Sometimes, everything has to fall apart so it can be put back together.
The LSU football team lost all four starters along the defensive line and its No. 3 defensive end from last season, which has left the Tigers scrambling to fill the holes.
But no matter how many NFL-caliber linemen LSU loses, players continue on with the tradition of dominant defensive fronts.
“When you look at last year, everybody says we lost too much depth,” said LSU junior defensive tackle Anthony Johnson. “But at the end of the day, LSU is D-line U and it always will be. … The tradition never dies here. We just want to keep pushing this defensive line to be as good as it can be.”
Johnson is the only returning defensive lineman with any starting experience after recording three starts in 2012. He leads the unit with 42 tackles and four sacks in his first two seasons and is listed on multiple preseason All-American teams.
The New Orleans native said he isn’t worried about the added attention he’s received this season because he’s used to playing this game as one of the biggest guys on the field — both in name and sheer stature.
“I’ve been playing since I was 12 years old and I’ve never worried about pressure, never worried about attention,” Johnson said. “I’ve always had it, I’ve always been the biggest person, but I’m just ready to do what I need to do.”
Junior defensive end Jordan Allen is the leading candidate to take the end opposite of junior Jermauria Rasco despite coming away from knee surgery that ended his season.
Allen and Rasco have the daunting task of replacing one of college football’s most dominating duos last season — Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo — but Allen thinks the pressure of replacing such big-name players is only motivation.
“We have a tradition to uphold,” Allen said. “[Defensive line coach Brick Haley] said it to us like this: ‘There’s a tradition dating back to before you got here.’ And he doesn’t want to let that drop off while he’s here and that’s something we have to take to heart.”
According to defensive coordinator John Chavis, LSU will likely look to several underclassmen to contribute in the two-deep rotation along the line. He didn’t give specific names, but the Tigers’ upperclassmen have raved about the talent flowing into the program in recent years.
Sophomore defensive end Danielle Hunter received a few snaps in his freshman campaign and is expected to make a big impact in 2013. At 6 feet 6 inches and 241 pounds, Hunter inspired Johnson to say, “I’m ‘The Freak,’ but he’s a freak.”
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Mickey Johnson has the potential to make it into the rotation in the interior line after dropping weight and a self-proclaimed change in attitude. Anthony Johnson — who was Mickey Johnson’s roommate for two years — said Mickey is one of the strongest guys on the team, if not the strongest.
The new batch of guys coming into the rotation will be looking to the veterans for advice and guidance, but it wasn’t too long ago that players like Rasco and Anthony Johnson were the greenhorns watching the senior studs dominate offensive lines.
“The leadership role has changed a lot,” Rasco said. “It’s different from looking up to Keke [Mingo], Sam [Montgomery] and Bennie [Logan] to you’re one of those guys that you have to teach the younger guys. … It’s just different with the younger guys looking up to me, Anthony, Jordan Allen and Danielle.”