Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Aug 7, 202010 min
BY LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
LSU's defense looked mighty fine during the few practice / workout sessions they were able to finish the previous week, Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini commanding his new charges with a swaggering chill, Tiger bravado at its finest belying the fiery Pesci-isms of his previous tenure in Baton Rouge or Nebraska.
He's still as intense as ever, but now he's become chilled out with age, perfect timing for a younger more cerebral, introspective generation.
But don't mistake the loss of non-stop raging bull fire for anything other than realizing, after all these years, that he must not waste his voice so soon into the season.
Pelini has evolved and so has his new defense, showing intriguing new formations, approaches and personnel groupings during the walk throughs.
Orgeron hired Bo for his rampant attacking mindset as a defensive coordinator, and both are all-in on the vertical pass-rushing fanaticism of the 4-3, especially when it concerns freeing up DTs to make more of an impact in the backfield.
Though anyone expecting a base 4-3 set up with a nonstop Tampa Two look will be shocked to realize Pelini doesn't view football from a closed lens...the game must always be much more open-minded for those who seek its greatest rewards.
They won't know what hit 'em.
Multiplicity is a word Pelini has repeated endlessly like a mantra, over and over again he's said it, "we want to be multiple, we want multiple looks....multiple, multiple, multiple..." He understands the greatest offenses aren't something you can instantaneously tame with one process, one formation, one group of players...one tactic...We're not talkin' Michael Keaton filmographies here...
You need a wide variety of players with differing attributes, physical profiles and a defensive set up which has the capabilities to adapt, instigate and dominate all in the same chameleonic function.
Dave Aranda's defenses could only flip the script so much, not only were they hampered by never-ending drives thanks to our horrorshow offense, the Aranda-era players had a scratch, claw, struggling fight to them we all fell in love with as fans, but how many games did you throw the remote in frustration after watching Aranda freeze out our most dangerous D-linemen by out-scheming himself?
If anything, Pelini will be in the trenches alongside his kids, coaching em up and chilling em down with a heartfelt sense of justice: some schemes constantly ask your greatest players to sacrifice their own best abilities (for tactical aesthetics only), losing games for philosophical elitism....and that just will not do.
Pelini is a "player's coach", allowing certain kids to adjust his calls on the field, using their instincts and athletic intuition to make plays that win football games: LaRon Landry, Craig Steltz, Brandon Taylor, Perry Riley in 2007, Glenn Dorsey, Nebraska's N'Damukong Suh and Prince Amukamara, the names geaux on and on....
There's a beautiful eruption of defensive freedom within Pelini-D, a comfort and ease which can be found in all of its versions over the years, a fiery breath of bristling gauntlet missing from Aranda's units.
Dave Aranda was amazing....a 9/10 defensive coordinator at LSU who delivered a National Championship with a defense that transformed from severely injured to suddenly woeful before finally resting on the "all systems geaux" domination level...any coach who can will their hobbled, hurting unit into a 180 while a title hangs in the balance is certifiably Grade A....but his defense was far too rigid, only allowing one or two players to really express their talents on the field at any one time.
That has now changed....get ready for an All-World Festival of Ass Kickery and carnal savagery unlike anyone's witnessed since Chuck Norris and Ron Jeremy teamed up for a four-film deal during the 90s; prepare for Pelini-D 2020 to provide more physically imposing uber-nasty unseen by humankind since Gene Simmons first showed the world his face.
During the previous workouts and practices, Pelini's iconic stamp and fascinating evolution is already apparent:
There were formations centered around freeing up the D-line bruisers up front, linebackers strategically filling holes in an unorthodox fashion, fake edge rushes suddenly becoming stunts inside....the workouts featured disguised corner blitzes from Eli Ricks, the corner threatening at the line before pulling back right as Flott (at nickel) would fly in off the edge.
During every day of Football School, Pelini, Raymond, Bill Busch and Bill Johnson grilled the guys on how to stay alert and aware when placed in exotic sets, drilling bizarre permutations for the linebackers, even utilizing Jacoby Stevens as a TE-nullifying extra LB or drawing up plays where DEs Webb or Ojulari swap roles with a safety-blitzing Stevens at the snap, the Lanier High LB/DE's 6'4 height forcing bad passes at the line of scrimmage as Stevens' underrated closing speed ruptures any O-lineman in his path.
Pelini will use a wide range of personnel along the defensive line, even interchanging players (at the snap) with similar skill sets in order to gain physical or numerical advantages.
As for all you 4-3 purists who believe Pelini will never show anything but four down linemen, we spotted a wide range of unexpected points of attack from which Pelini is basing his 2020 playbook:
He used inverted 3-5-3 formations involving a single high safety (Mo Hampton and Kary Vincent switched off playing this role, Todd Harris is still not at 100%), a trio of inside gap, guard and center destroying big men, Farrel and Ika surrounding Shelvin at nose (designed for maximum punishment and intimidation) backed by a five linebacker / safety assortment of Jacoby and Cam Lewis on the outside (for speed), Damone Clark at MIC, Jabril Cox at WIL and Micha Baskerville at SAM....and this was just one example.
It was an outrageously brilliant formation to see on the field, either when stuffing the check down game against a speedy back or pressuring the quarterback immediately (Stingley and Flott / Ricks / McGlothern / Ward's coverage skills out wide make this possible).
Overall, Pelini's unit appeared as one large hive, a metamorphic flood of rampant aggression all unified and pulling towards the same ultimate goal: win at all costs.
There's always going to be players who must feel they have to be THE GUY in order to wake up and play at their optimum, but luckily LSU don't have any selfish souls on their squad, even amongst the four National Champion transfers the Tigers lost over the summer (Parrish, Brooks, Monroe, Pettigrew).
In keeping with the same team-first ethos as Coach Ed Orgeron, Bo Pelini has followed suit, recruiting kids who possess superior character, mental strength and intellect just as much as he's grabbed players boasting dictatorial physicality or high octane athleticism (Jabril Cox, Greg Penn III for a fantastic start):
Coach O's staff looks for what's inside first....and among a staff littered with the best recruiters in the business, Pelini looks for the effort & tenacity more than the Xs and Os or obsessions about a player's final or temporary position.....no wonder Orgeron remains the greatest recruiter of all time.
Outside of Pelini's play-calling & his tendency to favor heart and guts over rankings, we're beginning to get a feel for which players Beaux will trust most.
Jacoby Stevens, Todd Harris, Kary Vincent Jr, Derek Stingley and Tyler Shelvin are purple and gold walls for Pelini to lean on, while at linebacker his most trusted guys will definitely remain his old FCS rival Jabril Cox and junior MIC linebacker Damone Clark, yet we feel Pelini has been energized by the flurry of pagan youth along the D-line and at secondary:
There will be intense battles for playing time at free safety, SAM linebacker, corner and defensive line, with the intense competition for each spot pushing the boundaries of the squad as a whole.
Mo Hampton supplies a versatile option to Kary Vincent Jr: he may not have Kary's boundless pace, although his outfielder's tracking ability more than makes up for any deficiencies in that department.
Wearing Tyrann Mathieu's first number, #14, Mo has superseded expectations as a freshman, starting vs Arkansas to the tune of 6 tackles and again vs Oklahoma in the 2019 Peach Bowl, delivering more vicious hits than a Mike Tyson Anger Management session hosted by Maury.
We were told Hampton, the recent birthday boy, was a preeminent fixture throughout those workouts, the sophomore displaying undeniable confidence, and Coach Beaux was loving what he was seeing.
At corner opposite Stingley, Eli Ricks, Cor'Dale Flott, Dwight McGlothern, Lloyd Cole, Jay Ward and Raydarious Jones all battle for the job, yet this doesn't have to be a single choice answer:
Since we'll be facing many spread offenses, the necessity for extra numbers in the secondary will be at a premium, and with those illustrious names highlighting the river of devastation contained within our loaded DBUnit, we'd be foolish not to deploy three of those names simultaneously in a lineup (secondary consisting of: Jacoby closer to the linebackers, Todd, Mo or Kary at Free safety, Stingley Island and two of those DBs of empirical oblivion in tandem: we don't lose numbers with Jacoby as the third linebacker, we pull the SAM off the field for this set and keep the four up front).
We didn't see too many visuals of the defensive practices, although we had two sources tell us Pelini was most concerned with getting Jabril Cox, Mo Hampton and Eli Ricks acquainted, however he spent the most time communicating with MIC Linebacker Damone Clark.
Though the team can't hit and they aren't allowed to use a football until August 17th, the work they went through still proves crucial in establishing team camaraderie and chemistry, being able to read the playbook inside and out, sense each other's movements and speak a new kind of football language, all before a season in which everything but the expected will occur.
There was a lot of interesting formations with the linebackers we've been told but there's nothing definitive or concrete I can point to.
"Stacked linebackers?" I asked.
"Meh..."
"What?"
"Bo aint Kevin Steele..."
"I get that but he's experimenting..."
"You've been saying Jacoby, switching back and forth from LB to S..."
"Yeah, I have I've been saying that for..."
The phone went dead.
Once the football comes out and the hits are allowed though....all hell will break loose....this is a defense which could take on many forms in a few different positions at random moments of the season, every player on this team capable of greatness.
We could see the aforementioned Mo or track-star Kary Vincent at free safety;
Vincent had 4 INTs last year and a pick during all 3 LSU seasons, proving to be an instinctually riveting and consistent player, perfectly described by his tracking ability when intercepting Jalen Hurts vs Oklahoma.
Dealing with adversity, Kary tragically lost his father on the eve of the 2019 Fiesta Bowl victory over UCF, shutting down his side of the field during an emotional performance for his father, a former wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints.
After what he's been through, starting for his senior season would mean a hell of a lot for Kary Jr.
Then there's the redemption of Todd Harris, nigh at hand.
The image of Todd Harris running the show at free safety is a tantalizing and emotional prospect for Todd, his family, his teammates and coaches and of course, every LSU fan; Coach Orgeron recently revealed Harris wasn't 100% recently, but we have every hope he'll be ready to geaux by the time camp starts in August.
Between Mo, Todd Harris, Kary Vincent Jr and Jordan Toles (strong mostly), there's considerable depth at this position, however the role must come down to either Kary, Todd or the two of them sharing.
We may just witness a transcendental defensive line this year at LSU.
Composed of perfect pick your poison options, seniors Neil Farrell, Glen Logan, junior Tyler Shelvin, sophomore Apu Ika, and freshmen Bash Bros. Jacobian Guillory and Jaquelin Roy's size, grit, girth and deceptively nimble violence off the line will produce far higher sack totals than last year, on the edge B.J Ojulari, Phillip Webb, Andre Anthony, Justin Thomas, T.K McLendon, Ali Gaye all push for playing time...but the simple fact which leaves me at ease heading into a grinding 10 game SEC schedule?
Every single one of these options is a player who I have full faith in, every guy's competing to say "it's my year" along that D-line, they're hungry this season more than ever;
Seniors Glen Logan and Neil Farrell never got the attention their important hits and pressures deserved, Tyler Shelvin never received the official accolades and statistics to fully illustrate his influence and then there's a feast of NFL-ready freshmen headlined by Phillip Webb, B.J Ojulari, Jacobian Guillory and Jaquelin Roy...we're talking players Big 10, Big 12 and rival SEC fans choose to forget because they know who they lost to LSU on the recruiting trail...they lost true Supernauts...true Tigers...
If there are any concerns about the 2020 defense, put them to rest.
2019 Offense....meet 2020 Pelini-D
Get locked in...get dialed in...put your chin-strap on, buckle up, this defense is gonna be a jaw-rattlin', bone-jarrin', brain-melting inferno.
by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
#BLACK LIVES MATTER
GEAUX TIGERS
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SHOUTOUTS TO: AD MY MAN WITH THE WRISTBANDS, THANK YOU FOR THE LAUGHS WILL NEVER END, MARYROSE!!!, ALLISON VALENTINE MASTERS "DO WHAT THOU WILT", JAMER CHAVANNE!!!!