Spring is synonymous with cleaning in most places. For Tiger fans spring means football is back — kind of.
Spring practice begins Friday and, after a second straight disappointing season, there are some questions Tiger fans hope will be answered.
Who will step up and start as runningback?
Seniors Charles Scott and Keiland Williams used their last year of eligibility in 2009. The duo led LSU in rushing yards in 2009 with 542 and 368 yards, respectively.
Rising senior running back Richard Murphy, whose 2009 season was cut short with a knee injury, is one of the front runners for the position.
Murphy has been sparsely used during his tenure as a Tiger because of the depth of the position.
Most of his reps came via the Wildcat formation but with the backfield looking less clogged, Murphy could be the No. 1 back next season.
Rising sophomore Stevan Ridley is the other front runner for the position. After injuries took Scott, Williams and Murphy out for the season, the Tigers turned to Ridley. He showed flashes of talent, but inexperience affected his performance.
Ridley is a powerful back who is also agile. He could also make a push to keep the starting job that was handed to him last season.
Two five-star recruits who redshirted this past season, Michael Ford and Drayton Calhoun, could also factor in the running backs race.
The running back position leads us to our next question for the spring practice: What is the team going to do to improve its rushing attack?
The running game was painful to watch last season — it seemed like the backs barely had any space to work with when they got to the line of scrimmage.
The Tigers only rushed 4 more yards than South Carolina, a pass-first team that finished in last place in the Southeastern Conference in rushing in 2009.
The poor rushing attack, 84th in the NCAA, brought the rest of the offense down with it. LSU will need to have improved play from its offensive line which includes a replacement for first team All-SEC left tackle Ciron Black.
The offense was good at times, but they need more production in key moments.
The final big question of the spring involves the SEC’s third-best defense in 2009.
Who is going to step up on defense?
The Tigers lost six starters on defense and four of last season’s top five tacklers in Perry Riley, Harry Coleman, Jacob Cutrera and Chad Jones.
To say these defensive replacements have big shoes to fill would be would not do the situation justice — they have warehouses to fill.
Whoever earns the cornerback spot vacated by senior Chris Hawkins will have the added pressure of playing opposite the field of the best cornerback in college football, rising sophomore Patrick Peterson.
Peterson covered his side of the field like icing covers a cake. Opponents do not test Peterson’s side of the field, and opposing teams’ quarterbacks will most certainly pick on whoever wins the other cornerback job this spring.
The front runner for this job should be rising senior Jai Eugene. Eugene dramatically improved his play last season and could lock the job up this spring if he shows the coaching staff more improvement.
The linebacking corps lost two starters and its top reserve in Cutrera. This unit has been consistently good for the past few seasons. Competitors for this position will have to build up the chemistry that worked so well together this past season.
There is some returning experience at the linebacker position, but it will be interesting to see what type of linebacker play the Tigers have this spring.
Quite possibly the most important part of the defense is who shows to play on the defensive line. D-line U had a subpar year and needs to improve.
The pressure will be on the defensive line when it should be on the other team’s quarterbacks.
Spring practice will be interesting this season and by the time the spring game rolls around some of these questions will be closer to being answered.
Amos Morale is a 22-year-old history senior from Houston. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_amosmorale3.
Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]