BATON ROUGE, La. -- Leading up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, we'll take a daily look at a key LSU player. We'll examine how he has done and what his challenges are for the Clemson game.
Odell Beckham, WR, Sophomore
Accomplishments: Beckham emerged as LSU's primary big-play threat, catching 40 passes for a team-high 673 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He had the team's long catch of the year, a 56-yarder. An elusive speedster, Beckham's talents translated to special teams, where he returned two punts for touchdowns. His 89-yard return for a score against Ole Miss was a key play in The Tigers' come-from behind win, salvaging senior day for LSU. Beckham averaged 9.7 yards per punt.
Shortcomings: Even after the departure of Rueben Randle, Beckham did not become a significantly more prolific pass catcher in his sophomore season. He hauled in 40 passes as a true freshman starter for the Tigers, but only had one more catch in his 12-game sophomore season, though his yards-per-catch average increased. He went through an early slump, particularly in the season's second game where he struggled with fumbles and drops against Washington. He seemed to regain his confidence late in the season.
Against Clemson: While LSU's passing game surged in the last four games of the regular season, Beckham didn't see much increase in production as Jarvis Landry seemed to be a the main beneficiary of Zach Mettenberger's new-found passing proficiency. He had 27 catches for 420 yards in the first eight games and 14 for 253 in the last four. He'll look to become a bigger part of the Tigers' resurgent passing game in the bowl.
