Since the beginning of summer training, sophomore LSU defensive lineman Ego Ferguson said he has been striving to be the GOAT. In fact, the entire LSU defensive line wants to be the GOAT. But Ferguson and his teammates have no interest in being farm animals – they’re striving to be the “greatest of all time.” Ferguson said he pitched the acronym as a motto and a goal for the unit this season to his fellow linemen in a team meeting during summer workouts. “It was a decision we made that we wanted to put in the work and give ourselves a challenge so that we can meet our goals,” Ferguson said. Over the course of the summer, many of Ferguson’s fellow linemen took the challenge to heart, sending tweets with the hashtag #GOAT and even changing their Twitter handle to include GOAT. On the football field, junior defensive end Barkevious Mingo may be seen wearing No. 49, but on Twitter, he’s now known as “G.O.A.T. 49.” But for Ferguson and his fellow linemen, the motto didn’t end with summer workouts. “We don’t want to just say it in the summer and then forget about it in the season,” junior defensive tackle Bennie Logan said. “In the summer we worked to build and mold the frame to become the greatest of all time, and we’re still working in camp with that mindset.” Junior first team All-Southeastern Conference defensive end Sam Montgomery said he was impressed by Ferguson’s maturity in suggesting the slogan. “It almost puts a tear in my eye to see somebody so young with such a bright future be so humble,” Montgomery said. Duplicating last season’s results of 1261 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns may be a steep hill for the Tigers to climb. But with all the talent on the Tigers’ defensive line this season, it might not be a hyperbolic to say that this unit has a chance to be the greatest in LSU history. With two first team All-SEC defensive ends and projected first round NFL draft picks flanking each side of the line in Montgomery and Mingo, the Tigers boast one of the most formidable pass rushes in college football. Montgomery and Mingo follow in a long line of highly touted defensive linemen to play at LSU, including first round draft picks Michael Brockers and Glenn Dorsey. Montgomery and Mingo combined for 17 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss, resulting in a net 271 yard loss for Tiger opponents last season. Paired with returning defensive tackles Logan, Ferguson and former five-star recruit Anthony Johnson, the Tigers might have the talent to live up to their own lofty expectations. “With [Montgomery and Mingo] bringing it on the outside and also us in the middle, it’s an unstoppable D-line force to be reckoned with,” Johnson said. But the group knows it still has work to do. Ferguson said he knows the team has the talent to achieve its goal, but it’s going to take hard work. “I feel like we’re good, but we’re not there yet,” Ferguson said. “We’re chasing perfection, so we’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re getting there. Until we conquer our goal, we’re not going to be satisfied.”
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