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BATON ROUGE – Only a sophomore, Grant Delpit has already climbed into the pantheon of great secondary players at DBU.
The 6-foot-3, 203-pound safety from Houston is being compared favorably to such past LSU luminaries as Jamal Adams, now with the New York Jets, and Tyrann Mathieu, now with the Houston Texans. Former LSU defensive back Ryan Clark, now an analyst with ESPN, said recently Delpit is the best safety in LSU history.
It has not gone to Delpit's head, however. Delpit is tied with Hamp Cheevers of Boston College for second in the NCAA with five interceptions (leading Juwan Foggie of Charlotte has six) and leads the Southeastern Conference in this category heading into Saturday's showdown with Alabama at Tiger Stadium.
"That's huge, you know, knowing all the guys that come here," Delpit said of the comparisons. "Definitely a blessing. Definitely a person who likes to talk about me like that. Pay respect to those guys because I do not think I'm doing that much more, but it's just coming with it. "
While he played a freshman with an interception and 60 total tackles, his game has improved even more this year. Delpit already has 54 tackles in eight games, including 29 solo stops, and has been bumped up in the last year.
"Just a little bit of confidence and confidence in the coaches to make me feel great," It works as a unit. When defense plays well, individuals play well. "
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron is not one for hiding Delpit 's light under a bushel.
"Orgeron said after Delpit had two interceptions against Mississippi State in a 19-3 win two weeks ago. "This week he made a difference in the ballgame when we needed it, and it looks like it comes easy to him. He's a great football player. "
Delpit said the Tigers played with MSU after being embarrassed 37-0 the year before in Starkville, Miss.
"We remember what they did to us last year," Delpit said. "It was on our minds the whole year. We just wanted to get the bad taste out of our mouth. "
On Saturday, the fourth ranked Tigers face a different sort of challenge in No. 1 Alabama, which leads the country in scoring offense. A bye week will give the team a chance to heal up and prepare more, he said.
"We'll just come out and prepare for them, really (starter Tua Tagovailoa and 2017 starter Jalen Hurts)," Delpit said.
The Tigers are looking forward to a seven-game losing skid to the Crimson Tide.
"We've got to prepare like any other week," Delpit said. "We play in the SEC, it's a tough schedule. Alabama's a great team. We've got to come with a little extra juice. I'm just excited for the game. Excited. "
Orgeron famously said after the Tigers lost to Alabama in 2017, "We comin '." Delpit agreed with that philosophy, saying he's seen the video of Orgeron's statement a couple of times.
"Just like coach said, we are not backing down," Delpit said. "That's all I can say about it."
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