LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger reflects on 'fun' offensive philosophy, praises Joe Burrow

LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger has been coaching for nearly 4 decades. But as his team prepares to face Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl on Saturday, he’ll be the first to admit that he’s not had an opportunity throughout his career to run an offense the way the Tigers have run so effectively all season long.

“Well, back in the stone ages, we didn’t do this kind of stuff,” Ensminger joked during a game week press conference on Tuesday. “But it is fun for a number of reasons. Because there’s guys sitting next to me who can make those plays…As an offensive coordinator, you go years — I think it’s my 38th year of coaching — to coach a quarterback like Joe (Burrow) and have receivers and running backs like we have. It’s a special year.”

Ensminger was quick to note that Oklahoma’s defense could present unique challenges that the Tigers haven’t faced yet this season, especially how it guards against the run and is quick to close down opponents.

“This might be the fastest defense we face,” he said. “They can run. Their defensive line can run, their linebackers can run, their secondary can run. They present problems with their speed. And so it’s protection first. You got to be able to run the football against this team. Nobody has. You put up explosive runs on tape, and they’re not very many of them, so it’s got to be a good mixture.”