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LSU can renovate its offense with a few tweaks, like TCU and Oklahoma did
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Forgive the SEC for being a bit defensive regarding its recent head coaching hires.
Defense appears to be the direction of the conference as teams such as Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina all went with former defensive coordinators to take control of their programs starting this winter. And while the old adage is that defense win championships, college football is still very much an offensive playground.
As teams such as TCU and Oklahoma have demonstrated the last few years, even the best defenses can be susceptible to an overpowering offense. What the Horned Frogs and Sooners also showcased is how a switch in schemes can completely renovate a program into an unstoppable force.
Such a transformation is possible, even in the defensive-minded SEC. But several factors must align and few teams in the conference can meet such criteria. The program with the most potential to emulate that of TCU and Oklahoma in the SEC could very well be the LSU Tigers.
Gary Patterson and TCU switched from their ground-and-pound style that netted the coach four Mountain West titles to a hurry-up, spread offense prior to the 2014 season. And the results were as dramatic as they were quick. The same scenario played out a year later and 190 miles north of Fort Worth in Norman, Okla., as Bob Stoops eschewed his ground attack for the Air Raid offense. The result? A dynamic offense that has the Sooners in the College Football Playoff.
Les Miles and LSU can find themselves as the TCU and Oklahoma of the 2016 season with a change in offensive schematics and the right dominoes falling into place.
Here’s a look at some of the measures the Tigers can take to transform into an offensive juggernaut, a la the Horned Frogs and Sooners:
Have a Heisman-caliber candidate
Check. Strangely, this is the easy one for Les Miles’ program. Leonard Fournette will return to Baton Rouge for his junior season after a sophomore campaign that saw him lead the NCAA in rushing yards per game (158.3 YPG). Some argue Fournette’s 1,741 yards and 18 touchdowns merited a place on this year’s Heisman dais. With another offseason to bulk up, Fournette has to be among the early contenders for the 2016 Heisman. TCU (Trevone Boykin) and Oklahoma (Baker Mayfield) each earned their fair share of Heisman votes in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Boykin and Mayfield are both quarterbacks, but simply having a dominant player on offense is vital and Fournette more than fills that role.
Find a quarterback
Brandon Harris doesn’t appear to be the answer as the sophomore struggled completing 53.15 percent of his 254 passes. With Fournette coming back, LSU is very much in win-now mode and waiting around to see if Harris can grasp the offense isn’t an ideal option. The Tigers lost out on former commit Feleipe Franks, who recently flipped to Florida, leaving Miles’ 2016 recruit class without a quarterback. But if LSU wants to contend right away, it’s best bet might be to pick up a signal caller via transfer — the same way Oklahoma landed Mayfield from Texas Tech.
Fortunately, several options exist among quarterbacks who can transfer and play immediately. Chief among them is former Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight. The Sooners granted Knight, who lost his job to Mayfield, his full release this week. Knight amassed 3,424 yards and 25 touchdowns in 24 games with the Sooners and would be an ideal stabilizing presence under center in Death Valley. Knight is also the one of only two quarterbacks in the last decade, joining Johnny Manziel, to throw for four touchdowns against Alabama — a tempting tidbit sure to delight Tiger fans.
Another quarterback eligible to play right away that could be an option is Louisville’s Will Gardner, who is rumored to be looking for a new home. Gardner threw for 1,669 yards and 12 touchdowns in eight games during the 2014 season before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in his left knee. You never know, perhaps a guy like Gardner can come in and be the 2016 version of Chad Kelly, who transferred into Oxford and surprised everyone by leading the SEC in passing.
Kentucky will also part ways with graduating Patrick Towles, who has a year of eligibility remaining. Sure Towles struggled at times and lost his job to a freshman late in the year, but he could provide a veteran presence, benefit from improved talent around him, and a be game manager who is familiar with the SEC — while knowing is primary objective is getting the ball in Fournette’s hands. It’s not likely, and Tiger nation might have an collective aneurysm should Towles ends up in Baton Rouge, but he could be worth a look.
Bring back Cam Cameron
Cameron’s contract as the highest paid offensive coordinator in the country expires in March and it’s still unclear whether or not he’ll return to Les Miles’ staff. We’re not talking about a program that’s rebuilding. Learning a new system under a new offensive coordinator could be detrimental to success in 2016.
With a player of Fournette’s ability in the backfield, it’s easy to rely on a ground-and-pound attack. But the Tigers must get more dimensional in their attack. What better coach to do so under than Cameron, a disciple from West Coast offense architect Don Coryell?
Coryell’s offense relied on a power running game to set the tone for a speedy corps of receivers to stretch the field with long and medium pass routes. Miles must take any constraints off Cameron and allow the Tigers offense to install more of a spread attack — just like TCU and Oklahoma did. A quarterback such as the aforementioned Trevor Knight, a read-option passer with a big arm, would be a perfect fit in a revised spread attack for the Tigers.
Miles has said that he’ll tweak his offense for the LSU’s Texas Bowl matchup against Texas Tech, but bigger changes are needed if LSU wants to contend for an SEC West title.
Keep draft eligible players
The Tigers have several key players that are eligible to enter the NFL Draft. The biggest name is wide receiver Travin Dural. The junior was projected as a second- or third-round pick in next spring’s draft, but a torn hamstring suffered in November likely quashed those hopes, especially considering that Dural’s recovery time will force him to miss vital workouts in February. With Dural back and rising junior Malachi Dupre also lining up wide for the Tigers, Miles has the home run threat receivers needed to operate the spread offense quite effectively. Dural has the talent to equal a Josh Doctson of TCU (1,018 rec. yards in 2014) and Oklahoma’s Sterling Shepard (1,201 rec. yards in 2015). He just needs a quarterback that can consistently get him the ball.
Also key to any offensive success is a staunch offensive line and convincing junior left tackle Jerald Hawkins and junior center Ethan Pocic to return to Baton Rouge for their senior campaigns could be vital along an o-line that could potentially return four starters.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
