It’s the most wonderful time of the year — at least for LSU football coach Les Miles.
Football is just around the corner for Miles’ Tigers, and the annual media bonanza LSU holds at the beginning of each August is usually the sign of the impending season.
“I enjoy this time of year. New enthusiasm, new team,” Miles said. “There’s great enthusiam and excitement going for this year.”
LSU held its annual football media day today, with every coach and all players on the 105-man roster available for interviews. Miles spoke first, followed by new defensive coordinator John Chavis and offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.
After that trio spoke, all players were available to answer just about any question the media wanted to throw at them.
Most of the media hung around the quarterback area for an extended period of time. But a large portion of that group swarmed highly-touted freshman Russell Shepard, who has made news on campus since he committed to LSU in March 2008.
Shepard is just one member of an LSU quarterback situation that isn’t quite as mysterious this season as it was in 2008. The Tigers had only one quarterback on the roster who had any game experience, and that was then-sophomore Andrew Hatch, who transfered back to Harvard this offseason.
Coming into 2009, LSU has two quarterbacks with game experience, both of whom are sophomores. Jarrett Lee threw for 1,873 yards and 14 touchdowns last season but also had 16 interceptions, seven of which were returned for touchdowns.
Lee’s injury against Ole Miss gave Jordan Jefferson a chance to take the starting job, ultimately leading to him winning the Offensive Most Valuable Player award for the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
“I think certainly our quarterback play has gotten better,” Miles said. “I think are quarterbacks are in a position to execute.”
Crowton also said he expects the quarterback play to be better this year and is excited about his team’s experience in general.
“It’s nice to have a lot of guys that have played coming back on offense,” Crowton said.
The second highlight of the upcoming season is Chavis, who is in his first season as the leader of the Tigers’ defense. Chavis comes from Tennessee, where he served as the defensive coordinator for the past 14 seasons.
Chavis built a reputation for solid defenses during his time with the Volunteers, where his defenses finished in the top four in the Southeastern Conference in total defense 10 times.
“I’d like to start by saying this is obviously an exciting time for me personally,” Chavis said. “I know for LSU football, anytime you get started, there’s a lot of excitement in the air.”
Also fresh to the LSU experience are new defensive line coach Brick Haley and new secondary coach Ron Cooper.
Haley said he has experienced a “great atmosphere” so far in his short time at LSU.
“This place is very intriguing here,” Haley said. “Being here at LSU, it’s a totally different atmosphere.”
 
—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]