BATON ROUGE, La. — As August camp came to a close for LSU football, the question on defense was simple:

Will the addition outweigh the subraction?

By “the addition,” we mean the addition of a new defensive coordinator in Dave Aranda, one of the hot names in the business at his job after a successful stint at Wisconsin. We also mean the addition of a true nose guard to anchor Aranda’s favored 3-4 defense in junior college transfer Travonte Valentine, who arrived after the start of fall camp.

By “the subtraction,” we mean some of the attrition that has happened during August camp. The loss of senior defensive tackle Christian LaCouture to a knee injury hurts, and losing linebacker Corey Thompson for about half the season to injury takes away from what’s an already thin group.

Does the net gain outweigh the net loss? That’s the question.

Defensive line

Things looked great at the position coming in, but losing LaCouture to an ACL injury early in camp is a blow.

Still, the Tigers can claim starters back at two of the three positions, plus the new outside linebacker spot that resembles a defensive end spot as much as it does an outside linebacker. Lewis Neal, an end last year in Kevin Steele’s 4-3 defense, is now a 3-4 defensive end and Davon Godchaux, after dabbling with nose tackle in the spring, is also a 3-4 end. He was a tackle last year.

Rounding out the returning starters is Arden Key, now an outside linebacker after showing promise as a 4-3 defensive end last year.

The big question mark is at nose tackle. The 350-pound Valentine brings all the natural ability in the world, but the sophomore is unproven in game situations. He may begin the year backing up junior Greg Gilmore at the spot. LSU’s defensive story may be told by how effective opponents are running up the middle. If Gilmore and Valentine can control the “A” gaps (the area between the center and guards), Aranda could look like a genius.

Frank Herron and Deondre Clark are veterans who will back up Neal and Godchaux. The Tigers aren’t terribly deep up front, but even without LaCouture, there is plenty of ability to get the job done, especially if Valentine pans out.

Linebacker

This might be the thinnest position on the team, but the good news is it’s anchored by one of the best players on the team in middle linebacker Kendell Beckwith.

Beckwith and Key are returning starters, although Key started at defensive end. Many expect him to have a breakthrough season with his pass-rushing talent and speed.

Duke Riley and Donnie Alexander are a couple of veteran special teams aces who should get more snaps at linebacker. Riley, a senior, is set to start at inside linebacker next to Beckwith. With Thompson out with a broken leg, converted defensive end Tashawn Bower may be the starting outside linebacker, but watch out for true freshman Michael Divinity to push for time.

Regardless, this looks like an area where Aranda may choose to replace a player for additional defensive backs depending on offensive player groupings and down and distance. The defensive back group is deeper, so why leave a linebacker on the field when the secondary may offer better players?

But as long as Beckwith is healthy and playing up to par, the Tigers shouldn’t be bad here.

Secondary

This is LSU’s deepest and, arguably, its most talent-filled position group (with the possible exception of running back).

In cornerback Tre’Davious White and safety Jamal Adams, LSU has a couple of All-American candidates who should have big years. White, who may have been a second-round NFL Draft pick had he not chosen to return to school for his senior year, is versatile and talented. Adams is a hard hitter and pretty good ball-hawk.

That’s just the start of the talent. Sophomore cornerback Kevin Toliver has the talent to be LSU’s next great cornerback, and the Tigers’ third cornerback, Donte Jackson, is one of the fastest players in college football. He’ll play starter-level snaps at cornerback as White will move to nickel back in situations where the Tigers use five defensive backs.

Rickey Jefferson returns to his starting safety spot, and Dwayne Thomas is likely to repeat his role as the Tigers’ dime back. And beyond the first six, LSU has a couple of talented true freshman cornerbacks in Kristian Fulton and Saivion Smith along with solid veteran Ed Paris.

The Tigers aren’t quite as deep at safety, where John Battle and Thomas are the primary backups. The Tigers were prone to surrendering big plays in the passing game last year, and often it was because of blown coverages by the safeties, something that should improve with experience.

Jackson, Thomas and maybe even Paris are starter-quality talents relegated to secondary roles in this defense. That said, look for Aranda to find ways to use nickel and dime packages to get these players on the field for a fair number of snaps.

Special teams

For the purpose of this preview, we’ll concentrate on the coverage teams and hit on the place kicks and the return teams with offense. With that in mind, this could be a weakness.

LSU wasn’t very good at either net punting nor covering kickoffs last year. So it’s not a surprise that the Tigers could have new starters at both punter and on kickoffs.

Josh Growden, a redshirt freshman from Australia, will likely be the Tigers’ third straight Aussie punter, replacing the departed Jamie Keehn, who struggled with both distance and net yards. LSU is hoping to get from Growden what the Tigers got used to before Keehn when Brad Wing was a cult hero with his ability to mix long punts with effective pooch punts.

The Tigers also need to be more effective on kickoffs. Cameron Gamble was the kickoff specialist last season but could get pushed out of the job by freshman Connor Culp. Either way, the Tigers need either touchbacks or better placement for the coverage team to improve field position.

Defensive strength

In a word, speed. Not only do the Tigers have an extremely athletic secondary, led by Jackson’s otherworldly talent, but in Riley, LSU may have one of the faster linebackers in college football (he was a 14.7 high hurdler in high school) and in Key, the Tigers have a talented speed-rusher off the edge who is athletic enough to drop into coverage.

Defensive weakness

With LaCouture and Thompson injured, the Tigers are a little thin up front. A worst-case scenario for this group is that either Neal or Godchaux gets hurt and Beckwith goes down. That would really test the Tigers’ depth.

Another weakness is the coverage teams. The Tigers will need much better net punting and kick coverage to put the defense in better positions.

Wild card

Dave Aranda, the new defensive coordinator, and his 3-4 scheme bring in a lot of worries to opposing offenses. Last year’s game film won’t matter as much as the Tigers are going to a new look, and having a mind as reputable as Aranda’s should put offenses at a disadvantage.