The LSU football team finished its third day of practice yesterday and appears to be in the full swing of spring.
After working with former defensive coordinator John Chavis for the past six years, the Tigers are adjusting to life without him. With new coordinator Kevin Steele coming over from Alabama to start the 2015 season, the defense needs to adjust to a few changes here and there to keep up LSU’s tradition of being a defensive institution.
Junior linebacker Kendell Beckwith said he and the defense’s biggest obstacle to overcome is the mental aspect of grasping the new scheme.
“Just studying,” Beckwith said. “Really working on putting the time in because of the new defense we all have. There’s not too much of a difference but the terminology. That was expected, but like I said we all just have to study together and study individually and we’ll get it.”
Some senior leadership should help LSU make the transition go through a little smoother. Though he has played in the same defense for the past three years, senior defensive back Jalen Mills said he has taken steps to make sure he and his new coach are on the same page and that they keep a line of communication open throughout the season.
“[It can be frustrating] coming in and getting used to some of the old words we used to use,” Mills said. “Now I have to correct myself like shake my head and slap myself on my helmet. As soon as Steele got hired, I went up and introduced myself and told him let’s get the ball rolling. Whenever he opens up the playbook to figure out what he wants to do I want to be the first person to know.
“He’s a serious guy and takes his job seriously. He has very high expectations for us as a defense and for us as a team.”
Not only will the team have to adapt to new terminology, and possibly an entirely new defensive philosophy, it has to adjust to life without defensive veterans, like former linebacker Kwon Alexander, who was the defense’s priority play caller and will be leaving for a chance in the NFL.
Luckily for LSU, Beckwith, who will be taking over the on-field play calling, is confident in his ability to step in and take charge. He said further into spring training, the rest of the defense will take notice.
“Oh yeah, [the defense] it’s mine,” Beckwith said. “I already own it, the guys on defense know it. I’m trying to get the hang of everything right now, so I’ve been kind of keeping to myself and helping people if I can. Once we start rolling and get a little deep into this thing, they know it’ll be mine.”
Though they are losing some high-profile upperclassmen, the Tigers will have some familiar faces in new places, like sophomore Devin Voorhies, who will be moving from safety to outside linebacker this year.
With a lack of depth at linebacker, Voorhies will be an important cog behind upperclassmen like senior Deion Jones.
“We didn’t recruit any other linebackers,” Voorhies said. “If [more players] leave there is no one else who knows the system, so that’s why I came down. They just asked me if I wanted to give it a try. Jones is in front of me so I’ll watch and try to learn from him because we play the same position.”
You can follow Stanton Vignes on Twitter at @StanVignes_TDR.