Kelly, LSU hope to fix awful defensive issues
DALLAS – LSU is celebrating 100 years of Tiger football in 2024.
For it to be more successful than a season ago, its defense will have to improve.
As good as the Tigers were offensively (tops in the country in scoring offense at 45.4 points and total offense at 543.46 yards per game), LSU was a mess on defense.
So, even with a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Tigers finished 10-3 in a year where a little defense might have placed LSU in the playoff conversation.
“Being the No. 1 offense in the country was not good enough. I think you have to have much more balance,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “So, I think the balance that we need is offensively and defensively. We have to complement each other. We didn't do that last year.”
The numbers were disturbing.
In four of the most important defensive stats, LSU was next to last in the entire SEC.
• Defensive yards per game – 416 yards per game.
• Scoring defense – 28 points per game.
• Rushing defense – 161 yards per game.
• Passing Defense – 255 yards per game.
“What we're going to need is that complement on defense; going to have to play better defense this year. I think we've made the necessary strides in the off-season to continue on that growth,” Kelly said. “So again, complementary football, offense and defense. I know that sounds like coach-speak, but the numbers prove it out. You can't have the No. 1 offense in the country and not play the kind of defense necessary to get you to the next level.”
New defensive coordinator Blake Baker will replace Matt House who was fired after the Tigers ranked 109th in the country at yards per play allowed (6.1).
“I think everybody has their flavor of what the scheme looks like. Blake certainly has an established comfort level in a particular scheme,” Kelly said of Baker, who signed a three-year deal that pays him $2.5 million annually. “But it's relationships; it's getting players excited about stepping on the field. It's about players truly wanting to be part of those 11 guys running, hitting, being part of that unit. Blake's ability to orchestrate that, bring that together, is what has been evident.”
The Tigers also brought in veteran defensive line coach Bo Davis, who spent the previous six seasons at Texas.
Kelly said Davis’ desire to return to his alma mater in Baton Rouge was the biggest reason why he left Texas.
“He wanted to be the architect of bringing that back. His ability to motivate, his ability to teach technique, he's demanding, never demeaning. He has an incredible experience with success,” Kelly said. “He's won national championships within the SEC, so players immediately identify with his success because it's real. That carries onto the recruiting trail. Somebody that has done it, has been there. I think we're seeing that come to fruition early on in his tenure here at LSU.”
