LSU has reason to hope it will be better this season.

It’s making a fresh start with a new head coach who’s a proven winner in Brian Kelly.

He brought in a pretty good recruiting class and utilized the transfer portal well.

But the Tigers have a lot of buts.

But, they’re counting on some inexperienced players to blossom. But, they’re hoping to stay healthy at positions with questionable depth. But, they’re looking for players to bounce back from injuries and other setbacks.

If they get what they’re looking for from all these players, it could be a good season. If they don’t, well, it won’t be so good.

Here are 5 dream scenarios and 5 disaster scenarios for the 2022 Tigers:

First, the dream scenarios:

1. The starting QB becomes a star

The Tigers have 4 talented quarterbacks. But no one has seized the position.

The starter is probably going to be Myles Brennan or Jayden Daniels, though Garrett Nussmeier is a dark horse. Walker Howard is a 5-star freshman recruit who seems a candidate to redshirt.

Brennan is entering his 6th season in the program, but he has started just 3 games. Daniels started 29 games at Arizona State, but he seemed to hit a plateau after his freshman season. Nussmeier, who sustained a minor ankle injury early in camp, saw limited action as a freshman in 2021.

So there is hope but uncertainty about the quarterbacks. If someone — and it doesn’t matter who it is — seizes the job and answers the questions about him positively and plays at a very high level, which isn’t unrealistic, LSU’s ceiling goes much higher.

2. An anchor turns the offensive line into a cohesive unit

Kelly is cautiously optimistic about his offensive live.

He wasn’t when he arrived. But he added 2 significant transfers (Tre’Mond Shorts and Miles Frazier), Anthony Bradford returned after being away from the team for undisclosed reasons, Garrett Dellinger got healthy and freshman Will Campbell looks like he might be ready to start at left tackle.

The key is Dellinger, who was a part-time starter at tackle as a freshman last season and likely will be the starting center.

Though the line looks better than it did coming out of last season, someone still has to step forward as the anchor and mental leader from the middle. And the group has to become a unit, not just a collection of 5 pretty good pieces.

If it all comes together, it will make coordinator Mike Denbrock’s first season go much more smoothly.

3. Kayshon Boutte has lots of help

Boutte had 9 touchdown receptions in 6 games last season before suffering a season-ending injury.

He was the best player on that team, and he should be the best player on this team — if he’s fully recovered and stays healthy. So far, all signs are positive about his recovery.

If Boutte can play the way he was playing last season before being hurt — and at the end of his freshman season in 2020 — LSU will have one of the most dynamic receivers in the country.

But the Tigers will be even better off if they have a bunch of other significant threats. Kelly recently challenged Kyren Lacy and Brian Thomas Jr. to be more consistent. Jack Bech, Malik Nabers, Jaray Jenkins and Chris Hilton Jr. are primary candidates in a very deep group.

4. They find a tight end to catch passes

The Tigers’ receivers might be the deepest position group on the team.

But the passing game needs help from the tight ends, and that group is unproven.

The Tigers have 7 tight ends on their roster. Only 2 of them have played for them.

Kole Taylor is the returning starter and has 12 catches for 104 yards and 1 touchdown in his career. Jack Mashburn is a former walk-on who is primarily a blocker. He hasn’t caught more then 1 pass in any game in his career.

On paper at least, it appears the tight ends will have virtually no impact on the passing game, though Kelly praised Mason Taylor for getting off to a fast start in camp.

If the tight ends do have an impact in the passing game, it’ll be a big boost.

5. Maason Smith has an All SEC-caliber season

The 5-star defensive tackle was the top recruit in the 2021 class.

He did fine in his first season, recording 19 tackles, including 5 for loss, 4 of them sacks.

Smith figures to be one of the Tigers’ best defensive players this season. But there is hope that he might someday earn comparisons to Glenn Dorsey, one of the best LSU defensive linemen ever.

If Smith is going to get to that point, he’s going to have to be outstanding as a sophomore. He’s talented enough to do it, and he certainly will be given the opportunity to anchor the interior of a line that features a pair of experienced edge rushers (Ali Gaye and BJ Ojulari) who will be in the NFL next season.

Now the disaster scenarios:

1. The Tigers don’t find 2 starting corners who live up to the DBU moniker

The Tigers have a bunch of defensive backs they think they can count on.

The might wind up with a good and deep group at both corner and safety.

But it’s about 3 weeks until the season opener, and they don’t yet have 2 clear-cut starting cornerbacks who can enhance the DBU image.

They have returning players and transfers from other programs. The group will be good, but if the starters aren’t standouts, the defense won’t stand out.

2. Backup defensive linemen don’t emerge

The starting defensive line looks really good.

There are plenty of qualified candidates to be in the rotation, but they’re mostly unproven.

When LSU has been very good, it has been very good on defense. And when it has been very good on defense, it has had a very deep rotation on the defensive line. That’s mostly true throughout the SEC.

If the Tigers are going to be really good up front, they’re going to need 8 or 9 or 10 linemen they can count on. If they don’t develop a deep rotation by the end of September, it’s going to be a rough SEC season.

3. They don’t find a consistent running back or backs

It’s fine to have 1 “bell-cow” running back that cruises past 1,000 yards. It’s fine to rotate 2 or more running backs in order to develop a consistently good running game.

You have to have one or the other.

It looks like John Emery Jr. will get a crack at being the bell-cow after missing all of last season. Penn State transfer Noah Cain appears healthy and could have an important role if this turns into a committee thing. Armoni Goodwin and Josh Williams could also contribute.

But the running game wasn’t great last year — even with Ty Davis Price.

If the running game isn’t better than it was last season — whether with a clear-cut leader or a group effort — then the Tigers won’t be better.

4. The new kicker isn’t consistent

The Tigers have had good kicking for the last several seasons. The consistency of Cade York and Cole Tracy before him was a significant asset.

The new kicker looks like he’s a good one. Freshman Nathan Dibert was the No. 6-rated kicker in the Class of 2022.

But he has never kicked in a college game.

If he’s not up to the challenge, that will be a significant problem, though inexperienced holdovers Ezekeal Mata and Damian Ramos are also in the mix.

5. They lose to Florida State

LSU will be favored to beat Florida State.

The Tigers have more talent up and down the roster than the Seminoles do.

But as non-conference opponents go — especially ones that show up on Labor Day weekend — FSU is pretty strong.

LSU has a new coaching staff, a quarterback competition that has dragged into mid-August and a host of new starters.

So who knows what to expect the first time this group plays a game together?

If the Tigers stumble and lose their Sept. 4 opener in the Caesars Superdome, there will be a disappointing tone set, and they will have a loss on their record before they even begin SEC play.

Think UCLA in 2021.