LSU doesn't play favorites among receivers

BATON ROUGE, La. - JaMarcus Russell insists he doesn&#39;t play favorites when he goes to the air.<br> <br> LSU&#39;s receiving numbers back him up.<br> <br> In recent years, No. 12 LSU (7-2) has produced successful pros Michael Clayton and Devery Henderson. They appear to have another on the way in Dwyane Bowe, a 6-foot-3, 217-pound target who now owns the school record for touchdown catches at 22.<br> <br> Yet Bowe&#39;s 43 receptions this season are one fewer than receiver Craig ``Buster&#39;&#39; Davis and only six more than Early Doucet.<br> <br> ``A lot of people say they bring certain things different to the table, but from my point of view, I think they&#39;re all kind of the same,&#39;&#39; Russell said after practice this week. ``They just have different speeds, how big and small they are, but I really think they&#39;re all the same.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> That poses obvious challenges to opposing defenses, most of which have watched Russell pick them apart for 2,157 yards and 18 touchdowns this season.<br> <br> ``We just can&#39;t focus on one guy. We have to lock down everybody,&#39;&#39; said Alabama safety Jeffrey Dukes, who&#39;ll be among the next group of defensive backs to try to contain the LSU passing game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.<br> <br> Bowe leads receivers in yardage with 709, although a lot of that has to do with his combination of speed and strength that allows him to slip tackles and be elusive in the open field.<br> <br> ``Our coaches emphasize yards after the catch and to never go down,&#39;&#39; Bowe said. ``That&#39;s what we work on. I work hard in the weight room. Don&#39;t let the first guy tackle you, that&#39;s our mentality whenever we get the ball. I hate getting tackled myself, so when I get the ball I&#39;m trying to get in the end zone every time.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Davis is next with 637 yards. He&#39;s seen as the fastest of the group and has good height at 6-2. The 6-0 Doucet has 476 yards, but has five touchdowns to Davis&#39; three, including the gamewinner in the final seconds at Tennessee last Saturday.<br> <br> Bowe said Russell has developed a knack for sensing which receiver&#39;s strengths suit the down and distance of each play and has spread the ball out in kind.<br> <br> ``If they bring some type of blitz, Buster&#39;s the go-to guy because he gets open faster,&#39;&#39; Bowe said. ``If it&#39;s third-and-5, I&#39;m more the go-to guy. I&#39;ve got more power. I&#39;m a straight-up-the-field type of runner. All of us have got different aspects toward the game and JaMarcus, whatever the situation is, he knows what guy to come to.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> And there&#39;s yet another receiving threat out of the backfield in versatile fullback Jacob Hester, who has 26 catches for 180 yards and two TDs.<br> <br> ``It really does bring a lot to the table because a defense has to be aware of what&#39;s coming next and I really think it gives us the upper hand,&#39;&#39; Russell said. ``You never know who&#39;s going to get you next, because if you double-cover one guy, you have another guy, wherever he may be, who can always hurt you, so you have to be aware of that.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Russell doesn&#39;t have to convince Alabama defensive coordinator Joe Kines.<br> <br> ``On paper and on film, they&#39;re about as good a college offense as you&#39;d want to put on the field,&#39;&#39; Kines said. ``They&#39;ve got a lot of imagination, they&#39;ve got a lot of weapons, they&#39;ve got a good system. They&#39;ve got probably the biggest, strongest quarterback in the country. Their wide receivers are about as good as you&#39;d want to put together in a group.&#39;&#39;