Judging by the Twitter response Trey Burton's comments got on Saturday night and what people are writing today , it would seem the Florida sophomore made the most outrageous statements about the LSU and Alabama defenses. Here were the exchanges after LSU's 41-11 win over Florida that likely landed him on some bulletin boards:
Reporter: What can you say about LSU's secondary today?
Burton: They're not as good as advertised. I think the D-linemen and front seven is really, really good.
A little later on…
Reporter: Back to back, you guys have seen Alabama's defense and then LSU's defense. How do they compare?
Burton: Alabama's hands down a lot better. A lot more physical, just tougher guys. If I had to pick one to not go against, it'd definitely be Alabama.
Those answers prompted this response from LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, a sophomore gaining Heisman consideration:
Burton retweeted what Mathieu wrote, and it's clear from the outcome of the game that Mathieu had a better day than Burton. LSU won by 30 with Mathieu getting his second interception of the year and finishing with six tackles. Burton had 21 yards rushing and receiving and completed 1-of-2 passes for six yards.
That's not the problem I have though. It's this – what's the big deal?
As I said Saturday night , the reporters asking those questions were clearly working on something in advance of the Nov. 5 game between LSU and Alabama. Florida is the first common opponent those two teams have had this season, so asking the UF players their opinion was valid.
And, horror of horrors, Burton actually said what he thought! He didn't throw out some unprompted trash talk. He didn't say the LSU defense was bad. He merely said that he did not think it was as good as the one Alabama has, an opinion shared by many (and likely by two Florida quarterbacks with injured ankles).
The reporters working on those stories are going to get a lot of responses that go something like this – "Well, both are great defenses and they work hard. We definitely have a lot of respect for them."
As college football players are banned from Twitter or coached on their responses to avoid giving bulletin board material, it's often difficult to get a thoughtful response. Most answers are vanilla, unusable and offer little insight. Burton said what he thought. Sure, I can see why Mathieu would respond to that comment. But the indignation from the fans is comical.
Alabama might have a better defense. The stats would indicate so now, but that won't become clear until Nov. 5.
For what it's worth, Burton was also asked, by me, if the past two games were a reflection of Florida's run game or the defenses it had faced. His response?
"No. 1 and No. 2 defenses in the nation. They're pretty good. We didn't execute. We had a lot of penalties. Gotta give them credit too."
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