The LSU Tigers Face A Season Of Extensive Rebuilding
Story By Lyles Martin
Photo By Steve Franz/LSU
After taking over for Les Miles after the loss to Auburn last season, Ed Orgeron came full circle in his coaching and playing career.
Orgeron signed with LSU — the only school he wanted to play for out of South Lafourche High School — in 1979. He got homesick, then quit the LSU team shortly after joining it. Bébé, as he’s known on the bayou, returned home and worked digging ditches for the local phone company before he decided to return to football.
The next semester, he enrolled at Northwestern State. He became a grad assistant at McNeese in 1985. And from there on, his coaching trail has taken him to many stops along the way — including a rocky road as an assistant coach at Miami; a beleaguered head coach at Ole Miss; and last of all, the interim head coach at USC before returning to Baton Rouge.
Orgeron has breathed new life into a football program that had become quite stagnant under Les Miles.
Change … that’s what Coach O has brought to his LSU football team: change in the culture of the program, and change in the way he’s perceived as compared to how he was thought of when he held his head coaching job at Ole Miss.
He recently told a group of Rotarians in a luncheon meeting in Baton Rouge he was thankful for the opportunity to be the coach at LSU. “Going to Southern Cal and Miami, I just wanted to get my cleats in that grass. It’s something to be from Louisiana and watch the Tigers on TV.
“I believe 99 percent of the young men and women born in Louisiana want to be part of LSU. I’m proud to be the head coach at LSU, because you represent Louisiana. I know, when the Tigers win, everybody feels good. When LSU football wins, the economy is good. Everyone is happy and rolling.
“I want you to know our staff and football team feel obligated to represent you and the state of Louisiana.”
Let’s look now at the components of the team Orgeron will be coaching.
Offense
The Tigers — who bring in Matt Canada’s high octane offense from Pittsburgh — have Tiger fans salivating at the prospect of a resurgence in an offense that’s been lack-luster over the last several years. There’s no question LSU’s offense needed new blood; and more important, a new vision.
As offensive coordinator, Canada is expected to help the Tigers get over their ineffectiveness in the passing game. He brings a scheme filled with pre-snap movement that gives defenses headaches. As one ACC coach pointed out, “He hasn’t been scoring points, necessarily, with the quarterback. With what he does offensively, he creates a lot of problems.”
During preseason camp, Orgeron hinted at three- and four-wide receiver sets, as well as an offense that will still rely heavily on a running game. Orgeron said he wants a wideout rotation that runs eight players deep, due to the constant shifting and motions.
Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural have departed for the NFL, leaving the Tigers with D.J. Chark as the most experienced wide receiver. Chark was LSU’s second-leading receiver and leading touchdown scorer last year. He accounted for 466 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging 17.9 yards per reception — the best mark in the SEC West.
Russell Gage, Dee Anderson and Drake Davis return from last year’s team. Gage, who earned a starting role in midseason, caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Anderson caught four passes for 73 yards, while Davis caught just one for 19 yards.
What the group lacks in production, it makes up for in potential. In Chark, Anderson and Davis, along with Stephen Sullivan, the Tigers have four wideouts who are 6-foot, 3 inches or taller, giving them a distinct size advantage over most SEC defensive backs.
Sophomore Derrick Dillion, a slot-option, is another receiver who’s a shifty player who takes advantage of space well.
LSU brought in two wide receivers in the 2017 class: Mannie Netherly, an early enrollee from Crosby, Texas, and Racey McMath from Edna Karr in New Orleans. These are also 6-foot-3 players who should get playing time.
Netherly was a high school quarterback who threw for 19 touchdowns and rushed for 9 more as a senior.
“I am so excited about Racey McMath,” says Orgeron. “He’s big, strong, physical and has a great work ethic. All I’ve done is see him run, and he looks fantastic.”
Five-star prospect JaCoby Stevens from Murfreesboro, Tenn., with Louisiana roots, was moved from safety to wide receiver during fall camp. He was rated as the top safety in the country in the class of 2017 by many recruiting services. “He played offense and defense in high school,” Orgeron said at the beginning of camp. “We need depth at receiver. He’s a guy that can make plays. Although we feel he can be a very good defensive player, we’re going to try him out on offense. I believe he can play very fast on offense and help us.” He’ll get reps in the slot.
Receivers have perhaps the most trying job in Canada’s new offense; they’ll be tried physically and mentally, with pre-snap shifting, motions and route adjustments. LSU receivers know they’re an inexperienced group. They are aware that when they exclude senior D.J. Chark, they have all of 10 career catches among them.
Tight Ends And The Hybrid F-Back
For years, LSU fans have clamored that Les Miles’ offense failed to use the tight-end in passing situations. That may change this year.
Canada’s offense doesn’t use a traditional fullback as in previous seasons. Rather, fullback and tight-end will be used as a hybrid F-back. Versatility is the key. The F-back, as Canada calls it, can catch passes, take hand-offs and block. They line up at various positions on the field.
Tight-end Foster Moreau and fullback J.D. Moore, now wearing the traditional number 18, will split the role. Moreau caught 6 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown last season. Moore was the best blocker for running backs Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice a year ago.
Former Westlake player Ram Jacory Washington, sophomore Caleb Roddy and freshman Jamal Pettigrew are all 6-foot-5 or taller. They should give the offense pass-catching options in LSU’s red-zone and short yardage packages.
At 6 feet, 235 pounds, David Ducre is the most, it appears, hybrid of them all. He’s the only F-back on LSU’s roster whose position is listed as a hybrid: FB/TE.
Quarterback
Ed Orgeron named senior Danny Etling as LSU’s starting quarterback at the end of the fall camp.
Etling didn’t exactly light the world on fire after transferring from Purdue two years ago. But Orgeron suggested his “consistency, knowing the offense, being around the team” helped him land the starting position.
After undergoing back surgery during the off-season, Etling says he’ll be 100 percent ready to go for the opener against BYU.
Etling replaced Brandon Harris for the last 10 games in 2016. He remained the starter over Harris because he rarely put his offense in harm’s way with bad decisions.
As the season progressed, so did his back pain. That’s when Etling’s throwing mechanics went astray. He would fall away while passing instead of stepping into his throws, which resulted in a stabbing pain. “I would just muscle it (the pass) out there,” Etling said, “and kind of hope the ball gets there.”
He finished the season by completing 160 of 269 passes for 2,123 yards, with 11 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He completed 59.5 percent of his passes and ranked No. 6 in the SEC in passing yards per game (193).
“I woke up from surgery and felt instantly better,” Etling said. “It’s been a steady climb from there.”
The upside of Danny Etling is limited. Etling’s being pushed to maintain his starting job. He’s got a slew of bloodhounds chasing him down: sophomore Justin McMillan, true freshmen Lowell Narcisse and highly touted Mississippi prospect Myles Brennan. Both Narcisse and Brennan were ranked in the Top 5 nationally in recruiting services. Brennan is a pro-style quarterback and Narcisse is a dual threat.
Orgeron announced at the end of camp that Brennan and Narcisse would be the immediate back-ups behind Etling, hoping to get both playing time this season. “We want Myles and Lowell to grow at their own pace. We don’t want to rush them when they’re not ready.”
Brennan, the 6-foot-4 passer from the Mississippi coast who set a host of high school records, was the only real challenger to Etling’s spot.
“Danny is our starter. Danny goes in the game and flops, I don’t have a problem putting in Myles, but we don’t expect that,” Orgeron said. “We expect Danny to do well.”
How Etling bounces back from surgery and how well he understands Canada’s offense could determine how LSU will fare this season. Make no mistake about it: he’s not Alabama’s Jalen Hurts or Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald. But as Coach O said, “He’s a battler. He’s a fighter.”
Canada is expected to deliver more passing and a lot more misdirection to create more confusion and mismatches; think jet sweeps and multiple pre-snap shifts. But, the offense will still depend on the power running game.
The Running Game
Despite losing Leonard Fournette to the first round of this year’s NFL draft, the Tigers have plenty of power in reserve with the return of junior Derrius Guice. He rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, and has positioned himself as a legitimate Heisman contender.
Guice is the real deal, and will get the respect of all the SEC opponent’s defenses.
“Everything we do this season is going to be based around our best player, Derrius Guice,” Orgeron said at the SEC media days. Offensive coordinator Canada concurs, “Skill set-wise, Derrius certainly is in a league all his own. I think Derrius’ potential is off the charts. That doesn’t have to do with the system; it has to do with him being a great player.”
Darrel Williams will back up Guice. Williams is the biggest back on the roster, listed at 233 pounds, although Orgeron pointed out he has lost weight in hopes of gaining a larger role as a senior. He had 52 carries for 243 yards last year.
“Darrel, he’s such a great player,” said Canada. “He does everything we ask: runs the ball, catches, protects. He’s open and on special teams. I can’t say enough about him. I’m leading his fan club right now.”
Nick Brossette has the most potential of any from this group. He’s big enough to work in between the tackles and has enough speed to become an asset on the edge. Brossette led all LSU rushers with an average of 9.7 yards per carry, even though he only carried the ball 15 times.
Running back Lanard Fournette is entering pretrial diversion, according to East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore. Fournette was arrested in May after, allegedly, being caught gambling with a false ID at L’Auberge Casino. Orgeron said his punishment would be handled internally.
Freshman Clyde “The Glide” Edwards-Helaire from Catholic High in Baton Rouge is the newcomer. His performance in fall camp will go a long way in determining where he sees action this season. He’s 5 feet, 8 inches, 200 pounds, with elusive speed.
“The whole team hates him right now defensively because they still can’t find a way to stop him,” said Edwards-Helaire’s former Catholic High running mate Derrius Guice. “He’s thick, shifty and blends in well with the offensive line. It’s hard to stop a guy like that.”
Expect the running backs to have more passes thrown their way in Canada’s offense. Asked about the biggest difference for running backs in this offense, Brossette said it was “pass catching out of the backfield” — as in, there will be more chances for that.
Guice also said he figured to have a larger share in the passing game.
The O Line
The biggest position question mark for the LSU offense is its offensive line. Off-season attrition and injuries have left the offensive line thin.
Will Clapp will be an All-SEC performer at center by the end of the season. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a team player coaches trust more.
Clapp has taken zero snaps in a game at center. Despite that, the junior landed on the Rimington Award watch list.
Maea Teuhema, a junior projected to start at right guard, left the team early in preseason practice after he was suspended due to failing academics. Teuhema’s departure means the Tigers are down to 11 scholarship offensive linemen. It’s another blow for an offensive line that’s lost four players during the off season.
All this means that Lloyd Cushenberry, LSU’s 315-pound redshirt freshman, is moving to right guard — even though he’s received plenty of reps at center behind Clapp.
Cushenberry and sophomore Donvaughn Campbell are expected to contend for the starting spot at right guard. Campbell has been slowed by injuries during fall camp. Third-year sophomore Adrian Magee and freshman Austin Deculus are working some at right guard.
Deculus has been on campus since the spring and has gained experience under Canada, which makes him a prime candidate to be used on the line in his first season.
Garrett Brumfield got his first start against Missouri last year due to injuries. He should man the starting left guard position. Entering his fourth season on campus, the former University High star is poised to finally make an impact.
K.J. Malone has a stranglehold at left tackle. He’s the senior leader on the offensive line. Finding a back-up is imperative.
Toby Weathersby fought through an injury-plagued season as a sophomore and missed spring practice while recovering from surgery. But he’s penciled in as the starter at right tackle.
Red-shirt freshman Jakori Savage should see playing time. He’s a big hoss: 6 feet, 5 inches, 317 pounds, from Bay Minette, Ala.
Other true freshman expected to see game reps include 6-foot-4, 314-pound Ed Ingram from DeSoto, Texas, at right guard; and 6-foot-5, 321-pound Saahdiq Charles from Jackson, Miss., at left tackle. Each player has participated in the preseason scrimmages. And at the end of fall camp, Orgeron said both players have a chance to start.
If there’s one thing the Tigers have a lack of, it’s depth on the offensive line. The loss of experienced offensive linemen will hurt LSU in terms of continuity, which is extremely important for the frontlines.
Orgeron says the difference-maker in LSU’s six-game losing streak to SEC rival Alabama is the Tigers’ poor offensive line play. His focus on recruiting has been on bringing in stronger, more powerful O-linemen to handle Bama’s front-seven rush.
And maybe he should think of replacing offensive line coach Jeff Grimes. The fourth-year coach has had an underachieving group of linemen during his tenure at LSU. He has shown that he lacks coaching technique in developing linemen.
Defensively, during the third preseason scrimmage, Orgeron said the Tigers recorded at least seven sacks, but could have had as many as 10. “We still have some work to do on our pass protection.”
Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada said the problems were his responsibility. “We didn’t look good. We didn’t do a very good job. There’s reasons. We had some third-and-long situations. It’s a situation scrimmage. There’s things we’re doing OK at and things we’re not doing very good at. I didn’t do a very good job with the protections. I didn’t do a good enough job. The kids are doing great. It falls on me.”
That’s not a good sign for what’s ahead for the offense.
Canada has been known to employ different offensive styles in his previous coaching stops. “Our offense evolves all the time,” he said. “We’ll add wrinkles as the season goes on. I try my best to be creative. I try my best to take what the defense gives us. If we have something we want to do, the defense can decide how they want to stop it. We’re going to try and adjust and adapt.”
Defense
Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda enters his second year in Red Stick. Aranda now has a new title and a fresh $1.9-million contract, making him the highest-paid assistant in college football. He has his work cut out for him, after losing the top six tacklers from last year’s team.
LSU finished 10th in the nation in total D, allowed 20 or more points just three times — all wins — and held Louisville and Heisman winner Lamar Jackson to just nine points, Alabama to 10; and an average of 16 points a game were allowed overall.
LSU always has great defensive players waiting to step up. But losing stars like Jamal Adams and linebackers Kendell Beckwith and Duke Riley will hurt.
Fortunately, Christian LaCouture is back as part of the front three. LaCouture is the unquestioned starter at defensive end. He’ll wear the honored No. 18 jersey this season. He’ll rotate with several guys — most notably, Frank Herron, a fifth-year senior who should see significant time. Herron became the first member of his family to graduate from college this summer, receiving his degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Another fifth-year senior, Greg Gilmore, heads into his second year as the Tigers’ starting nose guard. He’s an experienced, dependable player whom coaches trust in the center of the defense. But the higher upside player is sophomore Ed Alexander, who will back up Gilmore. Alexander only made 13 tackles a year ago. But the former 4-star recruit’s 333-pound body makes him an alluring option as a space eater in Aranda’s D. He’s been limited during fall camp with an injury.
Sophomore Rashard Lawrence wowed coaches and teammates during the spring. He’ll be another starting defensive end. The Tigers are banking on his talent more than his past production.
Redshirt freshman Glen Logan, the 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive end out of Destrehan, will be off the bench in a reserve role.
Freshman Neil Farrell is an underrated rookie who’s challenging to move up in the order. Orgeron says Farrell is “tough, tough, tough. Competitive. He won’t back down. He’s big and strong. He came in in shape.”
LSU edge rusher Arden Key’s status for the season is uncertain. Key, the All-American who set the school sack record last season, will probably miss early portions of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery.
Andre Anthony and Ray Thornton, both redshirt freshmen, and true freshman K’Lavon Chaisson, are rotating at the spot along with Key (shoulder) and sophomore Sci Martin (knee), who are limited during drills. They’re all tutored by the head man himself.
The biggest hurdle for Thornton is the pass-rushing part of the Buck position. The hurdle for Anthony is in pass coverage. The position is a hybrid that calls for a variety of skills. Obviously, Thornton and Anthony lack experience; both players redshirted last year, so they haven’t received any in-game reps.
Chaisson, one of the most highly rated edge rushers to emerge from high school, has impressed Orgeron enough that the coach suggested Chaisson and a healthy Key could be on the field at the same time this year in a pass-rushing package.
Linebackers
The linebacker corps is the Tigers’ biggest rebuilding job after the team lost Beckwith and Riley. Senior Donnie Alexander, LSU’s No. 2 returning tackler with 45 stops plus an interception, will take over one inside spot. The other will be manned by sophomore Devin White, a promising talent. Freshman Tyler Taylor is challenging for a spot at the Mack position.
LSU signed the No. 1 linebacker prospect in the country in Jacob Phillips. The true freshman is 6-foot-3, 237 pounds. Coaches anticipate he should see game action, also at the Mack position.
Freshman Patrick Queen from Livonia High is getting reps during preseason behind White at the spot vacated by Riley.
Phillips is a combination of size and speed: a prototypical inside linebacker in a speedy defense. Queen, at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, is slighter in build; a more rangy player.
“I think Jacob came in the most physical and the most eager for contact,” said Aranda. “I think Tyler came in understanding football greatly. He has a great intuitive sense of football and instinct. I think Patrick is very athletic: the most athletic of the three. I think they bring very highly tuned skills.”
On LSU’s inside linebacker rotation with freshmen, Aranda said, “I think they’re all going to have to play. As far as the depth and the limited number of people in our room, we’re going to have to use all of them.”
Senior Jonathan Rucker, a 6-foot, 1-inch, 240-pound former walk-on from Ponchatoula High is now backing up White at the Rover position.
Senior Corey Thompson is likely to be LSU’s F-linebacker for pass coverage. Thornton may be the guy for pass rushing. They should both play.
Thompson’s career has been full of injuries. Avoiding those is crucial for the sixth-year player.
Sophomore Michael Divinity was moved back to the outside after spending spring on the inside. Divinity has returned to his original position; its depth has increased. Divinity is one of a handful of guys rotating at the F-outside linebacker spot, including Thornton and seniors Thompson, M.J. Patterson and Devin Voorhies.
The Secondary
In the secondary, junior Donte Jackson (two interceptions) takes over the shutdown corner from Tre’Davious White. A speedster known at LSU as “the fastest man in football,” Jackson is the clear No. 1 at the outside corner in LSU’s base defense.
At the opposite corner, Kevin Toliver, Jr., who recovered from a shaky sophomore season with an explosive spring that had coaches raving about his play, entered as the starter during preseason practice.
Aranda is looking for more consistency from both Jackson and Toliver. “We’re still looking for consistency, but they’ve shown flashes of that. There’s positive things; when Donte comes in and is locked in, he’s hard to throw it on. Then Toliver, he had a great spring, and in the fall, he’s shown really good flashes. Once he gets to where it’s consistent, that’s two really good people.”
Should Toliver develop any issues, Kristian Fulton and true freshman Kary Vincent will take his spot. Vincent is the guy to watch. He’s the reigning Texas state champion in the 200-meter dash. Coaches have suggested he could take the nickel role, allowing them to leave Jackson out wide.
Redshirt freshman Andraez “Greedy” Williams has emerged this fall as LSU’s third corner. The Tigers have a proclivity for playing five or more defensive backs. When Donte Jackson does slide into the nickel spot, it’s Williams who steps into the outside corner. The nickel is the inside corner back in a five-defensive back package.
Redshirt sophomore Xavier Lewis will get a shot at playing in the nickel. Coaches rotated players at the nickel during the spring. The rotation started with Lewis early during drills before finishing with Jackson sliding into the spot.
Though Aranda’s defense is often characterized as a “base 3-4,” the proliferation of spread offenses in the SEC leaves LSU in a 3-3-5 more often than not.
Another freshman defensive back to watch for might be Jontre Kirklin from Lutcher. Kirklin is a former high school quarterback who Orgeron mentioned in the same breath as Vincent and Williams at the SEC media days when he was listing young defenders who excited him.
John Battle’s job at safety seems as safe as that of any presumed starter. Battle is a solid, reliable veteran at an important position. He played in all 12 games and started seven a year ago, recording 39 tackles with four pass break-ups.
Senior Ed Paris left spring practice as the No. 1 opposite Battle. But freshmen Grant Delpit and Todd Harris are charging hard for that spot. Paris has 17 tackles and a pass break-up in his three seasons in Baton Rouge. Paris was the No. 3 safety in the country when he was recruited out of Arlington, Texas.
Delpit enrolled in January during the spring semester. He was considered the No. 4 safety prospect in the 2017 class.
Don’t forget about Eric Monroe. He’s often overlooked because of the players older and younger than he. Monroe was the No. 3 safety in the country for the recruiting Class of 2016. He redshirted last year, waiting behind Jamal Adams.
LSU is still “DBU.” The Tigers have sent 11 defensive backs to the NFL over the past six drafts. Corey Raymond’s newest class is one of the best.
Last year’s defense was nationally ranked. Everyone thought Aranda’s 3-4 defensive scheme was built on deception and movement: a shifting defense with no real shape and size. “We weren’t,” Aranda says.
“Every year, it’s going to be different based on who you have. Now, we’ve got guys who can do that naturally: play in space and rush the passer. That gives you a flexibility of having a bunch of athletes on the field.”
Aranda is after one thing. “He just wants to get to the quarterback,” cornerback Kevin Toliver said. “We’re going to do a lot more blitzes.”
The coordinator can now use the biggest advantage in playing a 3-4 defense: the deception of the fourth — and fifth — rusher.
Special Teams
The Tigers will break in a new placekicker, redshirt freshman Connor Culp. Culp and sophomore Jack Gonsoulin, a walk-on from Catholic High in Baton Rouge, appear to be Nos. 1 and 2, although a starter will probably not be named right away.
Culp, Gonsoulin and senior Cameron Gamble are all competing to be the kickoff specialist. Orgeron has said he favors kicking the ball out of the end zone on kickoffs. Gamble was inconsistent last year in kicking the ball into the end zone.
Josh Growden, LSU’s third straight Australian punter, returns after averaging 41.4 yards per kick. For a seventh straight season, the Tigers punter will be from the Outback. Growden, in his second year as a starter, follows Jamie Keehn (2013-15) and Brad Wing (2011-12).
Former Barbe baseball player and MLB Pittsburgh Pirates minor league pitcher Zach Von Rosenberg is a walk-on who will probably back up Growden.
Orgeron promises a more aggressive approach to returning and blocking kicks under special teams analyst Greg McMahon, formerly of the New Orleans Saints, who will coach five position coaches handling a variety of special teams. Good-bye special teams coach Bradley Dale Peveto and good riddance.
The Tigers appear to be toying with the idea of not using Donte Jackson and Derrius Guice as return men because of their substantial roles on defense and offense.
Wide receiver Drake Davis has been receiving the majority of snaps at kick and punt return during fall camp. Derrick Dillon, freshman running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jackson have all seen time returning kicks. There is no shortage of speed on this list. Jackson is a track standout. For sure, Davis has some serious wheels, and Dillon and Edwards-Helaire have been the surprises of camp.
Orgeron has named junior cornerback Donte Jackson as the Tigers’ punt returner this season.
Other Fall Camp Notes
Aaron Moffitt, the true freshman out of Catholic High, and son of LSU strength coach Tommy Moffitt, has switched from defensive end to tight-end. The 6-foot-2, 266-pounder is expected to add depth on the offensive line. “He’s tough; a good blocker,” said Orgeron. “We’re deep on the D-line and thin on offense. I wanted to get some blockers over there.”
Justin Jefferson, the younger brother of former Tigers Jordan and Rickey Jefferson, made his mark in fall practice. The wide-out, who recently signed with the Tigers, was “catching the ball well” according to Orgeron. “Very smooth, great route runner.” Jefferson was rated as a three-star prospect out of Destrehan High.
Orgeron announced during the second scrimmage of preseason camp that offensive coordinator Canada will call plays from the press box, and defensive coordinator Aranda will be on the sideline.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Lindsey Scott, Jr., announced during preseason camp that he will transfer to East Mississippi Community College. The former Zachary High and Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year had been working in a back-up role during fall practices. He didn’t figure he’d get game reps, with projected starter Danny Etling and freshman Myles Brennan receiving most of the scrimmage snaps with the first-team offense.
Five-star recruit and No. 1-ranked player in the state in the Class of 2017, Tyler Shelvin, from Notre Dame High in Crowley, was granted partial eligibility by the NCAA. Shelvin, a highly regarded nose tackle, was expected to be in the Tigers’ rotation with starter Greg Gilmore and Ed Alexander. He will be on scholarship and can practice with the team, but can’t play in any games this season. Players are granted eligibility based on a scale measuring GPA and ACT scores. Shelvin completed correspondence courses over the summer to raise his GPA. The NCAA denied Shelvin’s eligibility for the 2017 season.
Overall Outlook
The key for LSU to have a successful season will probably rest on the shoulders of quarterback Danny Etling. While he’s hardly a special, next-level talent, he ended up bailing out the Tigers early on last season after stepping in for an ineffective Brandon Harris.
With so much turnover in the receiving corps, he has to be sharper, spread the ball around and use his maturity and experience to make everyone around him better — he can’t make a lot of mistakes.
Don’t be surprised if at some point during the season, highly recruited prospect Myles Brennan gets a chance to start at quarterback. If the Tigers struggle to find ways to win close games, Orgeron may build for the future and give Brennan the opportunity to gain much-needed game experience.
Talent always abounds at LSU, although there’s still work to do to catch up with Alabama in the trenches. That’s where the game is won: on the offensive and defensive lines.
There will be more true freshmen playing a major role on this team, particularly on defense, than in any recent past year. Orgeron calls this freshmen class one of the best he’s been around.
They are young and play with plenty of speed. There will undoubtedly be growing pains, with mistakes made on both sides of the ball. But give this group a year’s experience, and LSU should be much improved in 2018.
LSU has the second-hardest schedule in the country for 2017; it includes a non-conference opener with BYU in Houston and cross divisional match-ups with Florida and Tennessee on the road. Getting through this schedule will be brutal for the Tigers.
No one likes being shocked in a season opener when things aren’t as great as they’ve been led to believe after they’ve been brainwashed by the Tigers head coach Orgeron. Remember when Miles said the offense was improved before last year’s opener against Wisconsin in Green Bay. We all know what happened in that disaster.
Be careful what you say.
LSU hasn’t won double-digit games since the 2013 season.
LSU football opens the 2017 season ranked No. 12 in the Amway Coaches Poll, with No. 1 Alabama the only SEC school ranked ahead of them. The AP poll has the Tigers ranked No. 13.
It’s up to Orgeron to try coming up with something more with a lesser team. LSU pretty clearly responds to Orgeron and his energy, just as players at Southern Cal did during his interim stint with the Trojans in 2013.
It will be interesting to see how that carries over to a 24/7 situation — whether maintaining that level of energy is even possible, really.
But Orgeron’s tenure has started with solid hires, a strong — if somewhat lagging — recruiting class and a seamless transition from the end of Miles’ term.
By the way, thanks to that Florida hurricane snafu and poor decision-making on the part of SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, there’s a stretch of four road games in six weeks without a break. That’s not made any easier by having two home games against Auburn and Arkansas.
The Tigers are good enough to beat anyone on the schedule — including that team from Tuscaloosa. But they’re obviously not great enough to beat everyone on the schedule. And for LSU, that’s all that matters.
Maybe this year’s team will be able to find the magic and stability that last year’s version never had.
The Tigers have dropped six in a row to Alabama, the last five during the regular season, and will again be underdogs behind the Crimson Tide in this year’s West Division. So, it’s pretty simple. To finish inside the end-of-the-season Top 10 in the Amway Coaches Poll, LSU probably can’t afford to lose more than one other game the rest of the way — a possibility, but not a likelihood. LSU at No. 12 might even be a little bit optimistic, actually.
The question still remains, was Orgeron the right hire for head football coach at LSU?
After the school was duped by Tom Herman’s agent to drive Texas to fire head coach Charlie Strong and bring Herman to the bargaining table; and jilted by Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher; athletic director Joe Alleva reached out to one of Louisiana’s favorite sons. In all likelihood, there was probably no head coaching position in the Power Five conferences that Orgeron could have landed, particularly after his 10-25 record as head coach at Ole Miss.
Louisiana is a fickle state; when other states try it one way, this state tends to do it the opposite way. And LSU is no different with its head coaches.
One thing we do know: Ed Orgeron is Louisiana through and through. He’s got Cut Off, La., mud running through his blood, and, as Scott Rabalais of The Advocate says, “a couple of oyster shells in his voice box and a tan complexion that looks like it was burnished by squinting into 10,000 sunsets on the deck of a shrimp boat at the end of a productive day in the Gulf.”
Orgeron has said he’s learned from his many mistakes at Ole Miss. These days, he’s learned to let his assistant coaches coach.
It’s an interesting storyline — will the Louisiana native son hoist up a national championship trophy some day? Ed Orgeron has a second chance. And, unless you bring back Nick Saban (and he’s not coming back to Baton Rouge), you run a risk with any prospective head coach.
Rabalais summed it up best: “Orgeron is so much like so many of us — flawed, perhaps, but a fighter. He’s got his dream tiger by the tail. And who wouldn’t wish for a chance to make their own dream come true?”
Welcome To LSU, Mike
LSU officially welcomed the new mascot Mike VII on the first day of the fall semester. The Siberian-Bengal tiger formerly named Harvey is an 11-month old male. Mike was donated to LSU from a sanctuary in Okeechobee, Fla., called the “Wild at Heart Wildlife Center.”
Mike VII arrived on campus Aug. 15 and was housed in the night house of the tiger habitat. Mike was quarantined and observed by LSU veterinarians to ensure he was healthy and a good fit for LSU.
“He’s officially Mike the Tiger,” according to attending veterinarian Dr. David Baker.
Mike VII acclimated to his new surroundings in the $3.7-million, 15,000-square-foot refurbished tiger habitat next to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Mike entered the tiger habitat on the same day the total solar eclipse traversed the United States. What do you think that means?
As Mike VII, his daily schedule is he’ll be let out into his yard by 8 am and brought back into his night house by 8 pm, according to a news release from LSU.
In January, LSU announced that the next Mike the Tiger would not be paraded around Tiger Stadium for LSU football games. So, from here on out, it’ll be the Tigers without the tiger.
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