LSU coach Les Miles made it clear at Southeastern Conference Media Days two weeks ago that he was not looking at the upcoming season as a defense of the Tigers’ Bowl Championship Series title.
He made that point clear yet again at his first camp meeting with reporters Sunday afternoon, saying he is stressing process over accomplishment in his fourth season at LSU.
“Anytime you have a year of achievement … and people talk about that team’s accomplishment – what this next team has to understand [is] it’s not about the outcome that team achieved, but it was the process that this team has been through for, in my mind, three years.”
LSU is losing 11 starters, including six defensive players, from this past season’s national title team.
One of those departed starters is former LSU quarterback Matt Flynn, whose vacancy still has not been filled 27 days before the Tigers’ season opener against Appalachian State.
Redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee and junior transfer Andrew Hatch are competing for the starting job. Miles reiterated Sunday that a decision on who will start has not been reached.
“I don’t know exactly who will take the first snap,” Miles said. “I can’t tell you how we’ll play them. It’ll be interesting. There will be some development to take place there.”
Lee has never taken a collegiate snap. Hatch, who transferred to LSU from Harvard, completed a pass for nine yards in LSU’s 44-0 win against Middle Tennessee this past season.
LINE OF LEADERSHIP
Miles said he expects the offensive and defensive lines to take leadership roles on the team this season.
“That defensive line should plan on being dominant. They should plan on playing better than they’ve played,” Miles said. “Our offensive line should look to be the [most] physical offensive line in our conference.
“If they’re seeing it as ‘I’m going to go and play like I played last year,’ that’s not good enough.”
The Tigers return four starters on the offensive line and three defensive line starters from this past season.
Sophomore Joseph Barksdale is expected to replace Carnell Stewart at right tackle, and senior Charles Alexander is expected to replace Glenn Dorsey at defensive tackle.
Alexander started the first three games this past season before a knee injury the week of the South Carolina game cut his season short.
ROLLIN’ WITH THA DOGGFATHER
Miles said most of his players missed seeing his appearance with rapper Snoop Dogg at a Rotary Club meeting earlier this week.
“Most of the guys were out of town,” Miles said.
The appearance garnered national media attention, and video of the encounter made its way to ESPN later in the week.
Miles said his players have not critiqued his appearance yet. He said he asked senior defensive end Kirston Pittman if Pittman thought he was the only rapper Miles knew.
Miles said that Pittman replied, “No. I figured you knew [senior defensive tackle] Marlon Favorite.”
“‘I have several rapper friends,'” Miles said he told Pittman. “‘Favorite, Ben Miles, Snoop Dogg.'”
—-Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]