LSU Football: Meet Greg Studrawa, Offensive Coordinator of the Tigers

Every Monday, The SEC Blog will feature an assistant coach in the SEC. This week, we take a look at LSU offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa.

This time last season, Greg Studrawa wasn't expecting to be LSU's offensive coordinator. Entering his fifth year on the staff, he was planning on coaching the offensive linemen, as was the case during his previous four seasons in Baton Rouge.

In early August of 2011, it was announced that LSU offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and would surrender those duties to Studrawa.

Suddenly, Studrawa was in control of the offense of one of the primary contenders for the BCS National Championship.

The Tigers responded well, as they averaged 35.71 points per game—good enough for second place in the SEC and 17th in the nation. But defensive and special teams touchdowns skewed that statistic a bit, and LSU's offense never seemed to fully click.

The Tiger offense finished sixth in the SEC in total offense with a 355 yard-per-game average, and finished 10th in the SEC in passing offense (152.5 YPG).

LSU's offense screeched to a halt on college football's biggest stage, when it gained just 92 yards in the 21-0 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game.

Quarterback Jordan Jefferson shouldered much of the blame for that loss, but Studrawa's lack of a Plan B and inability to adjust has LSU fans questioning whether he's the man for the job.

Studrawa enters 2012 with new-found energy.

LSU returns four starters off of last season's offensive line and gets guard Josh Dworaczyk back after he missed all of last season recovering from a knee injury. Essentially, that's five starters on the offensive line that return, in addition to a four-headed monster at running back and established wide receivers Russell Shepard and Odell Beckham Jr.

The only major question mark for Studrawa's offense in 2012 is at quarterback.

Rising junior Zach Mettenberger is expected to take over after Jefferson and Jarrett Lee exhausted their eligibility. He's got a rocket for an arm, and nearly won the starting job at Georgia over Aaron Murray in 2010, before being dismissed from the team following spring practice.

In April, I explained that Mettenberger doesn't have to be Joe Montana, he just has to establish the threat of a downfield passing game for LSU to be successful.

Studrawa was heavily criticized for LSU's BCS National Championship Game debacle, and rightfully so. But he has the pieces in place in 2012 to wipe that memory clean (or, at least, somewhat clean).

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