LSU defensive end Mingo carving niche with his big plays
 

As a name, Barkevious Mingo has no peer.

The year he signed with LSU out of West Monroe High School, the man his friends and family call “Ke-Ke” won an online fan poll created by one of the national recruiting websites.

The award? Name of the year.

Mingo made his name in recruiting as one of the state’s premier linebacker prospects. So it was with some trepidation that midway through what would eventually be a redshirt freshman season in 2009, Mingo agreed to a request by defensive coordinator John Chavis to shift from linebacker to defensive end.

“I was like, ￔUh-oh. Gotta put my hand down,’” Mingo recalled.

For a rangy player like Mingo (6-foot-5, 240 pounds), playing as a down lineman was a foreign concept.

Foreign, but not impossible to master.

“The offseason before (the 2010 season), I was just flying around making plays in camp,” Mingo said. “That really helped my confidence. I knew I had a role to play.”

So far it hasn’t been a starting role - the third-year sophomore has just one start among his first 21 college games.

It has been a starring one, however. And the Auburn game was typical of his play.

Full article.
Making a splash | Sports | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

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