BATON ROUGE, LA— After finishing last season with a 2019 Fiesta Bowl win against a then-undefeated UCF Knights team, Ed Orgeron and LSU Football are poised to take a big step this year. The Tigers had a couple of key players depart for the NFL, but they still look very strong and have returned many important pieces from last year’s 10-3 squad that will try and grab that elusive spot in the College Football Playoff.
The defense took some major blows with the departure of LB Devin White and CB Greedy Williams, but safety Grant Delpit returns as arguably one of the best in the nation. After a five-interception season, he and senior DB Kristian Fulton, who looks to come back from a late-season injury, will try to bring this secondary back to being one of the toughest in the country.
Their core of linebackers will miss White’s production, but they are still loaded with potential. LB K’Lavon Chaisson, who is returning from a torn ACL, will have a significant impact on the defense depending on his health, but fellow linebackers Andre Anthony and Ray Thornton are also in the mix to step in and do more in place of Chaisson just in case. With an exceptional front seven capable of producing, this team looks to do equally as much damage on the defensive side of the ball, if not more.
Quarterback Joe Burrow is stepping into this season having earned his stripes, leading the Tigers last year with a sub-par offensive line and winning the Fiesta Bowl after taking a nasty hit early in the game. Even with the struggles protecting Burrow, he still added 400 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground while also taking good care of the ball after only throwing five interceptions last year. Burrow’s completion percentage of 56% shows there is some room for improvement, and the Tigers brought in 28-year old Joe Brady as the new passing game coordinator with the hopes of creating less trouble for Burrow to work through the air and help with his growth.
Brady recently worked with the New Orleans Saints and has already earned a good reputation among many big names in the NFL and NCAA. He was also a former wide receiver at William & Mary, so he knows a thing or two about connecting with the quarterback. LSU also brings back all six of their top receivers, with top stud Justin Jefferson looking to build on an impressive sophomore season. Jefferson grabbed six touchdowns and was only 115 yards short of 1000 for the season, as Ja’Marr Chase and Stephen Sullivan are also looking to take that next step in the Tigers’ offense.
The Tigers also have to help replace the 1000 yards and 14 touchdowns RB Nick Brossette tallied up last year, which contributed heavily in counteracting some of the offense’s shortcomings. Clyde Edwards-Helaire returns at the position after rushing for 650+ yards and seven touchdowns, with Lanard Fournette in the mix. John Emery Jr. comes in as one of the top three running backs out of high school in the nation and the highest-rated RB for LSU since Lanard’s brother, Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette. With help from an improved offensive line, they should have no trouble alleviating some of the pressure off Burrows and opening up the offense more.
The LSU Tigers have the talent to offensively take a huge leap, with the defense looking just as sharp. Their schedule is very tough in the second half of the season, running into Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M. Whether or not they can outlast Alabama on November 9th, coming into the contest with an undefeated record will help their case in the rankings. Their strength of schedule will most likely be difficult to overlook if they end up as a one-loss team.
It’s a very important year for Ed Orgeron and LSU Football, and a very promising one. Will they be able to claw through their schedule early on and gain an advantage?
Written by Ernie Casanova
