Mansoor Delane Named Finalist for Thorpe Award

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In what’s been an otherwise failure of a football season, LSU does have a bright spot this year.

On Tuesday, transfer cornerback Mansoor Delane was named one of three finalists for the Thorpe Award, which is given annually to the nation’s most outstanding defensive back. Delane is a finalist alongside Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore.

Delane’s been worth every penny since coming over from Virginia Tech. He’s the first true shutdown corner LSU’s had in quite some time and has been instrumental in getting the program back to its DBU reputation.

Delane has almost as many passes defensed, 12, as he has allowed catches, 13. Delane has also broken up 12 passes, and has a pair of interceptions. He has yet to allow a touchdown, and has only allowed two first downs all season long. When he has been targeted, which hasn’t been often, he’s only allowed a 38.2 completion percentage.

LSU’s defense, especially against the pass, has been a throwback to good ole days. The Tigers lead the SEC in defensive pass efficiency, and also lead the conference in interceptions (14), passes defended (61), and pass breakups (47). Those numbers also rank in the top-20 nationally, with 10th in interceptions, 11th in defended, and 17th in breakups.

Should Delane win, he’ll be the fourth Tiger to win the Thorpe Award. Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne won LSU consecutive Thorpes in 2010 and 2011, while Grant Delpit was the most recent winner in 2019.

While I of course would love if Delane won, I would assume either Downs or Moore ends up winning it. This is of course an individual award, but Downs and Moore are playing for CFP teams, while Delane is on a team that is staring down a 7-5 record, and I fear that voters are going to default to that. Name recognition helps as well, and I would assume that works specifically in Downs’ favor. Still, it’s well-deserved recognition for Delane, and hopefully a sign that he’ll be earning All-American honors in a few weeks, and be one of the first defensive backs drafted come April.

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