LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis isn’t going to give his linebackers much rest this season.Chavis, in his first year with the Tigers, will rely heavily on the linebackers throughout entire possessions in the new scheme he has implemented, a change from the constant rotating the linebackers did under former co-coordinators Bradley Dale Peveto and Doug Mallory.”We are not going to be changing every down,” Chavis said. “We want linebackers that can play every down.”Chavis moved senior Harry Coleman, the Tigers’ leading tackler last season at safety, to linebacker to provide the defense with more versatility. “He gives the flexibility in our scheme to play our base defense or nickel defense without changing personnel,” he said. “You look for a hybrid-type guy that can go out and play physical enough to play the position but also skilled enough that when we do ask him to cover, he can.”Although Coleman played safety his first three seasons for the Tigers, he is familiar with linebacker. The 6-foot-2-inch 206 pounder played during his high school days at West St. Mary High School in Baldwin.”[Chavis] worked with me one-on-one coming from safety to linebacker,” he said. “The transition has been easy for me.”Coleman is one of several players on defense Chavis said will go through “cross training” this fall, meaning they could play more than one position.”Whatever they need me to play, I will play. It’s not a problem,” Coleman said. “I have been playing linebacker since I was 6 years old.”Senior middle linebacker Jacob Cutrera will step into a starting role after three seasons as a backup behind Darry Beckwith, who completed his eligibility last season.”We expect him to be a tempo setter,” Chavis said of the senior from Lafayette. “He, along with others, will lead this football team. You couldn’t have a finer person in that role.”Cutrera has missed several fall practices because of an unspecified injury and missed Tuesday’s scrimmage, but LSU coach Les Miles said he expects Cutrera to be back at practice Thursday.Cutrera will try to boost a defense that ranked ninth in the Southeastern Conference last season in points allowed per game (24). The Tigers surrendered 19.9 points per game in 2007.”Last year is not the way we want to be remembered,” Cutrera said. “That’s not our style of play.”Chavis will bring a change in the defense’s style of play this season, according to senior linebacker Perry Riley. The scheme is similar, but the defense will blitz more, he said.Riley also said the defense has worked on cutting down some of the communication issues that plagued the unit last season.”Last year we had a lot of mental mistakes,” Riley said. “If we cut that down, we definitely cut down some of the big plays.”Riley earned Chick-fil-A Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player honors last season in the Tigers’   38-3 victory against Georgia Tech.Junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, who started five games last season, could play middle or strong side linebacker, Chavis said. Sheppard and Riley finished last season second and third on the team in tackles with 64 and 60, respectively.”We weren’t as hungry as we should have been,” Riley said. “The 8-5 season was a reality check, and the team is a lot hungrier this year.”Cutrera said the players have a lot of confidence under Chavis. “The guys are really fired up, and you can tell by how intense it is at practice out there,” he said.Chavis said there is competition at every position, not just linebacker. “Competition is the driving force to being great,” he said. “We need to have six or seven linebackers that are SEC-ready.”Sophomore Ryan Baker made an impact on special teams in his first year with 16 tackles. He is listed second on the depth chart and could provide competition at linebacker for the defense.”We are expected to play great defense,” Chavis said. “There is a championship culture here. That’s what our fans expect, that’s what the coaches expect and that’s what our players expect when they come to LSU.”—-Contact Jonathan Schexnayder at [email protected]