LSU junior defensive end Ken Adams hasn’t perfected his potential celebration for bringing down North Carolina junior quarterback T.J. Yates this Saturday.
San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman performs his “Lights Out” dance after bursting through an opposing offensive line and sacking the quarterback. The late New Orleans Saints defensive lineman
Norman Hand commended sacks with the famous “Big Wiggle” dance.
But Adams is undecided on what moves he might pull out Saturday.
“I don’t have one yet,” Adams said about his possible celebration. “I might have a little something, though.”
Based on LSU’s performance last season, it would seem like Adams may not get much of a chance to dance this season.
The Tigers were tied for eighth in the Southeastern Conference with 21 sacks last season, averaging only 1.62 per game.
But LSU’s defense will get a chance to put last season’s low sack numbers in the past once the 2010 season begins Saturday against the Tar Heels in the Georgia Dome.
Adams, a junior college transfer, will surely soak in the glory of clinching a game-changing play.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 255-pound defensive end has secured a starting spot on the defensive line after joining the Tigers last spring.
“I feel like I have a lot to prove coming from junior college in my first game,” Adams said. “I just want to show the coaches and my teammates that I can be the player they want me to be.”
Senior defensive tackle Drake Nevis, who had four sacks in 2009, will anchor the defensive line next to senior tackle Lazarius Levingston.
“In order to be successful on passing downs, you have to be able to sack the quarterback,” Nevis said. “They make a huge difference.”
Nevis said the defense is eyeing a goal of four sacks per game and 40 sacks this season.
Those lofty numbers would put LSU closer to its marks during the national championship seasons of 2003 and 2007 when the Tigers recorded 44 and 37 sacks, respectively.
“We’ll have a number of pass rushers that may provide a little more speed than in the past,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “They have shown the ability to get to the passer.”
Miles and Defensive Coordinator John Chavis have reiterated speed as the main difference in this season’s defensive ends compared to last year’s underachieving group.
“We are going to rush the passer with speed, and when you start looking at a couple of those young defensive ends like [redshirt freshmen defensive ends] Sam Montgomery and [Barkevious] ‘Kiki’ Mingo, then certainly you’re talking about speed,” Chavis said at the team’s media day.
Montgomery, who made a name for himself during spring practices, will line up opposite Adams.
“We’re combining a lot of speed and power and working out on our pass rush and our screens,” Montgomery said. “The first 20 minutes [of practice] we work on nothing but pass rush.”
Montgomery had two sacks in LSU’s spring game and earned the Toby Caston Performance Award for outstanding performance in spring drills.
“[Montgomery] gave us headaches on offense,” Miles said. “We couldn’t wait to get him to the other side of the field.”
LSU also struggled on the opposite end of the spectrum — sacks allowed.
Only 10 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams gave up more sacks per game than LSU last season.
The Tigers gave up 2.85 sacks per game, 105th in the country and 37 sacks overall, tied for last place in the SEC.
“We would definitely like to see zero or one [per game],” said sophomore offensive guard Alex Hurst. “We were one of the last offenses in the country last year, and that’s something us five can prevent.”
The offensive line has worked with assistant coach Greg Studrawa and graduate assistant Ben Wilkerson, a former Tiger standout center, to improve pass protection.
“We’ve worked blitz pick-ups more last spring and this fall camp,” Hurst said. “It should carry over this year.”
Junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson was often seen running away and folding under an onslaught of opposing rushers in 2009.
Miles, a former offensive lineman at Michigan, said Jefferson needs to trust his preparation and read defenses more efficiently to get the ball out of his hand quicker.
But even with what Miles said, the offensive linemen put the blame on themselves.
“It’s all on us,” said senior left tackle Joseph Barksdale. “It’s our job to keep Jordan clean.”
Miles and the offensive linemen have singled out chemistry as the reason the players in the trenches will improve this season.
“I like this line,” Miles said. “This line is working hard and coming together. This offensive line has real good chemistry.”
Barksdale said off-field bonding has translated onto the field.
“It all comes down to the chemistry,” Barksdale said. “When guys are excited to come to practice and are excited to work with each other, they are going to perform better.”
The offensive line eats together at least once a week and watches shows such as “South Park,” “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy,” Barksdale said.
“It’s a lot easier to communicate,” Barksdale said. “We even know what plays each other struggles with.”
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]