LSU Tigers

Even for a coach who’s been around the block as many times as John Chavis, the mass exodus of talent from LSU’s defense last season was jolting.

Gone are seven starters, and six of those were underclassmen. All six are projected to be selected later this month in the NFL draft.

Experience won’t be in abundance on LSU’s defense next season. Chavis, one of the best defensive coordinators in the business, glances at the depth chart on the wall in the Tigers’ defensive meeting room and points out that only three seniors are listed.

“That’s what happens when you lose as many good juniors as we have the last couple of years,” Chavis said.

Cornerback Morris Claiborne and tackle Michael Brockers both came out early a year ago and were drafted in the first round. Cornerback Tyrann Mathieu was also sent packing and didn’t play at all last season after failing too many drug tests.

Anybody thinking Chavis is sitting around mourning all the talent the Tigers lost on defense doesn’t really know him.

This is the kind of challenge he relishes and the kind he’s met head-on his entire career, going all the way back to his days as the defensive coordinator at Alabama State and Alabama A&M in the early 1980s.

Plus, it’s not like the Tigers are void of talent. It’s just young talent.

“Listen, it’s where we are right now, and nobody’s more excited about coaching this group than I am,” Chavis said. “We don’t have any choice but to grow up in a hurry. I can promise you we’re not going to fold up our tents and say, ‘Come get us.’

“We’re going to get there. It may not happen overnight, but we’re going to be a good defense.”

The Tigers have been better than just good defensively under Chavis. They’ve been dominant. Since he arrived in 2009, they’ve finished in the top 12 nationally in scoring defense all four seasons, and were in the top 10 nationally in total defense each of the past two seasons.

The year before he arrived, LSU had dipped to 56^th nationally in scoring defense.

Without question, this will be his most daunting rebuilding job since that first season in Baton Rouge. But the standard has been set.

“There are a lot of guys on this defense who’ve just been waiting their turn,” said senior linebacker Lamin Barrow, who has been working both outside and in the middle this spring. “We know what people are saying about us because of the players we lost, but we can’t wait to get out there and let this beast out.”

The LSU offense put up big numbers against the defense in last Saturday’s scrimmage, but several starters on defense were out.

One of the biggest challenges will be finding finishers at end, although Jermauria Rasco had shown a lot of promise before having his spring cut short by shoulder surgery.

In the middle of that defensive line, the Tigers are set with Anthony Johnson and Ego Ferguson, and Chavis thinks both are future pros.

He also wouldn’t trade his young group of linebackers for anybody. Kwon Alexander was one of the best true freshman defenders in the league last season until he broke his ankle in the Florida game. He returned to play in the bowl game, which should help him mentally going into next season.

The Tigers also get senior Tahj Jones back at linebacker. Jones missed all of last season because of academic issues. The other senior who will play a big role next season on defense is safety Craig Loston.

Three sophomores who played last season as freshmen in the secondary -- cornerbacks Jalen Mills and Jalen Collins, and safety Corey Thompson -- are poised to take big steps in 2013. Mills started all season at cornerback.

Six defensive linemen were part of the Tigers’ 2013 signing class, and Chavis said it’s likely that several of those will have to play, particularly at end. Something says it won’t take long for talented incoming linebackers Kendell Beckwith and Melvin Jones to get on the field, either.

“When you sign great players, you do so knowing they may leave early,” Chavis said. “You go back and look, and we’ve always played a lot of freshmen. That’s for a reason. You’ve got to have those guys ready, and we will be.”

BATON ROUGE, La. -- If you see LSU linebacker Lamin Barrow's first name and wonder how to properly pronounce it, just remember, it rhymes with "machine."

As in, "Lamin, the Tackling Machine."

That might be appropriate for the rising senior linebacker coming off a junior year in which he eclipsed the 100-tackle mark (104), finishing second on the team behind potential NFL first-round draft pick Kevin Minter. Many expected Barrow, who accumulated his numbers playing on the weak side, to move into Minter's spot at middle linebacker, a position that, in recent seasons, been manned by future NFL players like Minter, Kelvin Sheppard and Jacob Cutrera.

That, however, hasn't happened, at least not yet as LSU experiments with junior D.J. Welter, who has never started a game for the Tigers, in the middle. It doesn't mean that Barrow won't be the linebackers' leader in a way that Sheppard and Minter clearly were.

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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Here are things to know as LSU starts spring practice:

Practice dates: March 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23 (scrimmage), 25, 26 and 28. After spring break, resumes April 9, 11, 13 (scrimmage), 16, 18 and 20 (spring game).

What's new: Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will install his new offense, and four new starters will man the defensive line.

What's old: The Tigers have eight returning starters on offense, led by quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

Offensive outlook:
Starters returning (8): QB Mettenberger, RB Jeremy Hill, FB J.C. Copeland, WR Jarvis Landry, WR Odell Beckham, LT La'el Collins (moved from left guard), LG Josh Williford (moved from right guard), RG Trai Turner, RT Vadal Alexander.

New starters: TE Dillon Gordon or Logan Stokes, C Elliott Porter. Key reserves -- QB Stephen Rivers, RBs Alfred Blue, Kenny Hilliard and Terrance Magee, FB Connor Neighbors, LT Jerald Hawkins, RG Fehoko Fanaika, RT Ethan Pocic, WR James Wright, Kadron Boone, John Diarse and Travin Dural, TE Travis Dickson.

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Schedule: The Tigers open spring practice Thursday and will conclude the spring April 20 with their annual National L Club spring game at 3 p.m. ET in Tiger Stadium.

What’s new: Cam Cameron steps in as LSU’s offensive coordinator after spending part of last season in that role with the Baltimore Ravens. Cameron replaces Greg Studrawa as LSU’s play-caller on offense and will also coach the quarterbacks. Studrawa remains on staff and will coach the offensive line. Steve Kragthorpe will move into an administrative role after coaching the LSU quarterbacks the previous two seasons.

On the mend: Reserve quarterback Rob Bolden (knee) and defensive end Justin Maclin will both miss the spring while recovering from injuries.

On the move: Junior La’el Collins will get first shot at left tackle this spring after starting all last season at left guard. Senior Josh Williford will shift from right guard to left guard. Junior Terrence Magee is moving back to running back after playing receiver last season and catching just one pass.

Question marks: The Tigers are replacing five of their top seven defensive linemen. Junior tackles Anthony Johnson and Ego Ferguson and junior end Jermauria Rasco need to take that next step and become every-down forces up front. Head coach Les Miles said sophomore tackle Mickey Johnson has lost weight and had a promising offseason. Playing with more consistency at receiver will also be important. The Tigers had too many dropped passes last season and didn't make a lot happen down the field. Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry will be counted on to make big moves as juniors. LSU also has to find a new place-kicker and punter. Sophomore Jamie Keehn heads into the spring as the punter, while junior James Hairston will have to hold off redshirt freshman walk-on Colby Delahoussaye for the starting place-kicking job.

New faces: Junior-college newcomer Logan Stokes will battle for a starting job at tight end, while junior-college newcomer Fehoko Fanaika could factor in at offensive guard. At receiver, redshirt freshman Travin Dural will be one to watch after injuring his knee last season along with a pair of early enrollees -- Avery Peterson (Patrick Peterson’s younger brother) and John Diarse. Two more true freshmen, Anthony Jennings and Hayden Rettig, will be among a handful of players vying for the backup quarterback job. The Tigers have a total of six true freshmen on campus who will be going through spring practice as early enrollees. Redshirt freshman Dwayne Thomas is a prime candidate to be the Tigers’ third cornerback on passing downs.

Breaking out: In reality, senior linebacker Lamin Barrow has already broken out. He had 104 total tackles last season, but was overshadowed by Kevin Minter. With Minter leaving early for the NFL draft, Barrow will move this spring from weakside linebacker to Minter’s middle-linebacker spot. The 6-foot-2, 232-pound Barrow has everything it takes to become an All-SEC performer. If he sticks in the middle, it just makes the Tigers that much deeper at linebacker. Talented sophomores Kwon Alexander, Deion Jones and Lamar Louis can all play on the outside along with senior Tahj Jones, who returns after missing all but one game last season for academic reasons.

Don’t forget about: Senior running back Alfred Blue returns to give the Tigers one of the deepest backfields in the league. He injured his knee in the third game last season and was No. 2 in the SEC in rushing at the time. The 6-2, 220-pound Blue has excellent speed and also catches the ball well out of the backfield. He’ll team with sophomore Jeremy Hill to give LSU a dynamite one-two punch. The 6-2, 235-pound Hill had four 100-yard games as a true freshman and led the Tigers in rushing. Following a splendid freshman season, Kenny Hilliard was the forgotten man last season. He’ll be looking to regain his form this spring, while Magee will add some speed to the Tigers’ backfield.

All eyes on: Now that senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger has a season as a starter in the SEC under his belt, can he capitalize on the improvement he showed toward the end of last season? In particular, Miles wants to see Mettenberger get better at throwing the deep ball and understand all of the throws better. Mettenberger struggled early last season, but he didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers. The best news for Mettenberger was the hiring of a veteran offensive coordinator like Cameron, who’s tutored a ton of quality quarterbacks. There’s no question that LSU has to be more consistent on offense if it’s going to return to the SEC championship picture. How much Mettenberger improves from his junior to senior season will go a long way toward determining whether the Tigers will be a part of that equation.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU has eight new scholarship football players on its spring roster, with two players who are expected to be on the Tigers' spring roster facing a delay.

Quarterback Hayden Rettig and wide receiver Avery Johnson both got a late green light from the NCAA clearinghouse Wednesday, allowing them to join six other new players who enrolled for the spring semester.

"It's just a formality they had to go through," LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette said.

There were some nervous moments for LSU fans who recalled last January when highly-regarded quarterback recruit Gunner Kiel backed out of an LSU commitment in January and wound up signing with Notre Dame. Also, Johnson signed with LSU in 2012, but wound up not meeting academic requirements and he subsequently enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy for the fall semester. There were fears of more academic trouble for him.

Those fears now put to rest, LSU can look at an early enrollee class of eight.

They joined six other Tigers already on the roster: Tight end Logan Stokes and offensive guard Fehoko Fanaika (both junior college transfers) and high school recruits Anthony Jennings (quarterback), Ethan Pocic (offensive tackle), John Diarse (wide receiver) and Christian LaCouture (defensive tackle). All four graduated from their high schools early and were able to start a semester early.

Fanaika, like Johnson, initially signed with LSU last year, but had to return to junior college to complete his eligibility requirements.

While LSU brought in eight players, there were a handful of departures, most notably linebacker Luke Muncie, who started four games in 2012 before an illness forced him out of the lineup. He had 11 tackles and an interception.

Also no longer on the Tigers' roster are quarterback Jerrard Randall, wide receiver Paul Turner and offensive lineman Chris Davenport. Randall and Muncie will apparently transfer. Turner has reportedly transferred to Louisiana Tech and Davenport to Tulane.

Their departures leave LSU with unofficially 65 scholarship players on their roster, plenty enough to accommodate the 17 remaining committed players in the signing class plus three more. The NCAA limits teams to 85 scholarship players. If LSU were to add more than three players to its signing class, it would simply have whittle the scholarship counters to 85 by August.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- It's telling that it took until the last question of LSU coach Les' Miles Monday news conference before somebody finally asked about the starting right side of the offensive line that was absent in last week's 23-21 win over South Carolina.

Miles said he didn't know how either tackle Alex Hurst or guard Josh Williford were doing and "I don't have any update that would change status."

Williford missed the South Carolina game with a head injury while Hurst left the team last week for personal reasons, leaving the Tigers all an all-freshman right side of the line line with Vadal Alexander at tackle for a third straight game (Hurst had actually been playing left tackle because of an injury to Josh Dworaczyk) and Trai Turner, who made his starting debut at right guard.

If one wants to know why it took so long for questions about the veterans to come up, all you had to do is listen to Miles' opening statement.

"I have to give special mention to those two young guys," he said. "Trai Turner, in his first start, and Vadal Alexander, in his first appreciable playing time in his early career, both played very well."

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