The legacy and prized “DBU” nickname built by names like Eric Reid, Tyrann Mathieu, Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne now lies in the hands of a much younger, inexperienced secondary group.
With his valuable leadership and experience, senior safety Craig Loston is considered the caretaker of that legacy. Loston and sophomore cornerback Jalen Mills are the only secondary players who started 12 games last season, but even they enter the season with much to prove
LSU gave up 445 total yards in the season finale last year to Clemson with 346 of those coming through the air. Entering his final season, Loston said he is aware of the pressure to meet the demands of the Tigers’ past secondary success.
“[The pressure] is something that is required and expected,” Loston said. “Being here with the past star secondary guys taught me how to help the younger guys.”
Alongside Mills, sophomore Jalen Collins will fill the second cornerback slot. Collins had success last year rotating in as the third corner but now must prove himself as an every-play cornerback.
“I’m trying to prove that I’m ready to play and I can make plays and that I probably deserve a starting job,” Collins said.
Collins, Mills and Loston were part of a Tiger secondary that allowed 2,678 yards passsing last season — the most since 2008, with 35 percent of those yards coming in the fourth quarter.
Behind Collins and Mills is a pack of talented freshman cornerbacks, including freshmen Derrick Raymond, Dwayne Thomas, Tre’Davious White, Kavahra Holmes and dual-threat Jeryl Brazil — who practiced on both sides of the ball.
The safety position brings more experience to the field, with junior Ronald Martin and sophomore Corey Thompson backing up Loston.
Defensive coordinator John Chavis will be busy preparing the Tigers’ secondary for the season opener.
“I wouldn’t say any new secondary player is surprising,” Chavis said. “We knew they were talented. We’re excited about where some of them are, but we have to get them ready to play.”
As the season creeps closer, so do the freshmen’s dream of becoming an LSU defensive star.
“We just try to keep that ‘DB-U’ thing going,” Thomas said. We just want to be the best secondary in the world. That’s what we fight for.”
Throughout spring and summer practices, the LSU offense’s sole competitor has been its defense, and senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger has more experience against the secondary than anyone.
But Mettenberger shies away from throwing in the direction of two cornerbacks in particular.
“It’s a tie between Jalen Mills and Jalen Collins,” Mettenberger said. “They’re tough. They’ve both definitely made a lot of strides in the past year.”