The LSU offense averaged about 58 plays per game this past season, a number offensive coordinator Gary Crowton has his mind set on increasing in 2010.One of the main problems that led to LSU’s cellar-dwelling offensive unit in 2009 was quarterback Jordan Jefferson’s inability to communicate plays and snap counts effectively, but now there is a difference Crowton thinks will give the offense a brighter outlook — the addition of wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Billy Gonzales and running backs coach Frank Wilson.Crowton and Gonzales both played at Colorado State and coached in the Mountain West Conference earlier in their careers. Crowton was head coach at Brigham Young University from 2001-04, and Gonzales was Urban Meyer’s wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator at Utah from 2003-04 before embarking on a five-year stint as Florida’s wide receivers coach under Meyer from 2005-09.Crowton said his chemistry with Gonzales transfers to the LSU quarterbacks and receivers.”[Gonzales] knows the passing game in and out, so the little detail things he does will help us become a little bit sharper,” Crowton said. “Our rhythm will be better, and the confidence level between the quarterback and the receiver will be a little bit stronger. Thus it should give the receivers a chance to catch the ball and have run after catch.”Sophomore wide receiver Russell Shepard said Gonzales has made it a priority to get receivers the ball in open space, a welcome goal for Shepard.”It’s something we haven’t had here ever,” Shepard said. “Coach Gonzales is one of the best things that has ever happened to my career football-wise.”The Florida passing offense ranked No. 2 in the Southeastern Conference last season with 236 yards per game under Gonzales’ direction.Senior wide receiver Terrence Toliver said Gonzales brings “toughness and grit” to the LSU offensive identity.”The way the plays are run now, [Gonzales] is more on a discipline end in running routes and getting the ball off quickly like they did at Florida, so we can get downfield faster and put up more points this year,” Toliver said.Converting on more scoring opportunities is an objective the LSU running game knows is paramount.The Tigers finished No. 11 in the SEC in rushing offense with 123 yards per game. That’s where Wilson comes in, junior Stevan Ridley said.Ridley said Wilson has earned the respect of his players because of his ability to understand them on the field.”[Wilson] does not have a coach’s ego,” Ridley said. “A lot of coaches are like, ‘I’m the coach, and what I say goes.’ Coach Wilson is more of a guy who relates to you on a person-to-person point of view. He’s got our whole heart because he treats us like regular people.”Wilson comes to LSU after two previous coaching stops in the SEC, as running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Ole Miss from 2005-07 and wide receivers coach at Tennessee in 2009.Redshirt freshman running back Michael Ford said there is no excuse for not knowing where to be on every play under Wilson’s direction, and he described Wilson as a straight-thinking leader.”You don’t just want to know, ‘You go this way.’ You have to know everything,” Ford said. “When we’re in the film room he’s like our friend and our dad. Coach Wilson tells you what you do wrong, why you’re on the bench or what you didn’t do right. He’s more of a people person who will come to you and talk to you.”
 
 
 
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