2017 LSU Football Preview

SEC football is just days away. Before toe meets pigskin on August 31st, The Wheelhouse crew has compiled our preseason SEC power rankings and a preview of each team. As we release our team previews, we’ll release them in the order of which each team is ranked in our preseason rankings to help the days until kickoff go by quicker.
The LSU Tigers check in at №. 4 in our preseason SEC rankings.
2016 was one heck of a rollercoaster for the LSU Tigers. Les Miles started the season 2–2 with losses to Wisconsin in the opener and Auburn in week four. That’s when Miles (114 wins at LSU), was fired and replaced with defensive line coach Ed Orgeron. Orgeron was just 16–23 as a head coach in previous stops, but lead the Tigers to a 45–10 waxing of Southern Miss in his debut.
Next, Orgeron and the Tigers went on a 17-point run in the second half to beat Ole Miss and only fell 10–0 to Alabama the next week. Over the next three weeks, the Tigers won two games over Arkansas and Texas A&M, but dropped a six-point game to Florida. Overall, Orgeron and his 2016 squad did much better than expected following the firing of Miles. Six of the eight games Orgeron coached in for the Tigers were against top-25 teams.
Offensive Preview:
The LSU offense was just as you would expect last season; a great rushing team, but less than spectacular through the air. It seems as if it has been ages since the Tigers have had a stable quarterback at the helm. After Brandon Harris transferred, Danny Etling filled in and was average at best. He had over 2,000 passing-yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. As usual, LSU will have a fantastic run game with running backs Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams returning. The pair combined to rush for over 1,500 rushing yards last season.
As for wide receiver, the purple-and-gold lose quite a bit from last year. Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural are both gone to the NFl after having close to 800 yards in receiving. However, on the flip side, LSU returns a solid veteran receiver in D.J. Chark who was second on the team in receiving-yards last season. Outside of Chark, LSU is still searching for receivers to step up. Sophomores Drake Davis, Dee Anderson and Stephen Sullivan will fill out the rest of the receiving core. The trio combined to produce under a 100 receiving-yards in 2016.
The offensive line returns three starters from a season ago. This includes center William Clapp and tackle Toby Weathersby who will both raise some eyebrows this year. K.J. Malone and Garrett Brumfield will surely get the starting job as Donavaughn Campbell will hash it out for the final spot on the line. The O-line will be solid enough to give Guice plenty to work with.
Defensive Preview:
The 2017 LSU defense is coming into the year with a chip on their shoulder after having the 10th ranked defense in the nation last year. The Tigers gave up the least amount of touchdowns in the country last season.
The Tigers’ defensive line took a few hits following the departure of Davon Godchaux and Lewis Neal. However, they return three seniors on the line with Christian LaCouture, Greg Gilmore and Frank Herron. LaCouture is back after missing last season with a knee injury, but he made 10 starts in 2015 at defensive tackle. Gilmore and Herron, both former four-stars, combined for 54 tackles and two sacks in 2016 as backups.
The LSU linebacker core is one of the most experienced-and-talented in both the conference and the country. They return two starters from last season in Arden Key and Donnie Alexander. The Tigers also bring back linebacker Corey Thompson who missed all of 2016 with an injury. Sophomore Devin White also returns after notching over 30 tackles as a freshman last season. Key is the clear leader of the core with 55 tackles, 12.5 tackles-for-loss, 11 sacks and two forced-fumbles last year. With all four linebackers having experience, expect to see a strong linebacker squad down in Baton Rouge.
Although it is disappointing that LSU lost both Tre’Davious White over the offseason, there is still a ton to be excited for. Veteran cornerbacks Kevin Tolliver II and Donte Jackson return as two of the best in the country. Both Tolliver II and Jackson (39 tackles and eight passes defended) saw the field last season even though Tolliver II was limited due to injuries. Seniors John Battle and Ed Paris take over at safety after recordng a combined 49 tackles and five passes defended last season. The Tigers’ defense does have some big shoes to fill, but at least they are filling them with talent and experience.
Special Teams:
Sophomore punter Josh Growden was named to the SEC all-freshman team following a season in which he punted the football with an average of over 40 yards per punt. With Colby Delahoussaye graduating, there is a position-battle between Connor Culp and Jack Gonsoulin for the starting kicker position. Dual-sport star Donte Jackson, an SEC Champion in track, is likely to remain the returner in 2017 after logging 164 returning yards last year.
Newcomer to Watch:
The 5-foot-8, 208-pound Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the “surprise of camp” according to Orgeron over the offseason. The true freshman has allegedly wedged himself into the position battle as the №. 2 running back. Either way, Edwards-Helaire will receive touches in 2017. Edwards-Helair is a four-star prospect out of Louisiana and was named the Class 5A Most Outstanding Player in 2015.
Schedule Breakdown:
Taking a glimpse at the first five games of the season, it’s easy to say that LSU could start out 5–0. They play BYU, Chattanooga, Syracuse, Troy and Mississippi State. The game against State is no given, however this will be a true litmus test to how solid this Tigers team can be this season. They should have no problem taking care of the first five. The last seven in-conference games are where it gets hairy.
The purple and gold play Florida and Georgia back-to-back before going to Alabama just two weeks later. Then LSU finishes with Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas A&M which is no cake walk either. With their schedule being heavy on the back half, LSU fans need to hope they get hot early and keep that momentum going through November.
Keys to a successful season:
1. Finding consistency between quarterback Danny Etling and the inexperienced receiving core is extremely important. If they could manage to take some of the pressure off of the run game, the offense will do big things in 2017.
2. Winning the first five games would be huge for LSU considering how tough the final seven games are. They are all winnable games and set up to have a ton of momentum heading into the back-half of the schedule.
3. The Tigers have to find consistency on offense. Their defense carried them for all of the 2016 season and it managed to work. However, their defense can’t be relied apon in the same sense this season, as it was this season.
Final Say:
The Tigers’ schedule is set up for early success with four out of their first five games being out-of-conference. However, the back half is what works against them the most this year with Florida, Auburn and Alabama all in a four-week span. LSU seems pretty unpredictable in my opinion, but they have so much talent for Coach O to play around with. They have the tools to put together a really nice season, but if Orgeron resorts to his old ways, it could get rough in Baton Rouge this year.
