LSU has been known for producing fast physical defensive players for the NFL, especially from the secondary. Ryan Clark, Patrick Peterson, LaRon Landry, and Corey Webster are just a few players who made the passage from LSU’s backfield to the NFL’s. Morris (Mo) Claiborne hopes that he will join these LSU alumni in the NFL, but in the meantime has been proving himself as an irreplaceable asset to the Tiger’s top ranking defense. Having been on the field with Patrick Peterson last season, Claiborne was often overlooked by the national media. However, this season will be a different story.
[caption id="attachment_122" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Mo will look to be celebrating more than a Cotton Bowl victory after this season."]
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Freshman year proves to be a learning experience
The Shreveport native came into fall camp his freshmen year as a wide receiver, but was moved to cornerback weeks into the fall drills. As a true freshman, Claiborne did not start any games but was the No. 2 right cornerback behind the great Patrick Peterson.
Sophomore stud
He enjoyed a breakout sophomore season, and led the team with five interceptions (which ranked third among the SEC). Claiborne became the first Tiger since LaRon Landry in 2006 to have an interception in back-to-back games. After the season he was selected to the Second Team All-SEC team by the Associated Press. Teamed up with Peterson, the duo was considered one of the best cornerback tandems in the nations and maybe even in school history. However, Claiborne’s achievements were overshadowed by Peterson’s outstanding season. Claiborne attributes a lot of his success to Peterson and says he took him under his wing and models his gameplay after his former teammate.
The sky is the limit for Claiborne
Claiborne’s speed, size and shut down skills allowed him to go into his junior year as an elite corner back. Being a Pre-Season First Team SEC selection and an all American candidate has many calling Mo one of the best corner backs in the SEC. This year has been no different for the junior and leads the team with three interceptions with 95 yards gained off of those. Also, Claiborne assumed the responsibilities of kickoff returner as did his former team mate Peterson and has filled in the role quite nicely. Mo is on the Jim Thorpe Award watch list for 2011 (the Thorpe Award was captured by Patrick Peterson in 2010), and is just another way to show how much Peterson influenced Claiborne’s gameplay. He ranks second in the SEC and tenth nationally in kickoff return average with 29.5 yards per return. Not to mention he recorded the third longest interception return in school history and the longest non-scoring return with an 89 yard run at Tennessee this past week.
Any questions about Claiborne's athletic ability? This video should answer them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihvnMC1h95U
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