LSU Football 2012: Time for Tiger Fans to Look Forward to Next Season

It's time for LSU fans to get over what happened in January and look forward to a spectacular 2012 team.

As an LSU fan, I've never been so thrilled in my life to put the last month behind me. The Tigers suffered a heart-breaking loss to an Alabama team they've already beaten, and they lost five-star recruits in Landon Collins and Gunner Kiel.

But this is a new month, and it's time to start getting excited.

With talents like Tyrann Mathieu, Spencer Ware, Kenny Hilliard, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Barkevious Mingo, Tharold Simon, Eric Reid and other great talents returning to the team, who's to say 2012 couldn't be even better than 2011?

After all, the schedule benefits the Tigers a lot more in 2012 than it did in 2011. With eight games at home and the toughest game with Alabama being a home game, things are looking up. And to make fans even happier, there will be no Jordan Jefferson.

The Tigers have a lot to be proud of in 2011, and with all the returning talent, the 2012 season should be even better.

Look for the Tigers to continue to run the football with Ware, Michael Ford, Alfred Blue and Hilliard down opponents' throats, while possessing a deadly passing attack.

Zach Mettenberger will be able to spread the ball around to receivers such as Russell Shepard, Beckham and Landry, and fans should expect those receivers to finally break out and be the receivers that fans know they can be.

There's been so much negativity surrounding the program after Jan. 9, with message boards like tigerdroppings.com talking about the decline of LSU.

However, the Tigers aren't going anywhere, and they will be a force to be reckoned with in 2012. The sooner fans realize this, the sooner they can heal from this past month and regain their confidence in the team that they adore so much.