LSU Spring Preview: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

LSU kicked off their spring practice on Friday in the rain, which seems more than appropriate. The wounds from their performance in the National Championship game are still fresh, and while there’s a cloud of negativity still looming over this immensely talented team, they enter the spring as the favorites (at least according to most sports books) to win the BCS Championship next season.

Spring is good for this team. It’s an important transition for everyone, but it’s no doubt a welcomed look forward for a squad that has been dwelling on their lone blemish from the prior campaign. And oh, what a blemish it was.

Disappointment is something that presents itself in different forms and at different times, but there’s a lingering aftermath hanging over LSU as they embark on the new year. Teams that make it to that stage and fall flat all have to pick to themselves back up to a degree, but somehow, this fantastic flop feels like more.

Most teams that reach the national championship, however, don’t return the kind of talent that LSU will feature once again.

The Good

When you lose players like cornerback Morris Claiborne and defensive tackle Michael Brockers—two guys that could go in the top 10 in this year’s NFL draft—you’d expect to have serious gaps to fill from a talent standpoint. And while you can’t immediately replace talent like this, LSU has a knack of filling these glaring holes without missing a beat, especially on defense. As a Big Ten fan, I find their ability to do this regularly both impressive and incredibly annoying.

Brockers’ departure certainly hurts (he was the size of a small car and immensely talented), but LSU’s defensive line is loaded, deep and incredibly athletic. Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo are back, which is horrendous news if you’re an SEC quarterback. These two were destructive last year and combined for 17 sacks and 28 tackles on the season. On defense, they’re deep at just about every position except linebacker, which is something to keep an eye on throughout the spring.

As good as the defensive line is, the offensive line might be better. Josh Dworaczyk was granted his sixth year of eligibility after injuring his knee before last season, which means LSU will have all five returning starters in 2012. Before going down, Dworaczyk was arguably their best overall talent up front.

They have a stable of running backs who are more than capable of being successful runners at the college level, and you and I could probably average three yards per carry behind this impressive fortress up front.

Simply put, LSU is better than your team up front on both sides, which is troubling, unless, of course, you’re LSU.

The Bad

Nine months from now, “The Bad” might not be bad at all. In fact, this has a very distinct probability of being a strength of this team if things translate how many believe they will.

Uncertainty at quarterback is not an uncommon scenario. There are very few programs in the country that are completely comfortable with who they have under center at this moment. Still, however, LSU is entering 2012 with a guy that is unproven on the field over the long haul.

Zach Mettenberger, barring injury or the dumbest Les Miles’ decision of all-time, will be the starting quarterback in the fall. For those of you unfamiliar with him or his skill-set, just think of the exact opposite quarterback of Jordan Jefferson, and you have him.

The former Georgia QB has a huge arm, and he’s a much better pure passer than LSU has had in quite a while. He’s 6’5,” can move for his size and he’s had a full year to get his feet under him in his current environment. Given the way last season ended, these are all very positive attributes to be touting heading into a fresh start.

The good news, outside the fact that the Mettenberger seems built to succeed, is that the quarterback play will likely improve even with an average season. They averaged only 150 yards passing a game and relied heavily on running the ball and misdirection. Although he’s unproven right now, Mettenberger has a chance to change that in a hurry.

The Ugly

Having to deal with a full SEC schedule is a yearly gauntlet, but outside of their late-season game at Arkansas, LSU should be a significant favorite in the majority of their games. They’re losing some very accomplished players to the NFL, but these losses aren’t what concern me when assessing them in the spring.

There’s also nothing “ugly” about this team from a coaching or roster standpoint. Jordan Jefferson was critical of the play calling in title game, but he’s no longer LSU’s problem. He may be no one’s problem depending how he works out in the spring, but his departure is also good news for LSU. 

Instead, it’s the recent history and last season’s incredibly disappointing finale that they will have to overcome. It’s hard to rate just what impact, if any, this will have on their upcoming trek, but their championship game flop was something that they’ll have to address and move on from.

Is this story more media-driven than anything else? Perhaps, but the team also enters 2012 in a much different place than they did in 2011. Although many liked LSU’s SEC chances heading into last season, they’ll enter the fall with expectations and eyeballs firmly on them from a national scale. Aside from the talent, many just want to see how they’ll bounce back.

LSU will play their spring game on March 31. This will give us our first glimpse of Zach Mettenberger and a sneak peek at one of the nation’s most athletic, if not the most athletic team in the country. It will also be the latest step in getting past last year’s crushing conclusion.

If they can do that, the sky is the limit.