The LSU defense finished No. 1 in the Southeastern Conference and No. 9 nationally in total defense in 2014 and were fifth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 17.5 points per game.
But the telling numbers for the Tiger defense at the end of the season were the two in the win-loss column – 8-5.
Starting fall camp, though, all numbers from last season are thrown to wayside by sophomore safety Jamal Adams, including any focus on another top ranking in the league.
“I try not to get into all that,” Adams said. “Whatever we can do to go out there and win, that’s our main goal. We don’t try to worry about being No. 1. We want to be No. 1, but that’s not really our main goal. Our main goal is to go out there and win.”
This season, there is a key number that Adams is a part of – 22. Although there are only six returning starters, 22 members of the defense bring at least a year of experience, including the eight potential upperclassmen starters.
LSU coach Les Miles makes no secret, often times boasting, about true freshmen making an impact immediately. With five rookie defenders practicing in the morning session, the veteran presence makes the transition with a new defensive coaching staff seemless, especially with communication, said junior cornerback Tre’Davious White.
“We feel like vets,” said White, who was given the prestigious No. 18 jersey Wednesday night. “We feel like we’ve been in the defense for years. We feel like every guy knows what everybody else does on the field. So, it makes it so much easier. The communication level is at an all-time high.”
Trust is a big part of the increased communication, said senior safety Jalen Mills. Mills had an opportunity to enter the 2015 draft but decided to return to the Tigers, providing the defense with a 39-game starter.
It’s easy to trust a player who has started more games than any other player on the defense, but that only comes when each player sticks to their assignments, Mills said. The rest will take care of itself.
“It has to be the 11 – the 11 on the field,” Mills said. “Everybody has to trust the person next to him that they’re going to do their job. You can’t do nobody else’s job. You have to do your own. Once you do that, everything starts clicking. That’s when the big plays happen, and you’re seeing the guys ‘turning up’ as we like to say or showing swagger.”
Steele brings cross-training to linebackers
For the linebackers, though, doing a job also involves knowing every other linebackers’ job.
Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Kevin Steele implemented a cross-training approach, where each backer practices at the strong, weak and middle linebacker positions.
With sophomore linebacker Clifton Garrett transferring to Arizona Western Junior College in June, the versatility among the backers doesn’t hurt.
“When you can plug any guy in at different places, that really helps,” said senior linebacker Lamar Louis. “[Former LSU linebacker] Kelvin Sheppard, back when he played, you could plug him in at any position, any spot, and he could play for you. That’s one of the biggest things for us, especially if you have depth problems. But we have about five guys who can all play…If we can plug different guys at different places, that will be [an advantage] at the end.
