LSU Football DC Bo Pelini Says Defense Will Look Different At Times, Believes Tigers Can Be Dominant in 2020

Pelini thinks linebacker corps is "inexperienced" but "talented group

LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini spoke Wednesday on the virtual TAF Coaches Caravan, discussing his return to Baton Rouge and life as a football coach during a global pandemic.

Hired Jan. 27, Pelini said one of his main goals heading into spring practice was to build a sense of trust with players. With student-athletes home, and Zoom meetings acting as the only form of communication during these unprecedented times, Pelini isn’t trying to be anybody but himself.

"I don't try to be anybody but myself,” Pelini said on TAF’s virtual event. “They needed to get a feel for who I was and what I believe in. You don't try to sell yourself. I really like our staff and our players are high character kids."

One of those guys was senior safety JaCoby Stevens, who decided to forgo the NFL Draft and return to school for his final season of eligibility. Stevens was LSU’s most productive defender during the 2019 national championship run, posting 85 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and three interceptions.

"I can't even tell you how excited I am to have JaCoby Stevens in our system,” Pelini said. “He can do so many things. The NFL is going to be licking their chops over this guy. There's a lot of versatility, and there's a lot of depth in our secondary."

Spending the 2015-19 seasons as the head coach at Youngstown State, Pelini said the offer to return to Baton Rouge was a no-brainer. In fact, when he brought the opportunity up to his wife, she urged him to pursue it, making his final decision that much easier.

“Professionally, it was an easy choice,” he said. “It was more of a personal thing for me, making sure my wife and kids were on board. Fortunately, my family had a great experience here.”

According to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, Pelini received a three-year, $2.3 million deal to replace Dave Aranda, who accepted a job to become Baylor’s head coach on Jan. 16.

As LSU's defensive coordinator from 2005-07 under Les Miles, Pelini’s defenses were ranked top-20 nationally each of his three seasons with the Tigers, ending with a national title in 2007.

Pelini did a quick run through with Jacob Hester on each position of his defense, applauding the “versatility” of the group he inherited. He specifically mentioned the linebackers for being an “inexperienced, but talented” group, highlighting Damone Clark as a player he’s excited about.

When asked about the differences between a Pelini defense vs. an Aranda defense, Pelini said to expect LSU to play more multiple coverages and more matchup defense than prior years.

“It will look different at times,” he said. “There’s some things that we’re going to do that will be similar to what Dave did. But there will be a number of things that don’t look different at all.”

Even with players currently off-campus, Pelini noted much of his defense has already been installed, providing the unit with the tools necessary to stay on track no matter what lies ahead.

"You're not going to hold offenses to single digits every week like great defenses used to," Pelini said. "The game's more spread out, there's more one on one opportunities there. But you can still be dominating on defense. Especially with our offense, which I think is going to be explosive once again, every time we go out there, we're looking to shut somebody out every week."