No. 13 LSU Tigers
2020 Record: 5-5
Returning Starters: Offense No. 5, Defense No. 5
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Key Metrics and Personnel
- Head Coach — Ed Orgeron (45-14)
- Offensive Coordinator — Jake Peetz
- Defensive Coordinator — Daronte Jones
- Points/Game — 32.0 (37th)
- Plays/Game — 81.1 (7th)
- Pass Rate — 54.99 (16th)
- Yards/Att R — 3.3 (108th)
- Yards/Att P — 7.4 (62nd)
- Yards/Att Allowed R — 4.9 (94th)
- Yards Att Allowed P — 9.7 (124th)
- Points Allowed/Game — 34.9 (96th)
- Vegas Win Total — 8 Over -135, Under +115
Notes
Ed Orgeron has coached LSU since 2016. After a down season, Orgeron will look to continue his LSU rebuild. He brought in former Carolina Panthers QB coach Jake Peetz to coordinate the offense. Peetz worked under Joe Brady last year and got his blessing. Daronte Jones is the former Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach. Orgeron is still looking for a suitable replacement for Dave Aranda.
Recruiting Class: No. 3
Five Star Recruits:
- Maason Smith — DL — No. 19
- Sage Ryan — S — No. 29,
Other Top Recruits:
- Deion Smith — WR — No. 69
- Chris Hilton — WR — No. 78
- Garrett Nussmeier — QB — No. 83
- Brain Thomas — WR — No. 88
- Armoni Goodwin — RB — No. 94
- Corey Kiner — RB — No. 159
- Malik Nabers — WR — No. 258
- Jack Bech — WR — No. 350
Transfers
- Major Burns (Georgia — S)
- Mike Jones Jr (Clemson — S)
Daily Fantasy Players to Watch
QB Max Johnson, WR Kayshon Boutte
LSU Tigers Depth Charts
Offense: 5 Returning Starters
- QB: Max Johnson, Myles Brennan (injury?), Isaiah Green
- RB: Tyrion Davis Price, John Emery, Armoni Goodwin
- WR1: Kayshon Boutte, Deion Smith
- WR2: Jaray Jenkins, Koy Moore
- WR3: Trey Palmer, Jontre Kirklin
- TE: Kole Taylor, Nick Storz
- LT: Dare Rosenthal, Cameron Wire
- LG: Ed Ingram, Kardell Thomas
- C: Liam Shanahan, Charles Turner
- RG: Chasen Hines, Anthony Bradford
- RT: Austin Deculus
Defense: 5 Returning Starters
- Edge: Ali Gaye
- DT: Neil Farrell
- DT: Glen Logan
- Edge: B.J. Ojulari
- LB: Mike Jones, Navonteque Strong
- LB: Damone Clark
- CB: Eli Ricks
- CB: Derrick Stingley
- CB-N Darren Evans
- S: Todd Harris
- S: Jay Ward
LSU Tigers Breakdown
LSU is fresh off a 5-5 season with losses to Mississippi State, Missouri, Auburn, Texas A&M and Alabama. They knocked off Florida in their second-to-last game. They return nine starters on offense and another nine on defense.
At quarterback LSU has a battle; Max Johnson, T.J. Finley and Myles Brennan all threw at least 131 passes last year. Brennan was the best, completing 60.3% for 8.5 yards per attempt. He would be the favorite to start if not for an injury during the summer. Keep an eye out for updates, but Max Johnson seems to be the favorite to begin the year under center. He completed 58.7% of his passes for 7.1 yards per attempt. He also runs well, notching 119 yards on 54 carries. Johnson led the win over Florida. They also get four-star recruit Garrett Nussmeier.
At running back LSU returns their two top rushers in Tyrion Davis-Price and John Emery. Chris Curry hit the bricks. Davis-Price led the team with 446 yards but averaged only 4.3 yards per carry. Emery averaged 5.0 and caught 14 passes to Davis-Price’s 8. This looks like a timeshare all the way, with freshmen Armoni Goodwin and Corey Kiner potentially mixing in.
At receiver, LSU returns Kayshon Boutte. He led the team with 45 catches and 735 yards as a freshman. Jaray Jenkins is the other clear starter after catching 23 passes for 397 yards. Behind them, Jontre Kirklin, Koy Moore and Trey Palmer all have on-field experience. LSU also recruited a deep crop of receivers with five four-star prospects.
Tight end is weak with the loss of Arik Gilbert. Cole Taylor caught six passes for 36 yards last year and LSU may use more four-wide sets. Taylor is a former three-star prospect from last year’s class.
LSU’s offensive line returns its entire two-deep depth chart. Their starters from left to right are Dare Rosenthal, Ed Ingram, Liam Shanahan, Chasen Hines and Austin Deculus. They should be vastly improved.
On defense they lost Jabril Cox and Jacoby Stevens. They return four starters on the defensive line. Ali Gaye had 9.5 sacks and leads this group. B.J. Ojulari had five. This is an extremely deep defensive line. Linebacker is also solid. They return leading tackler (63) Damone Clark. They also get fourth- and fifth-leading tacklers Micah Baskerville and Cordale Flott. Clemson transfer Mike Jones makes this a very deep unit. The secondary returns potential top five pick Derrick Stingley and Eli Ricks. They also return Todd Harris and Jay Ward at safety. Add in Georgia transfer Major Burns, and this is an extremely deep unit.
LSU 2021 Football Schedule
- Sept. 4 UCLA 8:30 p.m. Away
- Sept. 11 McNeese State 8:00 p.m. Home
- Sept. 18 Central Michigan 7:30 p.m. Home
- Sept. 25 Mississippi State 1:00 p.m. Away
- Oct. 2 Auburn 1:00 p.m. Home
- Oct. 9 Kentucky 1:00 p.m. Away
- Oct. 16 Florida 1:00 p.m. Home
- Oct. 23 Mississippi 1:00 p.m. Away
- Nov. 6 Alabama 1:00 p.m. Away
- Nov. 13 Arkansas 12:00 p.m. Home
- Nov. 20 Louisiana Monroe 12:00 p.m. Home
- Nov. 27 Texas A&M 12:00 p.m. Home
LSU Football Betting Outlook
LSU opens at UCLA, which should not be too bad. Their toughest games come on the road at Alabama and Ole Miss. They face Texas A&M and Florida at home to open the year. They pick up easy wins over McNeese State, Central Michigan and Louisiana Monroe. They also have winnable games against UCLA, Mississippi State, Auburn, Kentucky and Arkansas. They should also have a superior program to Florida and Ole Miss.
