Editor's note: This week, we'll take a quick look at each of LSU's position groups as the Tigers prepare to open preseason practice next week. Up next are the cornerbacks.
CORNERBACK
Returning starters: Tre'Davious White (55 tackles, two interceptions, team-high nine passes defended) and Jalen Mills (67 tackles, three sacks, three interceptions). The White-Mills tandem started at corner for most of the fall before Mills shifted to safety at the end of the season. He stayed there this spring and projects as a starting safety for 2014 assuming that his legal issues clear up following a summertime arrest. The second starting corner is presumably Rashard Robinson (16 tackles, one interception), who took over Mills' starting spot in the bowl win against Iowa.
Starters lost: None.
Key newcomers: Among the newcomers is Ed Paris, who enrolled in January and participated in spring practice. That advantage could place Paris -- whom ESPN rated as the nation's No. 50 overall prospect for 2014 -- in line for playing time ahead of fellow signees John Battle and Russell Gage.
Player to watch: Keep an eye on Robinson's development. White is getting more preseason love, which is understandable since he started the last 11 games of 2013 and had an outstanding freshman season. Robinson came on late, however, and is aiming to build off what he accomplished in shutting down Texas A&M's star wideout Mike Evans in November. He's less of a known quantity than White, but at 6-foot-1, his ceiling might be even higher. If he approaches his potential, LSU will have a pair of sophomore stars in the making at corner.
Overall: The Tigers look to be in great shape at the position. Not only do they have two of the SEC's better young corners in White and Robinson, but they have a solid third option in Jalen Collins (22 tackles), a swingman in Dwayne Thomas (10 tackles, four tackles for a loss, three sacks), a talented freshman like Paris and a heck of an emergency fill-in in Mills.
It's unclear how playing time might shake out when the Tigers are in their various defensive packages, so it's highly likely that we'll see more than just the starting corners once the season begins. The depth chart is full of talent, and because of the youth present on the depth chart, cornerback figures to be a strength -- and a source of continuity -- in 2014 and beyond.