The LSU Tigers are entering an interesting year in Baton Rouge.

Yes, LSU has enough talent to win the national championship, but the quarterback position remains one of the most talked about position battles in the SEC. Anthony Jennings is currently suspended, while Brandon Harris will continue to battle Jennings for the job during fall camp.

LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said Friday morning on “Culotta & The Prince” on 104.5/10.49 ESPN in Baton Rouge that if the quarterback position questions get answered and the Tigers can stay healthy, they can beat anyone in the country. The Advocate had a portion of the interview.

“If we get good quarterback play and stay healthy we can beat and compete with anyone in the country,” said Alleva.

“I think we’re going to have a really good team. When you look at our talent across the board, I think we can matchup with anybody in the league if we stay healthy.”

Simply just answering the quarterback question will require either Jennings or Harris to make major strides under center, and let’s face it, we haven’t seen that yet.

Another question for LSU is replacing former defensive coordinator John Chavis with Kevin Steele. Alleva added on the show that he feels the Tigers actually improved the coaching staff, regardless of the coaches who were lost. The Tigers hired Kevin Steele (defensive coordinator), Ed Orgeron (defensive line coach) and Tony Ball (wide receivers coach).

“They’re outstanding,” Alleva said. “We improved our coaching staff, and that’s not to say anything bad about the guys that are not here anymore, because they were outstanding coaches also. When you have a really good group of coaches, then you can bring in three that — in my opinion — are even a little bit better, that’s pretty special.”

LSU returns one of the most experienced offensive lines, one of the most talented receiving corps and a dominant backfield highlighted by Leonard Fournette. Key questions also remain at defensive end and who exactly will rush the passer. New defensive line coach Ed Orgeron hopes to answer those questions.

You can listen to the full radio interview here.