Defense wins championships.It’s one of the oldest sayings in football, and in LSU’s 2007 National Championship season, the team proved it and were ranked No. 3 nationally in total defense.Last season’s defensive totals, however, contrasted the championship team’s numbers. The 2008 squad ranked just No. 32 nationally in total defense and consequentially finished the season ranked outside of the top 25 with an 8-5 record.One of the major factors in the defensive struggles was the performance of the secondary. In 2008, LSU’s secondary allowed 215.38 passing yards per game, second-worst in the Southeastern Conference and No. 73 in the nation. The 2007 team, however, allowed 182.71 passing yards per game, fourth best in the 12-team SEC and No. 9 in the nation.”Everybody feels like we have to redeem ourselves from last year,” said sophomore safety Ron Brooks. “The defense and the team as a whole has to re-show our dominance.”In both 2007 and 2008, South Carolina led the SEC in pass defense and finished No. 4 and No. 2, respectively, in the nation in pass defense.In those seasons, the Gamecocks were led by secondary coach Ron Cooper, who is now the defensive backs coach for LSU.Cooper said he thinks he can have similar success at his new position in Baton Rouge.”I did coach a few pretty good ones there, but I think we’ve got a talented enough group to get the job done,” Cooper said.Former LSU safety Curtis Taylor was the only starter in the secondary to complete his eligibility in 2008 after four starters left the national championship team the year before. Now that the current Tigers have more experience under their belts, the new challenges they face are adjusting to the new defensive coaching staff and their schemes.New LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis brings his experience from Tennessee, where the Volunteers’ defense was among the best in the league for 14 years. Chavis’ defenses at Tennessee finished in the top four in the SEC in total defense 10 times.Despite all the changes, the players have bought into Chavis’ new defense and have confidence in his coaching abilities.”That’s the biggest thing — having confidence in what your coach is calling, and you feel like it’s going to work every time,” said senior cornerback Chris Hawkins.LSU coach Les Miles said Hawkins and sophomore cornerback Patrick Peterson will play a lot at cornerback, but the secondary as a whole will be “cross-training” at every position.”Cross-training” is a term Chavis has defined as exposing players to different positions along the defense to broaden their understanding of the system.”You may take some of those corner prospects and take them back there so that they can understand what’s going on at safety,” Miles said. “I think that overall knowledge creates a very strong understanding of their responsibility.”Senior Harry Coleman, who started at strong safety in 2008, will be cross-trained between safety and linebacker.”He’s going to do a little bit of everything,” Cooper said. “He’s played three years of safety, so you just don’t totally eliminate everything he’s done.”Some players said the new cross-training method is not only easy to learn but is also important to ensure everyone on the defense is on the same page at all times. “In defense, you have to know what everybody is doing already,” said junior safety Chad Jones. “So you can’t just know one position and not the other.”Turnover ratio and interceptions were a problem for the Tigers last season. In 2008, the Tigers were No. 6 in the SEC in turnover ratio and No. 11 in the SEC in interceptions.Peterson said Chavis is making sure the defense will be in the right position so players can be aggressive and jump routes.Peterson highlighted the LSU spring game April 18 when he intercepted a Jordan Jefferson pass and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown. Peterson continued his aggressive defense during the team’s first fall scrimmage on Aug. 15, where he intercepted Jefferson again and returned it 40 yards.”I definitely have tremendous confidence that I’m going to get that ball,” Peterson said.
–––––Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected]
Football: Secondary plans to go back to dominant ways
August 24, 2009