LSU Football: Pass Rush Is Priority No. 1 for New DC Kevin Steele

LSU is in scramble mode this spring, desperately trying to find the answer to its most pressing issue.

Be honest, your knee-jerk reaction to the sentence above is to look squarely at quarterbacks Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris, right?

Fair, but you should probably keep one eye on the defensive line too, where new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron are feverishly working to fix a pass rush that was more sizzle than steak in 2014.

Sure, LSU finished with the best defense in the SEC (316.8 YPG), but that number is quite deceiving. Despite the presence of senior Jermauria Rasco and star Danielle Hunter, the Tigers finished with just 19 sacks—the second-worst mark in the SEC.

Those two bookends are gone off of the 2015 defensive line, which has created a sense of urgency for Steele and and the new staff this spring.

Good for Orgeron and Steele for recognizing and accepting LSU's primary problem with open arms. After all, you can't fix a problem without properly recognizing it.

Hilary Scheinuk/Associated Press

One way they're going to fix it is with Maquedius Bain, a 6'4", 299-pound redshirt sophomore former defensive tackle who has earned the praise of the coaching staff this spring.

"Quay Bain is a guy that will certainly … hold down one of those spots," head coach Les Miles told ESPN.com's David Ching.

Is that an indicator of what kind of defense Steele will run?

Hilary Scheinuk/Associated Press

You bet it is.

LSU ran a base 4-3 under former defensive coordinator John Chavis, but Steele had worked in a system at Alabama that was almost exclusively a 3-4 front. Bain solidifying one of those "defensive end" spots would suggest that Steele intends to run quite a bit of three-man fronts, despite his noncommittal stance on his scheme.

"I've got no reason or advantage—as long as the players know—it's really an advantage to us that opponents for next year in their spring, summer and early fall camp work, they've got no evidence of what we are," Steele told Jim Kleinpeter of NOLA.com in March. "Keep guessing."

Does that mean he'll exclusively be a defensive end? Of course not. Steele certainly seems flexible, and Bain is a perfect candidate to play 3-technique in a 4-3 front.

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Bain will undoubtedly benefit from the emergence of Davon Godchaux, who will also be bouncing around between end and tackle in Steele's multiple-front scheme.

"Main thing is getting off the ball, attack. Effort," Godchaux told Kleinpeter on Thursday. "We had a little 3-4 today; I was playing the outside 5-technique which is so aggressive, just getting after it."

Steele and Orgeron are clearly not married to any particular look, and are mixing things up in a concerted effort to find any way to generate a consistent pass rush. If LSU can do that, its defense will not only mirror the one that led the SEC in total defense last year, but also improve upon that futile sack total. 

It's a much more fixable issue than the quarterback spot.

LSU has talented defensive linemen, including Bain, Godchaux and pass-rushing specialist Tashawn Bower. If those guys can find a way to make a living in the opposition's backfield, it will take pressure off the rest of the defense and, more importantly, take pressure off the quarterback position.

It's hard to trust Jennings and Harris after last year's debacle, but if the defense can become just a little more consistent, Miles may be able to trust them enough.

Baby steps.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.