Mississippi DL talks about LSU camp

One of Mississippi’s top prospects for the Class of 2004 could see his stock rise after a series of camp appearances this summer.

Natchez defensive tackle Anthony Strauder has camped at LSU, Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech thus far and has tentative plans to appear at Mississippi State later this month.

“They were all fun, but the level of competition and intensity at LSU really jumped out at me,” Strauder said. “I got to work against guys like Glenn Dorsey, who was unreal. That guy’s a player. Also there was Phillip Tobias from here in Mississippi. He was real good. Torey Byrd from Louisiana was another. The competition was just great.

“After that camp, coach (Will) Muschamp pulled me aside and told me they were planning on offering me. I haven’t gotten anything officially yet, but I think they will. When I got to talk to coach (Nick) Saban, he seemed to really like me. He told me he loved my explosiveness off the ball, my leg drive and my raw ability. Even though I’ve mostly played tight end in high school, they think I can be real good on the D-Line.”

Strauder (6-4, 285, 4.9) has offers from Mississippi State and Southern Miss. He said his top six consists of LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Tennessee. Colorado and Nebraska have also expressed interest and may be in the mix if they offer a scholarship, he noted.

“I’m pretty open right now, although LSU was really nice,” Strauder said. “I like something about all the Mississippi schools. With Ole Miss, I like coach (David) Cutcliffe a lot. He seems like a real good man to play for. With Mississippi State, they’ve always had a tradition of playing good defense. Plus, they were the first to offer and one of my uncles, Herman Carroll, played there. Southern Miss has shown me a lot of attention and I like the way they’ve made me feel important to them. I like their defensive philosophy and the way they get after it. I had a great camp there.”

In addition to being a prime physical prospect (345 bench, 550 squat, 30 vertical), Strauder is also a solid student with a 3.3 GPA and a 21 on his ACT. He wants to major in physical therapy, which could also factor into his final decision.

He has not set a timetable for making his college choice.