There’s a lot of reason for optimism when it comes to LSU’s defensive backfield.

The Tigers will be down three key players from a year ago. They’ll be young.

The group will also be among the most talented secondaries in the country. The question, though, is who will actually be holding down the four starting positions.

Two of them are all but settled. Safety Jalen Mills returned for his senior year, and he’s expected to be one of LSU’s leaders through spring practice and into the fall. Tre’Davious White will go into the season with his spot at cornerback locked down after starting every game as a sophomore in 2014. After that, there are two spots left to be filled.

Let’s start with safety. Ronald Martin was a solid starter as a senior, leading LSU’s defensive backs in tackles and tying for the team lead in interceptions (including the last-second pick to seal the Ole Miss win).

The options to replace him are pretty rosy. Jamal Adams is a rising star, and he made a splash as a freshman in 2014, finishing sixth on the team in tackles while leading DBs in tackles for loss. He’s the presumed favorite after the flashes of brilliance he showed last year, but he’ll have to  compete with Rickey Jefferson, who showed a nose for the ball as a sophomore.

Cornerback is even deeper, even as the Tigers replace Jalen Collins and Rashard Robinson. Dwayne Thomas, last year’s nickel corner, is on his way back from an ACL injury and is already participating in non-contact drills. Ed Paris played sparingly last year as a freshman, but the former four-star recruit has plenty of talent. They’ll both be challenged this fall by early enrollee Kevin Toliver, a five-star corner who should be in the mix to start the opener.

The talent and depth throughout the secondary has everyone expecting big things. Mills and White, the returning starters, are both big-time players. But will they be the top players at their respective positions by the time the season gets into full swing?

Adams has some serious buzz coming into spring practice. Be it Tyrann Mathieu saying he’ll be the best safety in college this year or his hard-hitting performances from last year, Adams looks poised to live up to the hype and become a dominant player for the Tigers.

White is a gamer, a talented corner capable of locking horns with some of the SEC’s best receivers. However, listed at 5-foot-11 and 191 pounds, White doesn’t have the size of Toliver (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) or Paris (6-foot-1, 208 pounds). That could come into play when facing off against Auburn’s Duke Williams, Alabama’s group of big, talented youngsters and more throughout the conference.

If LSU’s incumbent starters are surpassed in performance by the players competing for playing time, that will mean nothing but good things for Defensive Back U. The Tigers have a loaded secondary, and the talented players on hand will push each other to live up to their billing come fall.