LSU Football: 3 biggest storylines to follow ahead of 2020 season
By Dante Pryor
3. Effects of coordinator losses on offense, defense
There is a philosophical question as old as time: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” What had the biggest impact on the LSU offense, passing game coordinator Joe Brady or the fleet of athletic freaks the Tiger had to play receiver?
On both sides, we will see which had the greater impact. Brady will not have the weapons to play with in Carolina that he did in Baton Rouge. We will see if he can do with whoever plays quarterback for the Panthers the same thing he did with Joe Burrow. The Athens, Ohio, native threw for a ridiculous 2,777 yards and 44 touchdowns more than he did his first year at LSU all while throwing only one more interception.
This season, everything is new — well, sort of. Steve Ensminger returns as offensive coordinator with Scott Linehan as their new passing game coordinator. This season begins the Myles Brennan era of LSU football. He takes the helm with a young receiving corps. They are talented with Ja’Marr Chase returning, but they are young and inexperienced.
Dave Aranda was the architect of the LSU defense for four years coming from Wisconsin serving in the same capacity. While the defensive coordinator of the Tigers, they never surrendered more than 25 points per game.
Aranda’s task this season was two-fold: deal with injuries and tailor a defense to play with an offense that can score in one play. He did well with both. Baylor tapped Aranda after Matt Rhule took the Carolina Panthers job.
What is old is new again in Baton Rouge. The Tigers hired former Nebraska head coach and their former defensive coordinator Bo Pelini from Youngstown State to replace Aranda. He has a young defense he can mold and shape. We will see how different the defense is under Pelini.