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LSU’s disappointing season edned as poorly as possible in the Music City Bowl against Notre Dame. The defense turned sieve, quarterback play was abysmal and, worst of all, it appears the Tigers will lose one of the best assistant coaches in the country.
Despite all that, LSU is not far off from a return to the top of the SEC West.
Of course, there are those two major sticking points LSU must overcome before moving up to contender status. But look around at what the Tigers will have coming back in 2015 and there’s plenty of reason for optimism.
Firstly, there’s Leonard Fournette. On just 13 touches in the Music City Bowl, the freshman star accumulated 264 yards and two scores, breaking the team’s freshman rushing record in the process. Fournette called 2014 his “learning season,” which should send shudders down defensive coordinator’s spines, considering he rushed for over 1,000 yards and had 10 rushing scores this year.
He’ll run behind an offensive line that returns the bulk of its starters, although LSU will lose senior left tackle La’el Collins, one of the best linemen in college this year. The Tigers bring in and develop top-notch talent year in and year out, so even the losses of Collins and center Elliott Porter won’t wreck the team.
The receiving corps is loaded, too. Travin Dural emerged as a dangerous threat both running deep and taking handoffs, while a trio of freshmen all flashed their talent at one point or another throughout the season.
The problem with all that talent, though, is there’s no one to bring it together. Even the players, like wide receiver Malachi Dupre, can see that there’s a real issue.
Something has to change
— Malachi Dupre (@MalachiDupre) December 30, 2014
That issue is the quarterback. Watching LSU this year nearly fit the definition of insanity. Week after week, Miles sent out Anthony Jennings at quarterback to the bewilderment of fans and observers, getting the same results each time. The sophomore completed more than 50 percent of his passes in just four games all season. That’s it. And half of those outings were against non-conference cupcakes.
LSU seemingly wasted a year to develop a potential star, freshman Brandon Harris. When Harris played in relief, he looked like a stud. There was the near-comeback against Mississippi State, then the lights-out performance against New Mexico State (an FCS team that Jennings turned the ball over three times to in the first quarter alone). Harris never got a fair chance to prove he could be the starter, getting his only start of the year on the road against then-No. 5 Auburn, predictably flopping miserably. After that game, Harris never played another meaningful down in 2014.
It’s hard to say that the position is salvageable, considering Harris couldn’t overtake one of the worst starting quarterbacks, statistically and subjectively, and in the FBS this year, despite Jennings’ lack of improvement all year. While offensive coordinator Cam Cameron has talked about being a better teacher, you have to wonder just how much these quarterback prospects can be taught. Instead of finding ways to put Jennings in a position to do something well in the bowl game, LSU instead hid its quarterback as much as possible. It’s why fans are clamoring for Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller, who many expect will transfer.
If defensive coordinator John Chavis does indeed head to Texas A&M, as reports indicate, it would certainly be a blow to LSU’s defensive infrastructure. Chavis has built a top-15 defense in Baton Rouge each of the last five seasons, pulling in and piecing together some of the top talent in the SEC annually.
For the first time in several years, it appeared the defense will hold on to the bulk of its draft-eligible talent, a victory in itself. LSU’s defense was marked by youth and inconsistency early in the season, gelling together in the second half of the year. The Music City Bowl loss was a disappointing regression to the ills of the early games in 2014, as well as 2013.
While LSU may lose as many as three members of the secondary, there is more than enough talent already on the roster and committed to enroll for 2015 to fill in the gaps. Jamal Adams looks like a star in the making at safety, and nickel back Dwayne Thomas should return to a more prominent role after a season-ending knee injury.
The Tigers could return nearly the entire front seven as well, with players like Danielle Hunter and Kwon Alexander rumored to be returning for their senior years. The youth that hurt LSU in those areas will be another year better in 2015.
Of course, those best-laid plans could fall apart if Chavis skips town to an SEC rival. Playing for Chief is a huge draw for recruits, and no one knows how the prospect of playing for a new defensive coordinator could affect the plans of several rising seniors with NFL futures.
LSU has many of the pieces in place to vault right back up to 10-win seasons and contention for the SEC West title. Whether or not they have what it takes to pull it all together will determine the future of a promising team.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
