BATON ROUGE, La. — Despite its shortened public preview in LSU’s spring game, there can be no doubt a new offensive era has begun in Baton Rouge under first-year coordinator Matt Canada.

Here are five things I liked from Saturday night’s game, including some things you probably missed after the game was moved from Tiger Stadium to the LSU’s indoor facility due to lightening before halftime.

1. Canada’s shifty offense 

Gone are the days of former LSU coach Les Miles’ predictable, stagnant offense, at least in theory.

In the first team offense’s debut possession, pre-snap motions and shifts took center stage as Canada’s offense plowed down the field with a balanced dynamic attack.

“We wanted to be 50-50 tonight, 50 percent run, 50 percent pass I asked him to do that and he did it,” LSU coach Orgeron said afterward. “We knew we had to work on our passing game. There are a lot of things he did not show, but most of the stuff he did show people have his film from Pittsburgh.”

But after its early success, the offense stalled as the defense began to take control. The primary problem: senior quarterback Danny Etling and company struggled to execute.

RELATED: What Ed Orgeron said about LSU’s QB battle

Despite beginning in rhythm with four consecutive completions, Etling finished the Tiger Stadium section of the spring game just 4-for-11 for 53 yards and an interception. (No stats were kept or released after they moved the game indoors.)

For most, Etling is the de-facto starter after notching 10 starts last season, but Orgeron has not seen enough from any quarterback to name a starter for the fall.

“Nobody has earned the starting spot and you saw that tonight,” Orgeron said. “If we had to name a starter tonight it is not a clear-cut winner. Most of the spring Danny (Etling) has been better. Underneath the pressure, the guys did not perform the way we wanted them to, so they are going to have to show me who is able to perform under pressure to be the LSU quarterback.”

2. Defense playing with a ‘chip on its shoulder’ 

Orgeron openly criticized his defense for being out played throughout spring practice, and second-year defensive coordinator Dave Aranda’s unit responded Saturday with a dynamic performance.

“The offense did a tremendous job all spring, but tonight was the defense’s night,” Orgeron said. “I thought the defense under Dave Aranda did a tremendous job. Guys were tackling and running around, and they were very physical.”

Although many Tigers stepped up defensively, three players stood out by consistently causing havoc on Canada’s top offense.

Grant Delpit (Freshman, Safety): Delpit started with the first team defense in the place of senior safety John Battle, who did not suit up Saturday. Delpit positioned himself well in pass coverage, recording a key pass breakup during the first team offense’s opening drive. Along with making plays in coverage, Delpit showed off his ability to lay down a hit in run support, giving the Tigers another consistent option at safety along with Battle and senior converted-corner back Ed Paris.

“He had a great night,” Orgeron said. “Grant may start for us. Grant proved tonight that he could make plays. We treated this like a preseason game because we wanted to see what guys could do under the lights. He did a tremendous job.”

Devin White (Sophomore, LB): Linebacker is a major position of need for the Tigers following the graduation of Duke Riley and Kendell Beckwith. White, who began his career as a running back, disrupted Canada’s offense by remaining unfazed by misdirection attempts. White finished the outdoor section of the spring game with 4 tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss.

Kevin Toliver II (Junior, CB): Despite establishing himself an an elite talent during his freshman season in 2015, defensive back Kevin Toliver II struggled in his sophomore season with injury. The D.J. Chark-Toliver battle was an excellent back and forth affair to watch all night. Toliver posted a pass breakup and an interception during the outdoor session of the Tigers’ spring game.

3. D.J. Chark stepping up as a playmaker 

With the early departure of junior wide receiver Malachi Dupre, Chark came into the spring as the Tigers’ go-to receiver and he didn’t disappoint in the spring game.

Besides junior running back Derrius Guice, Chark emerged Saturday as another cornerstone of LSU’s offense. Chark’s physicality while running routes and his speed in the jet sweep game provides a versatile player for Canada to use in a multitude of ways.

Despite being the primary option for jet sweeps, Chark struggled to constantly earn positive yardage, recording -3 net yards on four carries.

In the passing game, Chark fared better, posting two catches for 45 yards during the outdoor session of the game.

4. Running back depth behind Guice 

Guice, the SEC’s leading rusher last season, enters this season as LSU’s unquestioned star in the backfield. But throughout the spring, questions have emerged as to who would become the Tigers’ No. 2 back.

Junior running back Nick Brossette and sophomore running back Lanard Fournette (Leonard’s younger brother) took full advantage of the opportunity.

Brossette recorded 26 yards on three carries.

Fournette broke one of the longest runs of the night with a 19-yard scamper against the second team defense and powered in the game’s first touchdown from a yard out.

“I thought (running back) Lanard Fournette ran the ball well tonight,” Orgeron said. “I thought he showed some flashes, and he is getting very well coached under (running backs coach) Tommie Robinson.”

5. Energy surrounding Orgeron’s leadership

Besides the excitement surrounding the installation of Matt Canada’s offense and the return of Aranda’s top notch defense, there is just something different about the Tigers’ program heading into the fall.

Orgeron has energized LSU’s fanbase and the Tigers’ former players in a way that only he can as a Louisiana native. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to sustain this energy throughout his first full season as head coach.

“We had a tremendous day,” Orgeron said. “We started off with a lot of former players coming back and bringing them back together. They were fired up, and it was a great day to see all of the ex-players coming back and all the championships those guys won and all of the accomplishments that they had. I think we have a very strong Tiger family, and that was one of the most impressive things of the day.”