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Marcus Spears says LSU is struggling in one department ‘more so than ever’
By Keith Farner
Published:
There are plenty of voices weighing in on the state of the LSU program these days, but not many carry the weight of former LSU defensive lineman Marcus Spears.
Spears, who is now an analyst on the SEC Network, was a guest on The Opening Drive on JOX 94.5, and offered his thoughts on the LSU season so far, and coach Ed Orgeron. LSU dropped to 3-2 after a homecoming loss to Troy on Saturday. The Tigers play at Florida at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.
Spears said there’s been a learning curve “coaching wise” and mentioned Orgeron with offensive coordinator Matt Canada. But he spoke in-depth about a “lack of talent” that you’ve grown accustomed to at LSU for a long period of time.
“It just doesn’t resemble that type of team,” Spears said. “I think that’s a big part, the numbers are low on the defensive line. Plus you just don’t have the same type of guys. Not to knock the guys that are playing there, but in this conference, i.e. the team down the street from you guys, people talk about the skill positions and the quarterback and it’s always a hot topic coming into the season.
“But we all know if you’ve been covering this league for long enough, and you’ve been around SEC football, the game is won at the line of scrimmage. I think LSU is struggling in that department more so than ever. More than I can remember in the last 10, 15 years. I think that’s a big issue right now. Especially when you’re trying to compete with who you know you have to compete with every single year to try and win this conference.”
Spears said he believes Orgeron would be given some time because his hire was never based on Xs and Os. It was about how the team responded to him last year after Les Miles was let go and Orgeron was named interim coach.
“It was the perception that he could get the team ready to play and have guys playing at a high level every Saturday,” Spears said. “I think that’s where the hire came from. Obviously, it was shots taken at Jimbo (Fisher), it was shots taken at Tom Herman and when both of those guys removed themselves from the search, Ed O plus the fan base and everybody was excited about the possibilities about him being the head coach and the team responding like they did after Les Miles was let go.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
