Questions for LSU Football Defense in 2022 Spring Practice

Who steps up in the secondary? What impact will Maason Smith, Jaquelin Roy have on interior defensive line?

The LSU defense looks to rebound in 2022 after allowing 26.6 points per game in 2021 and 34.9 points per game in 2020.

It’s time for the LSU defense to rise up once again. To make that happen, two positional questions and one overriding question must be answered.

Will the Tigers Generate Pressure from the Middle of the Defensive Line?

As has been for years, LSU has two extremely talented and massive defensive tackles that every sane defensive coordinator in America would love to add to their own roster. The two players – Jaquelin Roy and Maason Smith – even have the ability to change games when it’s an obvious passing situation, something that’s all but unheard of for the vast majority of college football’s collection of interior defensive linemen.

In short, it’s really hard to consistently generate a pass rush from the interior defensive line. More bodies to bypass, more double teams, and the players attempting to reach the opposing signal caller are quite frankly not as fast and athletic as those speed-rushing defensive ends. Well, that’s usually the case with the latter point. The two young men representing LSU are definitely more talented than just about any other tandem in the SEC or the country.

So just how excited should LSU fans, and the LSU coaches, for that matter, be with Roy and Smith as the two projected starters? Combining them on the interior, especially now that they both have at least one season in a LSU uniform, should mean that the Tigers can push the pocket against the vast majority of college football teams and create havoc for each squad’s quarterback.

More sacks, more turnovers, and more overall disruption is the expectation. That’s what they should do because of their raw talent and experience. Bottom line, with Roy and Smith, there should be a much improved LSU defense overall. That leads to a position that’s directly impacted by the defensive tackle play.

Which Cornerbacks Step Up?

Despite numerous top cornerbacks signing with LSU over the past four years, the position has seen an incredible amount of upheaval during the past two seasons and the depth chart is therefore tough to project. There are a handful of players to watch, however, and that’s where we begin.

Arkansas transfer Greg Brooks could be a big help as he's a potential traditional cornerback and is also a strong candidate to play the difficult position of nickel cornerback. Even if Brooks works out at nickel, that still leaves two traditional cornerbacks to figure out as well as depth across all three cornerback positions.

Another player that comes to LSU by way of the Transfer Portal would be Oklahoma State transfer Jarrick Bernard-Converse. A player with excellent size at 6’2”, 205-pounds, Bernard Converse was a very welcome addition to the roster and one that should not only help against the pass but the run as well due to his size and experience. He had 51 tackles and 11 pass breakups this past season in Stillwater, Okla.

Then, there’s one more cornerback position that needs a starter plus that pesky concern over depth. Whom shall it be that ends up starting at the third spot? Will Jay Ward play cornerback again? Maybe one of the younger cornerbacks steps up?

Well, there are some options for yet another transfer, Mekhi Garner, coming to LSU via the University of Louisiana. Plus, there’s Damarius McGhee that’s coming into his sophomore season for the Tigers. He was a very highly recruited player out of Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic.

LSU fans and coaches will have to wait and see how it shakes out, but there are several good candidates listed above and that’s not even close to all the names. In the end, LSU needs to find five or six cornerbacks that can truly play. Injuries happen, the heat down on the bayou is not going anywhere, and a rotation during games needs to be established. There’s also the concept of situational football to consider depending on the team the Tigers play each week.

To put it mildly, there are many miles to go before much is truly going to be known about where the LSU cornerback position stands, in particular when discussing depth, but every question is very important because LSU needs depth at the position. This is the SEC West. Every team can “spin it” and a lack of cornerbacks will cause massive issues. Keep an eye on the cornerbacks as spring practice moves forward. Now, one more question to be asked.

Regardless of Position, Who’s the Primary Playmaker?

For decades, LSU seemingly has that one special defensive player during each season. That individual that makes LSU fans stand up and scream at the top of their lungs:

“L-S-U!”

The player that is Johnny on the spot to grab the interception, deflect a pass that sure looked like an easy completion, or the ability to pierce through the line of scrimmage and just hammer the running back on fourth and short.

Who’s it going to be this year? It’s not a lack of talent that’s going to hold anyone back. LSU has plenty of talent. That has not changed. This question is all about the “It Factor.” With all of LSU’s defensive tradition, one would think that there’s going to be a special player each season (if not two), playing on the defensive side of the football. Let’s see who emerges by the end of spring practice.