HOOVER, ALA. -- LSU slipped mightily after its national title season, going 5-5 in 2020 with one of the nation's worst defenses. Coach Ed Orgeron thinks the 2021 model will look more like 2019's model than last year's.
The dropoff from national champion to .500 team might have some coaches second-guessing their decisions, but if Orgeron is, he's not showing it. In fact, his mandate for 2021 is simple: "Do it the way I want."
"If it's not done the way I want, I'm going to fix it. If I see something broke, I'm fixing it," he said.
On paper, there seems to be a lot to fix; LSU was one of the worst defenses in the nation, ranking 127th in passing defense and 124th in total defense. Their offense struggled as well, ranking 109th in rushing.
The net result: defensive coordinator Bo Pelini and offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger were both shown the gate. In are Daronte Jones to replace Pelini and the combination of Jake Peetz and DJ Mangas to bring back Joe Brady's scheme from 2019.
On defense, Orgeron said the Tigers would be going back to a 4-3 base defense. Outside of that, the overall objectives would be simple.
"We have to eliminate explosive plays. Too many explosive plays, too many missed assignments. Too many busts. Too many receivers running down the field free, and we played a lot of man and a lot of combination of man, stuff like that. Some of it was simple. Some of it was too complicated," he said. "We're going to simplify stuff. We want our players to have their cleats in the grass. We're going to play a lot more zone. They're not going to be switching off of this level, switching off of that level. We want our guys to play, keep the ball in front of us, and make plays."
Offensively, Orgeron said quarterbacks Myles Brennan and Max Johnson continue to battle for the starting job after both saw significant playing time in 2020. Orgeron said both are "championship quarterbacks" while giving no hint who may be ahead.
The Tigers return four-fifths of their starting offensive line from 2020, including a pair of super seniors in center Liam Shanahan and tackle Austin Deculus. Orgeron said he feels comfortable with his group up front and with the players LSU has at the skill positions.
"(RB) Tyrion (Davis) is in the best shape he's been. Kayshon Boutte is coming in with some tremendous young wide receivers," he said. "We have a great offense coming back. I can't wait to see those guys play."
Orgeron also had a vote of confidence for his much-maligned defense.
"We've got our defensive line coming back, two of the best corners in America in Derek and Eli Ricks," he said. "Got some young safeties, one of the top safeties in the country, two top safeties in recruiting, got two tremendous young linebackers we acquired through the transfer portal. (Navonteque Strong and Mike Jones Jr.)."
In spite of his optimism, Orgeron admitted there's a lot still to be learned about a team that went 5-5 after cruising to a national title.
"This reminds me a lot of the 2018 season. There's a lot of unknowns," he said.
LSU projected starting lineup
Offense:
QB: Redshirt senior Myles Brennan; 79-131 (60.3), 1,112 yards, 11 TD, 3 INT in 3 games
RB: Junior Tyrion Davis-Price; 104 carries, 446 yards (4.3 YPC), 4 TD in 10 games
WR: Sophomore Kayshon Boutte; 45 catches, 735 yards (16.1 YPC), 5 TD in 10 games
WR: Sophomore Koy Moore; 22 catches, 177 yards (8.0 YPC) in 10 games
WR: Junior Trey Palmer; 10 catches, 108 yards (10.8 YPC) in 8 games
TE: Sophomore Kole Taylor; 6 catches, 36 yards in 8 games
LT: Redshirt junior Cameron Wire; 6-foot-6, 311 pounds
LG: Senior Ed Ingram; 6-foot-3, 315 pounds
C: Super senior Liam Shanahan; 6-foot-5, 304 pounds
RG: Senior Chasen Hines; 6-foot-3, 349 pounds
RT: Super senior Austin Deculus; 6-foot-6, 331 pounds
Defense:
DE: Senior Ali Gaye; 32 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 INT in 10 games
DT: Senior Neil Farrell; 25 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack in 10 games
DT: Redshirt senior Glen Logan; 17 tackles, .5 TFL in 8 games
DE: Super senior Andre Anthony; 24 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks in 10 games
LB: Senior Micah Baskerville; 55 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1 forced fumble
LB: Sophomore Navonteque Strong; 59 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 5 sacks at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
LB: Sophomore Mike Jones Jr.; 30 tackles, 4 TFL, .5 sacks, 2 INT for Clemson
CB: Junior Derek Stingley; 27 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 5 passes broken up, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery in 7 games
S: Redshirt senior Todd Harris; 30 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 2 INT in 10 games
S: Junior Jay Ward; 29 tackles, 6 passes broken up, 3 INT, 1 forced fumble in 9 games
CB: Sophomore Eli Ricks; 20 tackles, .5 TFL, 5 passes broken up, 4 INT in 10 games
LSU 2021 schedule
Sept. 4: @UCLA
Sept. 11: McNeese State
Sept. 18: Central Michigan
Sept 25: @MIssissippi State
Oct. 2: Auburn
Oct. 9: @Kentucky
Oct. 16: Florida
Oct. 23: @Ole Miss
Nov. 6: @Alabama
Nov. 13: Arkansas
Nov. 20: ULM
Nov. 27: Texas A&M
