L.S.U. Cornerback Is Overshadowed, but Not Overlooked NEW ORLEANS - There is no Vince Young, Cam Newton or Tim Tebow in the Bowl Championship Series title game this year. The most recognizable star in Monday's game between Louisiana State and Alabama is the flamboyant L.S.U. defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who said Thursday that he researched the names of his opponents" mothers in order to talk trash to them. While Mathieu is a Heisman finalist and one of the familiar faces of college football, he might not be the best player at his position on his team. That would be Morris Claiborne, the soft-spoken cornerback who won the Jim Thorpe Award as the country's best defensive back. It is fitting that Claiborne plays the corner opposite the mouthy Mathieu, as the two could not differ more in personality, playing style and on-field demeanor. "I just believe in being humble and treating people how you want to be treated," Claiborne said. I'm not the type of player who will go out and talk noise. If someone says something to me, I'm like, "Um, O.K." " While Claiborne does not have the same reel of flashy highlights as Mathieu, he is a steadier and more dominant player. One reason Mathieu has become the nation's most feared ball hawk is that teams have passed to his side of the field out of necessity because they fear throwing toward Claiborne. With 6 interceptions and 173 return yards, Claiborne emerged as the most dominant cover corner in college football. "The guy is one of the best corners in the country," said Alabama quarterback A. J. McCarron, who was intercepted by Claiborne in the teams" regular-season meeting. You don't really have to know the game to know that. The highest compliment may be that there has been little drop-off in the L.S.U. secondary despite losing Patrick Peterson, last year's Thorpe winner, to the Arizona Cardinals as the No. 5 pick in last year's N.F.L. draft. Claiborne said that the L.S.U. cornerbacks have hoped to build their reputation to the point where playing cornerback for L.S.U. has the same historical cachet as playing tailback at U.S.C. or linebacker at Penn State. With seven defensive backs in the N.F.L. and three more on the way in Claiborne, Mathieu and safety Eric Reid, L.S.U. is becoming a destination for top defensive back talent. "We call ourselves D.B.U.," said Claiborne, his shorthand for defensive back university. We try to have the best secondary in the nation. Claiborne, like Peterson, projects as a top-five pick in the N.F.L. draft. Claiborne is a junior, but those who know him say it will be shocking if he does not announce that he will turn pro after the title game. His draft stock is so high that it would be almost impossible to be a hotter prospect than he is right now. One N.F.L. team's director of college scouting, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly about prospects, said that Claiborne was a better pure cornerback prospect than Peterson. "He doesn't have the dynamic ability to change the game in the return game, but playing the actual cornerback position down after down, he's every bit if not more talented than Patrick Peterson," the scouting director said. L.S.U. Coach Les Miles ticks off the attributes of the 6-foot, 185-pound Claiborne as if he were the draft analyst Mel Kiper lecturing on how to build the prototypical cornerback. Miles raves about Claiborne's ball skills, his ability to cover space, and his change of direction and make-up speed. He borrowed a basketball term when he said that Claiborne could "jump out of the gym." "He's as talented and as physically gifted of an athlete as we've been around," Miles said, a strong statement considering the caliber of talent he has coached in Baton Rouge. He's really very special. It took some convincing to get Claiborne to play cornerback. He came to L.S.U. after a celebrated stint at quarterback and receiver at Fair Park High School in Shreveport, La. Claiborne's mentor and trainer in Shreveport, Ken Prude, said Claiborne nearly went to Texas A&M because L.S.U."s early recruiting interest was tepid. When an offer finally came, Claiborne accepted it immediately. He grew up training with former Fair Park stars like Stromile Swift, the former No. 2 pick in the N.B.A. draft, and the former N.F.L. cornerback Ronnie Prude. Both played at L.S.U., and through their experiences it became his only desired destination. "He didn't want to go anywhere else," Ken Prude said. When he got to college, though, Claiborne was torn. He wanted to play receiver, and started his career there. But Peterson and the L.S.U. coaches kept nudging him toward cornerback, and he spent some practices playing both positions. He said everything changed one day during his freshman year when he covered Terrence Toliver, now with the Detroit Lions, in a 7-on-7 drill. "He ran a deep route on me and I knocked the ball down," Claiborne said. The next day in practice, I was over there playing corner. In defensive coordinator John Chavis's system, L.S.U."s entire scheme is predicated on the corners" ability to shut down receivers on the outside. That allows Chavis to stuff the run with the safeties, something that will be critical against Trent Richardson and Alabama on Monday. Claiborne may be hard to notice. He will not be drawing attention to himself, and teams tend to shy away from throwing in his direction. But the Alabama coaches know he is there, and they cannot wait for him to leave. "You ask how he stacks up?" the Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain said. I'll be glad to not play against him again. The guy is very good.