come.<\/p>\n

In 2022, LSU dropped multiple punts in the loss to Florida State, which led to the staff replacing Malik Nabers<\/a><\/strong> with Jack Bech<\/a><\/strong>. Bech, who has since transferred to TCU, saw time as a punt and kick returner, but turnovers continued. From there, the Tigers rode walk-on receiver Gregory Clayton<\/a><\/strong>, who flashed consistent hands, but averaged just 4.6 yards per punt return.<\/p>\n

With the arrival of Anderson, a proven commodity at the position, Kelly\u2019s confidence meter continues to rise as he sees more and more from his newest starter in the return game. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel a whole lot better than I did last year at this time,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to get out too far, but I believe it\u2019s going to be a positive weapon for us. I hope that comes to fruition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like what I see back there. Aaron is pretty fluid. It comes natural to him. He is really natural with the football \u2026 We think special teams should and can be a positive for us and influence games.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Aaron Anderson takes over as LSU\u2019s punt, kick returner<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No. 5 LSU is set to take on No. 8 Florida State on Sunday to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}