What Did LSU Football Program Learn From 2020 Season?

Orgeron praises players who stuck around through thick and thin, thinks it'll only make team stronger moving forward

Now that the 2020 season has been put to rest, there's plenty that coach Ed Orgeron and the LSU program can and did learn from the experience. 

All of the opt outs, the losses, the injuries and the down morale coming in the middle of a global pandemic just snowballed into one of the worst seasons the program has faced in the 21st century. For it to come on the heals of a national championship only lightens the blow slightly but it's become increasingly essential to start getting the train back on the right track. 

That all starts with learning from what went wrong this season. Immediately following the game, Orgeron was asked about what he learned from this season and this team that makes him excited for the future of the program.

"We just had to go day by day. We had to roll with the punches. Obviously, I think that throughout the season our team became tougher. Our coaching staff became closer. We continued to fight. Went through a lot of adversity," Orgeron said. "There were some games that we didn't play very well, but we came back and we fought and we finished strong. That's what I'm going to remember about this team."

That toughness, particularly from the young talent on the roster, will be critical in the Tigers' success in 2021 and beyond. As the 2020 season wrapped, more and more freshmen and sophomores saw extended playing time on the field. The fact that those younger players learned how to win down the stretch of the regular season while on the field is tremendous experience that should be carried into next season. 

We don't yet know how many draft eligible juniors and seniors will elect to return. The Tigers were already down to 69 scholarship players and could lose as many as 28 upperclassmen to the draft. Orgeron reiterated after the game he believes a number of upperclassmen are thinking of coming back to the program.

"I think that we're going to have a little bit more of guys staying than have left before," Orgeron told reporters Saturday. "I'm gonna talk to a lot of guys that have the opportunity to have an extra year and come back, especially on the offensive line. I think I can get most of those guys back, we'll see."

As for the players young and old, the lessons learned from 2020 can be taken into their lives in the pros and as they try to right the ship.

"This season was just full of lessons. I think for me, it made me more mature," JaCoby Stevens said. "When things weren't going right I got out of character. I was able to move forward with the season and make the most of it.

"This is an eye opener for next year and something to look forward to," freshman receiver Kayshon Boutte said. 

Changes are a comin' as we've already seen with the most recent reported departures of Bo Pelini, Scott Linehan, Bill Busch, Bill Johnson and Steve Ensminger. How the remaining players and coaches band together over what is sure to be a difficult next few months should pave the way for what the program hopes to become in 2021 and beyond.