LSU Football’s Offense Heads into 2019 Spring Practice with Plenty Momentum
LSU football finished hot last year and look to continue that success in 2019. The Tigers have a few things to work on this spring, but momentum appears to be in their corner.
LSU football kicks off its annual spring football game on April 6 at 2 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
After an eventual year three for head coach Ed Orgeron, Tiger fans have high hopes for year four.
Last season, the Tigers finished as the No. 6 team in the AP-25 Poll after going 10-3 overall and 5-3 in SEC play and getting a win over UCF in the Fiesta Bowl.
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Those five conference wins include an upset of then-ranked opponents No. 7 Auburn, No. 2 Georgia, and No. 22 Mississippi State.
LSU could have easily been in the SEC Championship and possibly the playoffs if it wasn’t for a terrible game against Alabama, losing in 7 OT game against Texas A&M, and an early rough road loss versus the Gators.
Coach O finally seems to have things on the rise and after a No. 5 2019 recruiting class, the success should continue.
The Tigers have 16 starters returning, eight on the offense and eight on the defense. After the way LSU performed this season, Alabama might need to keep an eye on the Bayou Bengals.
Molding An Offense who has the Momentum
LSU returns starting quarterback Joe Burrows after he transferred last season from Ohio State and took over the starting role.
He is a tough guy that has a grittiness to him that makes him one likable quarterback.
Burrows threw for 2,894 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Those numbers in regards to yards and interceptions are better than Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm.
However, where Burrows struggled was his ability to put the ball in the end zone. Fromm scored 30 touchdowns while Burrows had 16. Despite having better numbers than Fromm, he couldn’t get his guys in the endzone.
Once Burrows can improve his consistency, then more touchdowns should come. However, this should be a big emphasis this spring. How can Burrows and his players get into the endzone more?
One way is to spread the ball more to the weapons he has on offense. If Burrows can spread the wealth, the probability to get in the endzone goes up even more.
This spring will be a great chance for them to figure that out and execute it on the field.
The other part of the offense that needs work this spring is a finding a dominant running back to tote the rock.
Four guys will compete for the starting spot. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was Nick Brossette’s back up last season and will likely be the front running. However, he has Lanard Fournette behind him hungry for some reps.
He ran for 658 yards and seven scores last year as the backup tailback. I don’t know if he won the starting job that he would keep it long.
LSU flipped five-star running back John Emery Jr. from Georgia and had a long time commit Tyrion Davis in the 2019 class. However, these two guys won’t arrive until the summer.
For now, Edwards-Helarie and Fournette will go head-to-head this spring to see who has the guts to be the first string running back.
Regardless, LSU has so much momentum surrounding the offense; once they get it clicking on all cylinders, the offense will be a lethal one in the SEC West.
Brief 2019 LSU Outlook
LSU has some quirks to work out this spring, but the Tigers’ momentum should help them a lot. That momentum needs to last through the spring and summer though.
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If the Tigers can keep the confidence and find ways to score points with Burrows and company, LSU could challenge Alabama and Auburn for the SEC West title.
First LSU needs to get through spring and mold Burrows even more into the leader they know he can be. Once that happens, LSU will be hard to stop on the football field.
