LSU Football: Do Tigers have enough talent to repeat in 2020?
By Nick Fiore
Defense could experience some growing pains
It wasn’t enough to lose almost the entire starting offense to the draft, the Tigers’ defense lost seven guys to the NFL as well as their defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who took the head job at Baylor. Replacing Aranda is Bo Pelini, who is back for his second stint in Baton Rouge. He coached the defense under Les Miles from 2005-07.
Pelini is changing the defensive scheme back to a 4-3 from Aranda’s 3-4. The defense wasn’t the strength of the team in 2019, as it usually is. The Tigers finished towards the back end of the SEC in scoring, passing and total defense.
Even so, they still had plenty of star power that won’t be back in 2020.
K’Lavon Chaisson, Patrick Queen, Kristian Fulton and Grant Delpit were all drafted in the first two rounds, along with leading tackler Jacob Phillips being taken in the third. With so much talent now gone the Tigers defense might struggle early, but there’s still some studs that’ll be key.
Up front, the line will be led by junior Tyler Shelvin who’s a guy a lot of people are excited about. As a sophomore, he played nose tackle in Aranda’s 3-4 scheme but now will get to line up inside next to Siaki Ika, which should be beneficial to both. Ika didn’t play much as a freshman but was highly recruited and looks like he could be the guy. Shelvin and Ika could become a problem for opposing guards.
On the outside, a rotation of TK McLendon, Justin Thomas, Andre Anthony and BJ Ojulari will be used. There’s a lot of hype around Ojulari as Ed Orgeron said, “He has all the makings of being a great end. He’s perfect for 4-3.”
The linebacking corps took the biggest hit with Queen, Phillips and Chaisson no longer around. Two-time All American North Dakota State transfer Jabril Cox was a huge get for LSU and he’ll be looking to step and fill the production that was lost. He will likely start at outside linebacker opposite Ray Thorton or Micah Bakersville. With the transfer of former five star Marcel Brooks, the other starting spot at outside linebacker is open.
At middle linebacker, junior Damone Clark looks like he’ll get the nod to start.
Even with the loss of Grant Delpit and Kristian Fulton, the secondary still looks strong. Derek Stingley Jr. proved all the hype around him was for real as a freshmen last season. According to 247Sports, Stingley was the third-ranked recruit in the entire 2019 class. He led the team in interceptions with six and broke up another 15 passes.
Former Oklahoma wideout CeDee Lamb said that Stingley was the best corner he’s faced in college. All signs point to Stingley hearing his name called early on in the 2022 NFL Draft, but for now, we’ll get to see him go up against some of the top receivers in the country for a couple more seasons. Lining up opposite of Stingley will be sophomore Cordale Flott or five-star freshman Elias Ricks.
At safety, JaCoby Stevens is coming back for his senior season is a huge somewhat surprising “addition” to this secondary. He is the top returning tackler and will add more experience and leadership to the defense. Next to Stevens at the other safety spot will be junior Todd Harris.
Like the offense, there could be some growing pains for the defense especially with the shortened offseason. Pelini is one of the smartest defensive minds in college football and given all the talent he has on this roster, I’m betting he’ll be able to keep this unit strong.