Derek Stingley Jr. might be the best player in college football.
You’ll never hear those words come out of his mouth, but ask anyone around the LSU football program—or really, anyone who knows the sport as a whole—and his name will be one of the first ones mentioned.
He’s already topped CBS Sports’ list of the 20 best college football players to watch in 2021. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 1 returning defensive back in the country. And he’s all the way up to No. 2 on ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper’s 2022 NFL draft Big Board.
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So it makes sense that the Tigers’ defensive struggles in 2020 turned a lot of heads, both locally and nationally.
LSU, which prides itself on its well-earned “Defensive Back University” moniker, ranked dead last in the entire country, giving up 323 passing yards per game, and second to last as they surrendered 16.31 yards per completion.
Back in 2019, Stingley led the SEC and ranked fifth nationally with six interceptions. Last year, he saw opposing quarterbacks avoid throwing to his side of the field altogether, opting to target the younger, more inexperienced underclassmen around him.
Oftentimes—as the numbers indicate—this strategy worked. But teams also learned quickly that there was another highly touted talent in the Tigers’ secondary who isn’t to be tested.
It took true freshman Elias Ricks just over three quarters of action to snag his first collegiate interception. He went on to grab two more picks in the next three games and tacked on one more in LSU’s win over No. 6 Florida, placing him second best in the SEC on the year.
“I knew I could come in and do those things if I worked hard and listened to (defensive backs coach Corey Raymond),” Ricks tells 225. “Football is football. If I know what I’m doing, it’s going to get done.”
He had worked his way into a starting role by the season opener and didn’t seem to have too much trouble adjusting to the college game.
Coming originally from California, Ricks did say the size of the players in the SEC took some getting used to. But he used every new opponent and matchup as an opportunity to grow his game.
“The size (of the players) was
definitely different, and the game was a lot faster,” Ricks says. “But I was learning something new every week. Every week was like a first game for me almost. I was really taking everything from the last week and trying to minimize mistakes.”
Having Stingley around certainly helped Ricks’ rapid development.
The two first met on the recruiting trail back when Ricks was a sophomore in high school. Both athletes were ranked as the best prospects in their respective states and had to learn to handle the pressures that come with being a five-star recruit in the SEC.
“When I first came in, he helped me a lot and gave me a lot of pointers,” Ricks says. “He already knew basically what I was going through, and he’s always there for me. We had a lot of similarities coming out of our high school careers with how we were highly touted, so we relate a lot. Talking to him about all the things he went through, and him seeing it from my point of view and knowing that it worked for him his freshman year—I’m just trying to take in everything.”
He seems to be doing a good job so far.
To go along with his team-high four interceptions, Ricks compiled 20 total tackles, five passes defended, and he even scored two defensive touchdowns—which happens to be the same number he surrendered all season.
He was named third team All-American and graded out as the second-best cornerback in the country in man coverage by Pro Football Focus.
“(Ricks) plays with a lot of confidence, which is good to have as a defensive back,” Stingley tells 225. “His passion to win every play is what DBU is all about. DBU is in good hands with Elias.”
Stingley’s comment foreshadows what’s inevitably coming in LSU’s future.
He’ll almost certainly go off to the NFL after this season, being projected as a top-five pick in the upcoming draft. That means he’ll pass the DBU torch onto Ricks, who will become the new face of the Tigers’ secondary.
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But for just one last season, LSU fans will get to watch one of the greatest cornerback tandems that’s come through Baton Rouge in recent memory—and arguably the best duo in the country.
“Honestly, if me and him play at our best,” Ricks says, “that’s all we’ve really got to do. He’s the best player I’ve ever played with.”
This article was originally published Aug. 1 in the Tiger Pride 2021 issue of 225 magazine.