2019 Ridiculously Early LSU Football Depth Chart (1 Viewer)

[MLU]

I'm not certain we will see any immediate impact players signing for the Feb Signing Day, so I'm getting a jump on a waaaaay too early depth chart...

(Noobs* / Returning Starters)

QB: Burrow, Brennan, Sale, Parrish
RB: Edwards-Helaire, Emery*, Davis, Fournette, Curry
FB: Carter
WR: Chase, Sullivan, Jones
LT: Charles, Wire, Rosenthal
LG: Hines, Thomas*, Bradord*
C: Cushenberry, Smith
RG: Lewis, Campbell, Perry*
RT: Deculus, Magee, Traore
TE: Pettigrew, Moss, McMath, McLendon*, Sheffer, Moffitt, Turner*
WR: Jefferson, Dillon, Jenkins, Provens
WR: Marshall, Anderson, Palmer*

Some things that stand out for offense is that most of the O-Line is coming back, as well as the receivers. I'm not sure if this is good or bad because of how both groups performed last season. Charles, Cushenberry and Lewis did well last season. Deculus had moments of competency, but mostly he was just better than Magee and Traore. The issue there isn't the talent, but 1) health and 2) performance. As a unit, they did not execute well and that will have to make a jump this season or we will get more of the same as in 2018.

I am hoping that the improvement at WR will be realized through an entire offseason and Spring Practice with Burrow. As the season progressed, you can observe definite improvement in the QB/WR play. Emery and Davis will be hard to keep off the field. CEH has proven to be durable and well-rounded. I think we could see Provens move from RB to WR where his open-field skills are best utilized. Out of all the groups, I expect TE to make the biggest leap. With a healthy Pettigrew and Moss, this will be the best opportunity to have actual offensive weapons at the TE position since Dickson and/or Lafleur.


DE: Logan, Thomas, Cotton
NT: Fehoko, Shelvin, Ika*, Livingston
DE: Lawrence, Farrell, Jenkins, Evans
OLB: Divinity, Brooks*, Thornton
ILB: Phillips, Clark, McCallum
ILB: Queen, Baskerville, Starks
OLB: Chaisson, Anthony, Moore, Cherry, Scott
CB: Fulton, Joseph, Kirklin, Jones
SS: Monroe, Harris, Stevens
FS: Delpit, Stevens, Lewis
CB: Vincent, Stingley*, Neatherly, Flott

Chaisson is the single-biggest improvement defensively next year. That threat for pass rushing was the biggest defensive shortcoming in 2018. As a result of not having Chaisson, Aranda was forced to find a pass rush from somewhere else. Divinity made a big leap in p[arse rushing skills and that figures to pair favorably with Chaisson's return. I think Phillips slides right into Devin's role and Queen continues to improve by stepping into Phillips' spot. Baskerville will play a lot I think as he has fantastic instincts and athleticism. I would bet that he plays as much as Queen. The D-Line will remain a strength with the returning starters and more experienced depth backing them up. My hope would be that Shelvin step into the role of starting NT so we can turn Fehoko loose at his natural spot at DE opposite Lawrence. I expect Lawrence to have a big season.

In the secondary, Stingley sees the field a lot and is starting opposite Fulton mid-way through the season. I think a finally healthy Eric Monroe offers a serious upgrade over John Battle. Even though he's not a starter, Jacoby Stevens becomes a chess piece like Delpit. The CB depth isn't quite there in terms of experience, so Aranda uses a S in nickle packages more often than not and spends 60% of his time calling secondary heavy schemes. Delpit and Stevens shifting from LBer to S, Vincent and Joseph shifting from CB to S, Harris and Lewis filling in at S gives this secondary some serious flexibility.


KR: Edwards-Heliare, Emery
PR: Stingley, Kirklin
K: Culp, York*, Atkins
P: Von Rosenberg, Growden

I also think we see Stingley return punts next season. Waiting until PP2 was a Junior to return punts was a mistake that Miles admitted later. Orgeron isn't going to make the same mistake with a playmaker like Stingley. I think Kirklin has an outside shot at the spot, too. If he works on his hands, he is electric in the return game. LSU really needs to find productivity at that position again to start winning the field position game. I also think Culp will have another shot at the FG job. Hopefully he picked up some things from Tracey. A true freshman kicker is a disaster waiting to happen, IMO regardless of leg strength. York can really boom it, but it's not the same in college stadiums and defenses.

 

[Wiggoes]

What do you think the chances are that someone is able to supplant Jefferson at starting WR? Personally, I've never trusted him and he just seems to me to be a huge liability with not enough upside to offset the mistakes he makes.

 

[MLU]

I think Jefferson is easily the most reliable receiver on the roster right now.

 

[Wiggoes]

Yikes. Ok, so I guess that's a no....

 

[MLU]

Yikes. Ok, so I guess that's a no....

Lol.

I think at the end of the season he has some focus issues and dropped some balls that hurt the offense. I certainly get that there are guys who are taller, faster, flashier, etc. All Jefferson does is get open and make catches. He is definitely the team's best route runner. He has Burrow's trust and he gets open. If you listen to people talk about him, he is a very hard worker at his craft. I think he probably also benefits from having grown up with two brothers that played QB and DB at the collegiate level. I'd love for the more physically gifted guys to step up to make big plays, to be better route runner and get open, but they don't yet.

I do think Chase and Marshall take a big leap next season. They made progress through this season. I'd like to see Dee and Steph take a leap as well, but after seeing very little improvement in those two in 2 years, I don't know why year 3 will be different.

 

[Wiggoes]

Lol.

I think at the end of the season he has some focus issues and dropped some balls that hurt the offense. I certainly get that there are guys who are taller, faster, flashier, etc. All Jefferson does is get open and make catches. He is definitely the team's best route runner. He has Burrow's trust and he gets open. If you listen to people talk about him, he is a very hard worker at his craft. I think he probably also benefits from having grown up with two brothers that played QB and DB at the collegiate level. I'd love for the more physically gifted guys to step up to make big plays, to be better route runner and get open, but they don't yet.

I do think Chase and Marshall take a big leap next season. They made progress through this season. I'd like to see Dee and Steph take a leap as well, but after seeing very little improvement in those two in 2 years, I don't know why year 3 will be different.

I see. I was just curious what your thoughts were about him and the players coming up behind him. I don't watch every LSU game, but I caught a few this season it just seemed like when I did watch and focused on him, I didn't like what I saw at all. And in my opinion he almost single-handedly prevented UCF from getting blown out, allowed them to keep the score close, and almost allowed them an opportunity to complete the comeback by totally bungling the onside kick. Of course it's possible that when I wasn't watching he was blowing it up and I'm just a hater. Like I said, I don't really study LSU much.

 

[MLU]

I see. I was just curious what your thoughts were about him and the players coming up behind him. I don't watch every LSU game, but I caught a few this season it just seemed like when I did watch and focused on him, I didn't like what I saw at all. And in my opinion he almost single-handedly prevented UCF from getting blown out, allowed them to keep the score close, and almost allowed them an opportunity to complete the comeback by totally bungling the onside kick. Of course it's possible that when I wasn't watching he was blowing it up and I'm just a hater. Like I said, I don't really study LSU much.

UCF was definitely his worst game of the season and the first time they had him returning punts, IIRC. You should catch a few more games. He seems to track the ball very well and made some excellent catches.

I get the impression that he oit-works eveyone. It's my understanding that he made it a point to work out with Burrow when he arrived. From what I heard, he was the only one of the receivers to do so and it showed. Burrow looked for him early and often. I didn't see a lot of substance from the other receivers this year. All of that talent is great, but not really useful if you run sloppy routes (Dee, Sullivan), can only play one spot or run a handful of routes well (Chase, Marshall) or hand no connection with the QB (all of them). I'm anxious to see how they progress with a full spring and off-season together with the same offense and play-calling.

 

[lapaz]

UCF was definitely his worst game of the season and the first time they had him returning punts, IIRC. You should catch a few more games. He seems to track the ball very well and made some excellent catches.

I get the impression that he oit-works eveyone. It's my understanding that he made it a point to work out with Burrow when he arrived. From what I heard, he was the only one of the receivers to do so and it showed. Burrow looked for him early and often. I didn't see a lot of substance from the other receivers this year. All of that talent is great, but not really useful if you run sloppy routes (Dee, Sullivan), can only play one spot or run a handful of routes well (Chase, Marshall) or hand no connection with the QB (all of them). I'm anxious to see how they progress with a full spring and off-season together with the same offense and play-calling.

I think Chase surpassed Jefferson as the best WR at the end of the season. He made great strides in the last 2 games in particular. I think LSU will have 2 solid receivers with those 2 playing next year. I don't see a big leap from Sullivan nor Anderson, but they weren't terrible, unlike the previous year, when they seemed to drop a lot more balls. If Marshall or one of the freshmen can step up, then we'll have a dangerous set of WRs, especially if our running game improves and they have to respect our TEs.

 

[MLU]

I think Chase surpassed Jefferson as the best WR at the end of the season. He made great strides in the last 2 games in particular. I think LSU will have 2 solid receivers with those 2 playing next year. I don't see a big leap from Sullivan nor Anderson, but they weren't terrible, unlike the previous year, when they seemed to drop a lot more balls. If Marshall or one of the freshmen can step up, then we'll have a dangerous set of WRs, especially if our running game improves and they have to respect our TEs.

Chase improved, but I do think think he was any more consistent than Jefferson. He also is limited in the routes he runs well, while Jefferson is not. I agree with the rest, though.

I'm not going to dismiss the idea of Anderson and Sullivan making a leap. We have seen players suddenly become consistent in their play over the years. At WR, Dwayne Bowe was maddeningly inconsistent until his final year when he caught just about everything. Even Jarvis Landry struggled his first two years a bit. Most recently, Greg Gilmore was thought to be a lost cause until the light just came on for him his final season.

 

[bclemms]

LSU goes as the defense goes. Losing White isnt going to hurt nearly as bad as most think, Queen is a player and with more snaps he is going to be elite. Losing Greedy will hurt no only because of the talent level but also with depth but our corners as a whole are still top 10 in the country. Delpit is the best player in any secondary in the country. Strong safety will have some experience questions but the talent is there and deep.

Next season I think we will get a pass rush from Chaisson, he has so much to prove and should be extremely motivated so hopefully he comes into the season 100%. The defensive line has depth and quality. What we lack right now is that one DT that dominates and I cant state how important that is in college. If you look at championships, there is an incredible correlation between the best defensive line and winning it all. We have guys that are in position to become dominant and if that can be paired with Chaisson and Divinity then it will more than overcome the loss of Greedy and Delpit will feast roaming the back end.

On offense the passing game should continue to progress due to continuity and the receivers growing up. I dont think Burrow is above average but if he can get the ball out of his hands quick and avoid his streaks of holding the ball too long it will go a long way. Hellaire was the best runner last season but he is physically limited to some extent and we have depth at the position. Emery will be the wildcard. The offensive line is the key. It all starts and ends here. We have to pass block better and be more consistent in the running game. Everybody likes big, nasty lines but a good offensive line should look more like a swiss made watch. Precision and timing with all the little things working together. The best way to get that is continuity but it doesnt matter how long a line is together if the parts dont fit. I'm not sure we have the right parts and it cant get a whole lot worse than what we saw last season. Worse case is we arent losing much and we are getting some gains with added experience. They dont have to be the best line but they cant be physically dominated for 60 minutes when playing a team like Bama and they cant be so bad it makes us one dimensional against other SEC teams. If they can give Burrow enough time to drop back without getting guys in his face right away it should help him from going into panic mode and holding the ball. If they can eliminate allowing defenders to meet the RB at the handoff just half as much and get just a bit more push we will see a decent offense. I think that is very realistic. If this line can take some big steps forward we could be a very good offense for the first time in a long time. Just an average offense that is efficient will go a very long way with this defense.

One thing I feel like can take a massive amount of pressure off of this offense is the play calling. First, we need to pass on first down more often instead of waiting until it is third and long. We have to trust Burrow. Next, we have to give Burrow a relief valve. Too many times we are sending only 2-3 receivers out and if they are covered Burrow has no option but to hold the ball. We need to use a RB as a check. Finally, Burrow is a decent runner but not a guy who can outrun a defense, juke people or run over a LB. Designed QB runs should be just about ripped out of the playbook. They were ineffective last year and Burrow was taking some big shots. It's stupid to risk the health of your QB for so little upside. Let Burrow run from the pocket when receivers are covered and he sees open space but that is about it.

On special teams we have to find some magic in the return game, it would be a big addition for an average offense and an elite defense.

 

[MLU]

Welp. Take Provens entered his name into the transfer portal last week. This week he is charged with rape. Zero tolerance for this **** if guilty.

 

[bclemms]

Welp. Take Provens entered his name into the transfer portal last week. This week he is charged with rape. Zero tolerance for this **** if guilty.

This is why you never go full Cecil Collins.

 

[MLU]

Kristian Fulton was reported back on the field in shorts and helmet.

 

[MLU]

Fulton in full pads today doing drills. Divinity has been practicing at ILB. We also have observations for the O-Line group:

LT: Charles, Rosenthal
LG: Magee, Turner
C: Cushenberry, Smith
RG: Lewis, Smith
RT: Deculus, Traore

No mention of Chasen Hines at RG, although it's possible that the author transposed 75 (Smith) for 57 (Hines) when taking notes at practice. There are also some rumors around the internet that Ed Ingram has been seen at the football facility, although not practicing (yet).

 

[bclemms]

Fulton in full pads today doing drills. Divinity has been practicing at ILB. We also have observations for the O-Line group:

LT: Charles, Rosenthal
LG: Magee, Turner
C: Cushenberry, Smith
RG: Lewis, Smith
RT: Deculus, Traore

No mention of Chasen Hines at RG, although it's possible that the author transposed 75 (Smith) for 57 (Hines) when taking notes at practice. There are also some rumors around the internet that Ed Ingram has been seen at the football facility, although not practicing (yet).

So where is Queen lining up? I really liked the way that kid played down the stretch.