Athlon's Top Ten

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Texas A&M
7. Iowa State
8. Cincinnati
9. Oregon
10. North Carolina

LSU is ranked #17.
As rotten encores go, LSU's 2020 season was the equivalent of the Rolling Stones hitting the stage to entertain a cheering throng and forgetting how to play "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." The Tigers followed up their 2019 undefeated national title run by going 5-5, and while some people were furious with the performance, others accepted that the huge exodus of talent from the championship outfit produced a somewhat logical outcome.
Since Ed Orgeron and his staff have recruited extremely well in recent years, there is definitely talent all over the roster, and with 16 starters back, LSU is well positioned. The question is whether the Tigers can prevent Texas A&M from becoming the SEC West's clear No. 2. If QB Myles Brennan is healthy, that's big news. He'll work behind a veteran offensive line and will enjoy throwing to Kayshon Boutte and Jaray Jenkins. LSU has plenty of talent along the defensive line, and CB Derek Stingley Jr. is first rate. There is no reason for long-term panic in Baton Rouge since it appears as if last year was an aberration, but now that Orgeron has the band back together, it must make sure it can remember how to win again.

Hot-Seat Coaches

1. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech
2. Matt Wells, Texas Tech
3. Clayton Helton, USC
4. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
   
5. Chip Kelly, UCLA
6. Dino Babers, Syracuse
7. Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee
8. Doug Martin, New Mexico State
9. Dana Dimel, UTEP
10. Chip Lindsey, Troy

Under Transfers to Watch
LB Mike Jones Jr. Clemson to LSU
A four-star recruit in 2018, Jones was a sold contributor in 28 games for Clemson, but he could blossom into a star in Baton Rouge, much in the same way that fellow LB Jabril Cox did in his transfer season for LSU in 2020.

Breakout Players
Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU
Terrace Marshall Jr.'s decision to opt out of the final three games of 2020 gave Boutte an opportunity to showcase why he should be the No. 1 target for LSU in 2021. Boutte was targeted 42 times over the final three contest and caught 27 passes for 527 yards and four scores.

Only LSU Players on Athlon's Preseason All-America Team
First team offense – K Cade York
First team defense – CB Derek Stingley Jr.
Second team offense - WR Kayshon Boutte
Third team defense - CB Eli Ricks
Tigers ranked in the Top Ten at their positions:
Kayson Boutte #10 WR
Ed Ingram #7 G
Ali Gaye #7 DE
Derek Stingley Jr. #1 CB
Eli Ricks #9 CB
Cade York #1 K

LSU Unit Rankings in Top 10 Nationally
#8 Defensive Line
#2 Defensive Backs

ATHLON'S SEC PICKS

SEC WEST	SEC EAST
Alabama Texas A&M LSU Ole Miss Auburn Arkansas Mississippi State	Georgia Florida Missouri Kentucky Tennessee South Carolina Vanderbilt

LSU players on Athlon's All-SEC Teams:

• 1st team offense
  PK Cade York
  WR Kayshon Boutte
• 1st team defense
  DB Derek Stingley
• 2nd team offense
  OL Ed Ingram
• 2nd team defense
  DL Ali Gaye
  CB Eli Ricks
• 3rd team defense
  LB BJ Ojulari

LSU's Units Ranking in the SEC

• #5 QBs
• #9 RBs
• #6 Receivers
• #4 O-Line
• #4 D-Line
• #6 LBs
• #2 DBs

Excerpts from full page write-up on LSU
PROJECTION: 9-3, 5-3 SEC
Ed Orgeron hired five new coaches, including new coordinators, after the Tigers drastically regressed on both sides of the ball. "You've got young coordinators who want to prove themselves that are very hungry," Orgeron says.
New defensive coordinator Daronte Jones - a first-time play-caller - welcomes nine starters back, including arguably the best cornerback tandem in college football.
Orgeron says that the work of climbing back up the mountain starts with him, in effect admitting that he as much as anyone took a victory lap in 2020.
"I'm not going to let things slip by," he says. "Not one thing. I'm going to identify it and tell the coaches. They might think nothing's good enough, but I'm going to be hands-on. I'm watching every piece of film. They're going to have to explain to me, 'What are we doing? How are we doing it? And why are we doing it?' And they understand that."
Miscommunication and a general lack of chemistry plagued the 2020 LSU offensive line. The group is working on the former. "We didn't come back just to go through the motions and mess around," says (C Liam) Shanahan. "We're trying to attack every day." Orgeron says that under offensive coordinator Jake Peetz, the Tigers are committed to working out of five-man protections to free up more receiver targets. "We're not keeping in a tight end," he says. "We're not keeping a back in. I want five guys out and let them roll. We've got to win our one-on-ones."
LSU's defensive front is loaded with experience. The Tigers are confident that they can go eight deep with a rotation that includes promising underclassmen. The Tigers have a new D-line coach in 13-year NFL veteran Andre Carter, previously the D-line coach with the New York Jets. D coordinator Jones is hoping to bring a physical style of play back to an LSU program that has always prided itself on its defense. "We want to minimize error, make sure we're overcommunicating and have an attacking style of defense where we dictate the terms and play fast," he says.
Contending for the SEC West title again seems unlikely in '21 with the transition on both sides of the ball and a road date at Alabama.
Postseason: Citrus Bowl vs Iowa

Opposing Coaches Size up LSU
"This team is hard to understand from the outside. ... The quote from Ed about not interviewing his coordinators before he hired them, man, you could really tell that's the truth if you look at last season. There's a lot going on here with the amount of talent they turned over, the amount of staff and then just the title hangover and 'rat poison' problems you get after a season like that, but none of that explains how bad that defense was. ... That was an ego problem between coaches. What you see on film is a unit that's convinced they're more talented and doesn't adjust. That is 100 percent coaching. When you have a guy like Derek Stingley Jr., a good player, looking so out of position and not getting calls, that's on you as a coach. ... The offense was pretty good, really good for what they lost in opt-outs. Peetz is a play at bringing back Joe Brady, honestly. The upside is he's not going to fit a system over top what they've been doing. Same on defense, really. You have really nice pieces, so it's not about fitting a scheme as it is about creating consistency. You can't have a pass rush without an effective secondary. They just didn't look like they were in sync at all. ... You cannot hide from a lack of continuity, and that's what they've been doing for years. The difference between this program and Bama is that when Bama turns over six or seven coaches in a year, the message is the same, the systems are the same, and there's a lot more bodies in the building to keep the kids consistent. LSU has risen and fallen with their assistant coaches and not their head coach."