LSU Football 2012: 5 Reasons to Stay Positive for Next Season

With so much negativity surrounding LSU football following the national championship, it’s time to take a glance at LSU’s bright future.

After last night’s debacle of a national championship game, where schemes and play-calling seemed like a last-minute preparation, LSU fans are down about the performance.

The Tigers didn’t take chances, and their conservative play-calling was like a batter going up to bat and, instead of swinging, going down looking every single time.

But today, that’s in the past and the future looks promising, with a tremendous amount of talent returning to the team. This is why fans need to stay positive next season.

No More Jordan Jefferson

Just like LSU fans were thrilled to see Tim Tebow and Cam Newton leave the SEC, they’re going to be even more thrilled to see their own Jordan Jefferson depart from the team.

Throughout Jefferson’s career at LSU, he’s made mistake after mistake, but you already know that. Not only did he get kicked off the team at the beginning of this season, Jefferson has been making poor throws, bad decisions and holding on to the ball too long for the last three years.

Good news Tiger fan: those days are gone. Next season, LSU will be led by a real quarterback in Zach Mettenberger.

He's a quarterback that can make all the throws and make smart decisions, and more importantly, he’s a quarterback that the coaching staff won’t have to “protect.”

Mettenberger is supposed to be the real deal, and had he stayed at Georgia, he would have given Aaron Murray a battle for the starting quarterback position.

The end of the Jefferson era could be the sweetest moment in the history of LSU.

Talent Returning

The Tigers will miss Mo Claiborne, Ryan Baker and Brandon Taylor, but they’ll have plenty of talent to fall back on.

With Eric Reid, Tyrann Mathieu, Sam Montgomery, Barkevious Mingo, Tharold Simon, Spencer Ware, Kenny Hilliard, Odell Beckham Jr., Chris Faulk, Michael Brockers, Michael Ford and Bennie Logan all returning, a smile cracks on a disappointed face.

Add in the fact that Rueben Randle, PJ Lonergan and Alex Hurst will likely return, and the Tigers are instantly the top contenders for the national championship in 2012.

Look for the Tigers to be just as good on defense and open the offense up a little more, with Mettenberger getting the ball out to Russell Shepard, Jarvis Landry, Randle and Beckham.

No More Richardson, Hightower or Upshaw

Make no mistake about it, Alabama will be a good football team next year, but they won’t be the same monster they were this season.

The reason is because they’ll be without the best running back in the nation, Trent Richardson, and two of the best defensive players in the country, Dont’a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw.

Richardson rushed for 1,679 yards this season with 21 rushing touchdowns, while Upshaw and Hightower combined for 135 tackles.

All three players are expected to be drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft, and because of their absence, LSU will be the team to beat in the SEC West, not Alabama.

Easier Schedule

The Tigers breezed through one of the toughest schedule in college football history before losing in the national championship to Alabama, so why can’t they do the same with an easier schedule?

Well, minus the whole losing national championship game part.

LSU played Alabama, West Virginia and Oregon away from home this season, and they were able to win each game. With eight games at home and their toughest non-conference game coming against the Washington Huskies, the 2012 schedule will be much easier.

Keith Price will be tough to stop, but with key players returning on defense, LSU should be able to handle the Huskies.

As for the SEC, they get Alabama and South Carolina at home, but they’ll have to travel to play Arkansas, Florida and Texas A&M.

Fear not, Tiger fans. 2012 doesn’t have nearly the amount of obstacles that 2011 had.

Recruits Coming In

After watching Jefferson play quarterback for the last couple of years, Tiger fans should have jumped for joy when the top-rated quarterback, Gunner Kiel, committed.

Recruits like Reid Ferguson, Ronnie Feist and Avery Johnson have Tiger fans excited about the class coming in, but additions like Mario Edwards and Tracy Howard would make this class significant.

LSU has a good chance to reel in Edwards and Howard, with both players visiting the campus later this month, and should they commit, that would add even more depth to an already talent-rich defense.

Edwards is the top defensive end coming out of high school and climbed to ESPN’s No. 1-ranked spot after impressing at the Under Armour All-America Game, while Howard is thought-to-be a future shut-down corner.

The bottom line is that big-time players still want to come play for LSU, and the direction the team is going in is still positive.