The LSU football team is already preparing to face the USC Trojans this week, taking advantage of what would be a week off. The Tigers also don’t have to speculate on which quarterback the Trojans will use, as Lincoln Riley has officially named Miller Moss the starting quarterback. The Tigers will prepare to stop what many expect to be another high-profile Lincoln Riley offense.
It’s well documented that the 2023 LSU football team was downright awful on defense. This is evident in the new defensive staff on campus, as Brian Kelly fired Matt House and brought in Blake Baker to lead the defense. Since the team has a lot of talent on defense that needs to be developed, Brian Kelly brought in a staff with proven track records, including coaches like Bo Davis, Kevin Peoples, Corey Raymond, and Jake Olsen.
The unit most blamed for defensive mistakes in 2024 is the secondary, as LSU has been plagued by big plays in almost every game. However, the unit that deserves more criticism than it has received is the defensive front, particularly the defensive ends.
As a team, the LSU football team recorded 31 sacks in 13 games in 2023, which doesn’t sound too bad at over two sacks per game. In LSU’s losses to Florida State and Ole Miss, the Tigers failed to record a single sack, while they recorded two in the loss to Alabama.
The Tigers will have to replace 12 of their sacks, most of which came from defensive tackles, and edge rushers will only return eight sacks in 2023, a number that will have to increase massively if LSU wants to improve on defense.
The lack of a presence on the perimeter is noticeable as LSU prepares to face a high-powered passing attack without any game experience prior to the game.
The easiest way LSU will improve its sack production is if Blake Baker uses Harold Perkins. The plan is to use Perkins as a weakside outside linebacker, which means we’ll see him with his hand in the dirt more often than we did in 2023. Perkins is one of the most talented pass rushers in the nation, as we saw in his freshman season, and that will give the defense a huge boost.
The Tigers have a core of talented pass rushers with Sai’Vion Jones, Bradyn Swinson, Paris Shand, Da’Shawn Womack, Gabe Reliford and Dylan Carpenter.
Jones has looked dominant so far in camp and could easily be one of LSU’s most improved players and a candidate for double-digit sacks. The same could be said for Bradyn Swinson, who had an equally excellent camp. Overall, the group has shown a lot in camp, which Brian Kelly has acknowledged.
“Kevin Peoples is outstanding at what he does. He’s a great technician and a great leader. To be a great defense in this league, you have to have the quarterback. Kevin is the best in the business and that’s starting to show.”
– Brian Kelly
If this edge rush group can improve like everyone hopes, this defense will have everything. The secondary has had its issues, but the pass rush hasn’t done them any favors with the lack of pressure at times in 2023. If the pass rush improves, we’ll all be much happier with how the secondary performs in 2024.
Most teams choose to open their season against a weaker opponent. The Tigers won’t have to do that when they face the USC Trojans. Most of the questions about this team revolve around defense, and who better to ask those questions than Lincoln Riley? USC has plenty of questions of its own, making this an incredibly exciting opener.
