LSU Football: An in-Depth Look at the 2011 Football Team and Their Expectations

LSU enters the 2011 season as a front runner in the SEC and a possible BCS contender. Will they be able to overcome a dramatic offseason and a complicated schedule to make a serious push toward the Sears Trophy?

Head Coach Les Miles takes a lot of criticism for his coaching abilities. Is he overrated?  Or is he just a brilliant genius that makes all the right moves, no matter how stupid they may appear on the surface?

A 62-17 record and a national championship over the past six seasons should speak for themselves, however, Miles will continue to be a lightning rod for criticism throughout his career. That seems to be the stigma that has latched on to the coach. 

This season he will heed plenty of criticism if he does not manage to lead the Tigers to a successful campaign and it will be well deserved. LSU returns one of the most talented teams in the country—on both sides of the ball—and should compete with Alabama to win the toughest division in the toughest conference in football—the SEC West. 

If Miles is able to push the right buttons, get improved quarterback play—a necessary component to this season—and maneuver a complicated schedule, the Tigers should be competing for the rights to play for the Sears Trophy. If not? Then the criticism that Miles continues to receive will be warranted.

Quarterbacks

There were high hopes heading into the season about the improvement of the quarterback play. Steve Kragthorpe was working wonders with Jordan Jefferson and priming him to finally tap the athletic potential that exists in his 6'5" frame, however, Kragthorpe has had to reduce his role due to a battle with Parkinson's disease and LSU fans are hopeful that he will still be able to tutor Jefferson throughout the season, but his health must come first.

The main concern revolving around Jefferson was the incredible regression he suffered between his sophomore and junior campaigns. He threw 17 touchdowns, compared to only 10 interceptions as a sophomore, but last season his touchdowns reduced to seven and his interceptions increased to 10. Could the pressure from the previous season's successes have played a problem with the mental aspect of the game? 

Whatever the case, Jefferson must perform better than he did during the spring game and return to being a mobile quarterback that is able to accurately get the ball to his targets. If not, he will be pushed toward the sidelines by Zach Mettenberger and Jarrett Lee. 

Mettenberger, a JUCO transfer who started his career at Georgia, arrived in Baton Rouge with undoubted talent, but questions continually arise about his maturity. The 6'5", 250 pounder possesses a cannon for an arm and has the football IQ to succeed at this level, but it will be tough for him to contribute immediately. Sure, he shredded JUCO defenses last season for 32 touchdowns, but that is a far cry from attempting to attack a Nick Saban led defense. 

Jarrett Lee will provide an experienced third-teamer or emergency back-up, if needed. He has shown the ability to win ball games throughout his career and has the ability to win ball games, if called upon.

Overall, this unit has depth and talent, but can the talent play to its potential? If so, this unit will improve greatly upon the numbers they placed on the board in 2010.

Running Backs

The unexpected departure of Steven Ridley to the NFL would have concerned many coaches around the country. It's not easy to replace nearly 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns by a tailback, but Miles has little worries for one of his deepest and most talented positions—led by the talented Spencer Ware.

Ware is a 5'11", 230 pound rock that flashed his skills on limited touches in the Cotton Bowl versus Texas A&M. He compiled 102 yards on only 10 carries and flashed the skills needed to be the starting running back at LSU. He continued his progression with a tremendous spring and firmly implanted himself into the starting role. Ware is slippery, yet can run straight over you or use his excellent speed to run past you. He is the total package and has a very bright future in the Tigers program, however, he is not the only talented back in this unit. 

Michael Ford, who actually received more carries than Ware in 2010, has shown the skills needed to get on the field and he will be pushing Ware for playing time from the outset, along with Alfred Blue and Jakhari Gore. Gore had a tremendous spring and the 5'9", 175 pound cousin of 49er running back Frank Gore has all kinds of speed to contribute to this talented corps.

Miles has also brought in another talented freshman to add to the fray. Kenny Hillard, a 5'11", 230 pound ball of talent, arrived in the spring and has the size and talent to contribute immediately, if needed. The high-school prep star amassed over 8,500 yards during his career and has the talent to be a future star.

Even without Ridley, this group has enough talent to be one of the most talented backfields in the SEC and the country.

Receivers

The shoddy quarterback play throughout the 2010 season was hard to swallow for the LSU faithful, considering the talent that was available for the quarterbacks to use as targets. This season, they return everyone but Terrence Toliver from that group, but they will need much better play from their quarterback to show their true talent and a revamped offense may provide the tools needed to do just that. 

Rueben Randle, a 6'4", 210 pound wide-out, returns to lead the way and is ready to explode onto the national scene. He has the height and speed needed to dominate collegiate defensive backfields and, if Jefferson can get him the ball, Randle will have an unbelievable season. He was one of the most talented players in the country coming out of high school and it will be his time to show the country why he was rated so highly. Another highly ranked prep prospect will be joining Randle on the field, Russell Shepard. 

Shepard has attempted to play several different positions, but the coaches finally settled on placing the former quarterback at wide receiver and he is poised for a breakout season. Last season was a struggle during his transition year, but  the 6'1", 195 pound stud put in plenty of time over the summer to improve his game.

Several other receivers will be fighting the battle to get on the field, including Kadron Boone, Chris Tolliver, James Wright and a couple of incoming freshmen that are considered among the best in the country, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham. 

The Tigers also hope to receive production from the tight-end position from DeAngelo Peterson. The 6'4", 245 pound tight-end has been showing flashes of talent, but has yet to produce a breakout season and Miles and company hope 2011 is the season he comes to play.

There is so much quality depth and talent in the Tigers receiving corps, it's hard to imagine they will not produce better than the 2010 season. 

Offensive Line

The LSU offensive line possesses a ton of talent, depth and experience needed to be one of the most prominent lines in the entire country. The Tigers lost only one man, Joe Barksdale, from their two-deep in 2010, and return multiple starters that were capable of blowing teams off the line a year ago.

Will Blackwell and Josh Dworaczyk will man the guard positions and will receive plenty of help from Josh Wilford and Matt Branch. The Tigers have four talented guard prospects who can all provide a solid push in the running game and are solid pass blockers. P.J. Lonergan returns to man the center position and he will be backed by T-Bob Hebert. Lonergan was tremendous in his first season at the center position and he provided solid leadership and knockdown ability. 

Alex Hurst and Chris Faulk appear to have the tackle positions manned. Hurst is a monster of a man, standing 6'6", 335 pounds and has the ability to be a next level tackle. He has tremendous hands and will be a tough run for opposing defenders. 

Overall, this unit will be one of the best in the SEC and the country. They should have zero problems proving a push in the run or protecting the quarterback in passing downs. 

Defensive Line

Few schools have had more than three All-Americans in their history, yet LSU is looking to replace three All-Americans in a season and appear ready to do so with just a few hiccups. Drake Nevis, Kelvin Sheppard and Patrick Peterson were all tremendous in 2010 and throughout their career, but Miles and company have recruited well enough that they can transition nicely from devastating departures, especially on the defensive line.

The Tigers have certainly become known as the University of the Defensive Linemen, where the Tigers have had a  player drafted for eight straight seasons. The 2011 unit will be lacking experience, but they will make up for it in raw ability and talent at all the positions, including incoming freshman Anthony Johnson. 

Johnson has been labeled by every recruiting service as the number one tackle in the country, and many expect to see his 6'3", 300 pounds on the field early and often. He wowed the coaching staff in the spring and has continued his progress throughout the summer and into opening practice. Playing beside Michael Brockers will alleviate a lot of pressure on the young gun as well. 

Brockers is ready to have a breakout year, following a campaign in which he shined in spot and mop-up duty behind two of the country's best, Nevis and Livingston. Brockers is a 6'6", 300 pound tackle, who was excellent when called upon and is beyond ready to start at this level. Bennie Logan and Ego Ferguson will provide depth and both are talented enough that they would start at most schools around the country.

The Tigers are loaded at defensive end and have four players that are all talented enough to start right now. Sam Montgomery was becoming a terror early in his freshman campaign and returns healthy and ready to become the Tigers most dominant pass rusher. Kendrick Adams, Lavar Edwards and Barkevious Mingo round out the rotation and will provide a quality, athletic player on the field at all times. 

LSU does not rebuild defensive lines, they reload.

Linebackers

Unlike the defensive line, the linebacker corps is a bit of a question mark heading into 2011. They are inexperienced, the talent is not the equivalent of the defensive line and they could have some growing pains throughout the season. They will rely heavily upon senior Ryan Baker to lead the unit and help increase the maturation process throughout the season. 

The 6'0", 230-pound Baker is a tremendously heady player with an unheralded toughness. He played several games in 2010 with a broken jaw—that is the kind of toughness that earns a leadership role. Baker will be joined by Karnell Hatcher and Stefan Francois in the back three of the front seven. Francois started all 13 games last season and brings a ton of athleticism to the linebacker position, along with Hatcher.

Hatcher is making the move from safety and earned the starting nod over Kevin Minter, quicker than many expected. Hatcher is small in stature, 6'2", 212 pounds, but he can still pack a wallop and is one of the best sure tacklers on the team. He can really add a lot of explosiveness to this group, especially as he continues to improve throughout the transition. 

The aforementioned starters are all talented and should perform admirably. However, there is hardly any experienced depth behind the unit. 

Trevon Randle, D.J. Welker and Luke Munice are all talented true/redshirt freshmen that are lacking the experience needed to expect much production this season. They are all listed to play behind Minter and Hatcher, so the health of this unit will be extremely important toward a successful season.

Defensive Backs

Replacing one of the best cornerbacks in school history will be no easy task, but the Tigers appear to be ready to replace and thrive. Tyrann Mathieu is poised to replace Peterson as the teams lock-down corner. The young sophomore put forth a tremendous effort during his freshman campaign, stuffing the stat sheet in every category and showing an innate talent to be all over the field. Mathieu will be joined at corner back by the veteran Morris Claiborne.

Claiborne had the luxury of playing next to Peterson last season and was targeted 99.9 percent of the time teams went to the air. Considering the situation, he performed admirably and was named a Preseason First Team All-SEC selection for his play in 2010. Claiborne is a ball hawk and has developed himself into a shutdown corner that will now be the one wishing the quarterback would throw in his direction.

Brandon Taylor will hold the back line of the secondary and, if he can stay healthy, will be one of the best strong safeties in the conference. The 6'0", 195 pound Taylor doesn’t hit with great force, but when healthy, he has terrific range and timing with three years of starting experience at strong safety providing stability and leadership. Taylor will be joined in in the first line of the two-deep by Craig Logston at free safety.

Logston was a Parade All-American and had high expectations entering 2010, but the injury bug derailed his season. He entered spring practice healthy and showed the flashes of what was to come this season. Eric Reid will provide quite a luxury behind Logston.  Reid showed a knack for making the smart, heady play in 2010 and could push Logston throughout the season.

He will be joined in the two-deep by Tharold Simon and Ron Brooks, rounding out another tremendous secondary for the Tigers.

Final Synopsis

The talent exists for a tremendous run from the LSU Tigers this season, but will it happen? The Tigers have been known to lose games that they shouldn't and derail a season that has the potential to lead to something much larger than a Cotton Bowl, but will Les Miles be able to lead them to those higher goals?

The most stupid, smart coach that will really have to mess up this season to win less than 10 games and prevent this team from competing with Alabama for a chance to play for the Sears Trophy.  This team is too talented on offense, too nasty on defense and ready to take the SEC by storm.

Will they beat Alabama and be Sports-at-Work's pick to make the BCS Championship game? Check back later this week and find out!

Last Year's Record: 11-2

Projected 2011 Record: 11-1