If there’s one thing that has always been true about LSU’s offenses in the Les Miles era, it’s this: when the offensive line plays badly, the team plays badly.
Through the first three games of the season, LSU played a total of 11 offensive linemen in a variety of combinations, including seven against Mississippi State after injuries. While this isn’t necessarily uncommon, especially for the Tigers, it’s time to stick with what works.
It’s not hard to understand why the coaches have been toying with the offensive line. During the Wisconsin game, LSU’s offense netted only 126 rushing yards — the team’s lowest since Nov. 14, when the Tigers lost 31-14 against Arkansas.
The game against the Badgers also marked the first time the Tiger line has allowed multiple sacks since the Arkansas game, when it allowed five for 37 yards.
Headed into week 2 against Jacksonville State, it made sense for the coaches to experiment with the line, especially with senior guard Josh Boutte suspended. There was no real danger in losing that game, making it the perfect time to mix and match.
With Boutte out, sophomore Maea Teuhema started at right guard. The rest of the line was similar, with junior K.J. Malone at left tackle, sophomore Will Clapp at left guard, senior Ethan Pocic at center and sophomore Toby Weathersby at right tackle.
The game didn’t start out particularly well for the group, as the offense gained a mere 12 total yards in the first quarter. But after the change at quarterback, the offense picked up. At the end of the game, LSU netted 244 yards rushing and allowed only one sack.
Granted, the entire game cannot be attributed to just those five guys.
Five other offensive linemen made their way into the game: redshirt freshman Chidi Okeke, junior Andy Dodd, sophomore Garrett Brumfield, freshman Donavaughn Campbell and redshirt freshman Adrian Magee.
Boutte returned to the starting group for the Mississippi State game, though cramps and injuries forced LSU to rotate others in. A total of nine linemen saw action during the Tigers’ SEC opener.
In those two games, several non-starters looked pretty good.
Dodd, a junior who played in eight games over his career, seemed to have a handle on the center position. Brumfield has been nice in relief. Pocic even looked pretty natural when he was moved to tackle late in Saturday’s game, aside from a holding call immediately following the transition.
“We had an offensive line that caught cramps and got injured and got knicked, and we had seven different combinations that played in the offensive line for us,” Miles said at Lunch with Les Monday. “We will return everybody to play, most everybody to play next Saturday.”
But now that we’re getting into the thick of the season — with the next three games being at Auburn, Missouri at home and at Florida — the coaches should put the best group in and run behind them.
For the best possible results, the line should consist of Malone, Clapp, Pocic, Teuhema and Weathersby.
Weathersby and Malone are the greener duo on the line. Weathersby played in all 12 games last season and started against Ole Miss. Malone played in 17 games between the 2015 and 2014 seasons, but he did not have a start until this year.
Clapp and Teuhema are the strength of this unit. Clapp started all 12 games as a redshirt freshman last season, ranking third on the team for total snaps played with 776 and knockdown blocks with 88. Teuhema started 11 games as a true freshman last year and played every game.
Boutte, while not the same caliber as Clapp and Teuhema, is solid in his own right. He played in 33 games over the last three seasons.
Pocic, without question, is the man at center. He started every game during his sophomore and junior seasons, aside from the ULM game in 2014 because of an injury. Last season, he led the team 132.5 knockdown blocks.
LSU has enough talent and depth on the offensive line to have some degree of success no matter who is in, but this group would give the Tigers the best chance at success.
These guys should be on the field early and often as the Tigers push further into SEC play.

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Ryan McCarble

LSU junior quarterback Danny Etling (16) hands the ball off to junior running back Leonard Fournette (7) during the Tigers 23-20 victory over Mississippi State on Sept. 17, 2016 at Tiger Stadium.