Ever since the Mad Hatter, Les Miles, took over in Baton Rouge, there have been few dull moments on the field for the LSU Tigers. He constantly puts his team in spots that leave his coaching acumen open to questioning, but he never fails to entertain.
Unfortunately for supporters of the Bayou Bengals, the action this off-season has taken place off the field – questions raised about ties to purported “street agent” Will Lyles, health concerns for new offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe, potential legal problems for the starting quarterback.
Kris Brauner of LSU blog Saturday Night Slant fields “Five Burning Questions” about the drama both on and off the field for his beloved Tigers.
1. On balance, does having Les Miles as a head coach win or lose you more games?
Having Miles has won LSU more games than lost. There is no question about it. He struggles with managing late-game situations. That is no secret, and it has directly cost LSU at least two football games. Indirectly, maybe a few more. But Miles’ ability to always know the right time to dial up something a little different is uncanny, and it has directly led to a number of LSU victories. By my unofficial count, Miles is 13 of 14 in converting fake punts or field goals at LSU. He also has converted 64 percent of his fourth down attempts. In four of his six seasons at LSU, he has ranked in the top six nationally in 4th down conversion percentage. Not surprisingly, those are the same four seasons that LSU has won at least 11 games.
Even with his “Mad Hatter” reputation, Miles still manages to masterfully pick the right spots to pull out a new trick. Since he’s a goofball, people dismiss it to “luck.” But you don’t compile a track record like he has unless you know what you’re doing. And just when you think you may have him figured out, he’ll one up you. While many were busy debating the decision to go for a fourth down when in field goal range, Miles not only goes for it…but he does so by running a reverse to a tight end. And why not? It worked. He refuses to play “by the book”. In fact, Miles doesn’t even know the book exists.
His decision making is often unconventional and sometimes borders on reckless. But it’s rooted in a belief in his players and a belief that they are prepared to execute something a little different. The players take note. And as a result, they love playing for Miles. He’s fun. He likes to go for it. He believes in them. And the game is never over when Miles is your coach. It makes for a healthy player/coach relationship that has benefitted LSU over the last six years.
2. Assuming he avoids legal trouble, how tight is Jordan Jefferson’s grip on the quarterback job?
It’s tighter than most people realize. I come across many nationally that are under the assumption that Zach Mettenberger is ready to step in at the first hint of trouble from Jefferson. That’s not the case at all. The coaching staff has been adamant throughout spring and into fall that Jordan Jefferson is the clear starter and that he’s much imrpoved. Tiger fans have heard this before, so consider them skeptical. But the truth is that Jefferson was playing pretty well towards the end of 2010. When you throw in new quarterbacks coach Steve Kragthorpe, it’s certainly believable that he’s ready for a much improved season. In his last four games against BCS conference opponents in 2010, Jefferson’s numbers were as follows:
- 49 of 76 (64.4%)
- 737 yards (184.25 yards per game)
- 5 TD
- 2 INT
- 173 rushing yards (43.25 rushing yards per game)
Those numbers won’t win him the Heisman. But they indicate that Jefferson was actually a part of LSU’s offense, rather than a hindrance to its success. It’s no surprise that LSU’s offense averaged 410 yards in total offense over that same stretch…quite the improvement over the 341 yards per game they averaged for the entire season.
LSU’s staff has designed the offense around Jefferson’s skill set, and they seem ready to stand behind him. Any discussion of a quaterback competition has been quickly squashed by Les Miles. But if he were to struggle during the season, Miles showed last season that he’s not afraid to go to the backup. And while most assume that guy would be Mettenberger, Jarrett Lee is currently the guy receiving No. 2 reps in camp. He has a lot of experience and has won some big games for LSU. Especially early in the season, expect to see Lee as the first one off the bench should the situation present itself.
3. With offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe stepping down, how has that affected the team?
Since Kragthorpe had yet to coach his first game at LSU, it will be tough to notice any difference. We did not have any basis for comparison. This was always a situation where Kragthorpe was going to work with the quarterbacks at practice. That has not changed. And this was always going to be an offensive staff, to include Les Miles, that were all very, very active in preparing the game plan each week. But Kragthorpe was going to have final say over the plays installed each week, and, of course, he was going to call the plays during the game.
Now those responsibilities will fall to new acting offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa. Coach Stud was an offensive coordinator at Bowling Green from 2003 thru 2006. And at times, his offenses there put up some gaudy numbers led by quarterback Omar Jacobs. So he has some experience calling plays.
Kragthorpe will certainly still have input into the design of the offense. But I’ll admit that I really liked some of the things he was saying about simplifying LSU’s packages and “addition through subtraction.” That was refreshing to hear after the bazillion formations, substitutions, and personnel packages that we saw under Gary Crowton – as well as the crazy high number of pre-snap penalties. Hopefully that philosophy will still be prevalent when LSU takes the field.
4. It seems like every year the Tigers lose some defensive studs, and then the next year they’ve moved on with a whole bunch more. Give us a couple names on that side to watch this season.
LSU had three guys that found their way onto some All-American teams on the defense last year, and all three are gone. Defensive tackle Drake Nevis, linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and cornerback Patrick Peterson were all selected in the top three rounds of the NFL draft. While LSU may not be quite the same at certain positions, they’ll have a number of new faces step up and make plays. Here are four to watch:
CB Morris Claiborne – Claiborne is not a newcomer. He started in 2010 opposite Patrick Peterson and led the team in interceptions with 5. Now, he’s the veteran and one of the leaders of the defense and he’s getting some early pub as a possible first-rounder in next year’s draft. He has good size (6’0″, 185 lbs.), long arms and a whole lot of speed. Les Miles recently said, “I don’t want to say that I think Mo Claiborne is faster than Patrick Peterson…..but I think Mo Claiborne is faster than Patrick Peterson.” Look for Claiborne to also take over for Peterson returning kickoffs and possibly punts.
DE Sam Montgomery – Montgomery won a starting position as a redshirt freshman last year and was off to a great start (2 sacks and 6 TFL through four games) before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He’s healthy again and has emerged as one of the leaders on the defensive line. He should get after the quarterback quite a bit this year and put up some very good numbers.
DE Barkevious Mingo – A former linebacker, Mingo is still trying to add weight to his 6’5″ frame (currently listed at 240 pounds). But in the meantime, he serves as a pass-rushing specialist. In a limited role he logged 2.5 sacks, 5.5 TFL and defended six passes. The league coaches thought enough of him to vote him to the All-SEC second team despite the fact that he’s not projected to start. His role will be increased a ton in 2011, and his impact should increase along with it. If he ever fills out his frame and becomes an every down player, then watch out.
CB Tyrann Mathieu – As a reserve cornerback and nickelback, the 5’9″ Mathieu was fourth on the team with 57 tackles. He had 8.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 9 passes defended, 3 fumble recoveries and 5 forced fumbles. He was a difference maker, plain and simple. It’s hard to imagine him having a bigger impact than he did a year ago, especially since he won’t surprise anyone in 2011. But it also stands to reason that he’ll be imrpoved in his second year on campus and more familiar and aware of all the nuances of John Chavis’ defense. He’s also the team’s likely punt returner.
5. Last time I was there, the LSU pregame video on the jumbotron was a bunch of Mike the Tiger running around in a pen. That seemed kind of lame to me. If you were in charge of the video, what would you want to see up there?
I’m simple. Show off some of the best highlights from LSU’s past, focusing on the more immediate past. Include some big hits that are synced to the music. LSU has accomplished enough on the field over the last 10 years that this should be easy. It’s tough to get too creative with that, but LSU seems to change theirs up quite a bit. I always thought Nebraska’s video of the players walking through the tunnel was pretty cool. It would be a rip off, but I’d consider doing something similar.
Follow Crystal Ball Run at @CrystalBallRun.
Check out Saturday Night Slant and follow @snslant for more from Kris on LSU.
