After a productive spring full of personnel changes and offensive scheme adjustments, the LSU football team had its semester end on a sour note when coach Les Miles announced the indefinite suspension of sophomore running back Jeremy Hill.
The suspension was announced after Hill, 20, was arrested and charged with simple battery after an incident in which he and recently named suspect Robert Bayardo allegedly struck another man outside of Reggie’s Bar near campus.
This incident came off the heels of Hill’s 103-yard performance in LSU’s Spring Game, in which the Tigers showcased their offense under new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
Miles introduced Cameron as LSU’s fourth offensive coordinator in four years in February. Miles said he believes the hire will lead to improvement on offense.
“We’ve been pretty good,” Miles said in February. “With that being said, good is not good enough. We want to be a great team.”
Based on reactions from players, the most noticeable difference since the hiring of Cameron was an accelerated pace during practice.
Cameron also had his receivers and backs do a number of drills in hopes of developing more consistency catching the ball.
“When Coach Cameron came in, he put us in different positions to catch the football — positions that you would be in during a game,” said junior wide receiver Jarvis Landry in March. “That is going to help us tremendously this year.”
Senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger’s development was a popular topic of discussion throughout the offseason.
“Figuring out what [Mettenberger] likes most is one of the first things we are doing in this system,” Cameron said in February. “We are going to test every limit he has and see all he can do. We are just building on what we are doing.”
Whether or not Cameron’s experience in developing quarterbacks will translate into better numbers from Mettenberger is still yet to be seen.
Mettenberger had a slow start in the spring game, but finished the game 12-for-19 for 236 yards and two touchdowns.
Early-enrollee freshman quarterback Anthony Jennings may have worked his way into the No. 2 spot behind Mettenberger after impressive showings throughout spring practice.
Jennings threw 8-for-21 for 98 yards and accumulated 31 rushing yards on seven carries against a defense comprised primarily of LSU starters in the Spring Game.
LSU’s defense took the brunt of the impact made by the 11 Tigers who departed early for the 2013 NFL Draft, especially in the trenches. The Tigers face the daunting task of replacing four defensive linemen from last season.
The 2013 edition of LSU’s defensive line will be led in the middle by junior defensive tackles Ego Ferguson and Anthony “Freak” Johnson.
This duo, who combined for a total of 44 tackles and three sacks in 13 games in 2012, has developed a strong relationship both on and off the field, and said it hopes to prove skeptics wrong next season.
“I hear everybody saying that we are not going to be a defensive line this year, and that motivates me a lot,” Ferguson said in April. “I feel like a lot of people are doubting us because we are young and lost a lot of people. I understand that. We are just trying to prove them wrong.”
“When Coach Cameron came in, he put us in different positions to catch the football – positions that you would be in during a game. I think that is going to help us tremendously this year.”
LSU sophomore running back Jeremy Hill (33) takes a hand off from senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger (8) Saturday, April 20, 2013 in the National L Club Spring Game in Tiger Stadium.
