Watch: LSU Baseball Welcomes Coach Jay Johnson to Alex Box Stadium

Paul Mainieri's office was bare, the hallways empty and yet Alex Box had new life to it as the Tigers' 15-year coach was there to welcome Jay Johnson to Baton Rouge.

Day 1 ✅ pic.twitter.com/3IbauxqWtV
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) June 27, 2021

The video definitely symbolizes the passing of the torch for the most prestigious college baseball program in the country. Johnson touched down in Louisiana on Saturday and started to get a lay of the land that will be his new home as he hopes to lead LSU back to Omaha.

With a roster filled with promising young talent, those are the goals for players like Dylan Crews and Tre Morgan, two of college baseball's best returning players in 2022. The expectations for the lead man in charge are always lofty, sometimes almost too towering to live up to because of the insane run the program went on under Skip Bertman in the 1990's. For the last 15 years, those Omaha or bust expectations have fallen on Mainieri's shoulders.

"There's a lot expected of you," Mainieri said after the season ending loss to Tennessee. "It's an awesome fanbase and a lot of people that love LSU baseball. Have a lot of resources, a great administration but you have to be confident in yourself and you can't listen to the criticism too much. You have to stick by what you believe and do it your way."

There's no doubt that Johnson will be feeling those pressures to compete right away and has already showed some early signs that the program will hit the ground running once he's officially announced on Monday afternoon.

"I tried to do that without being arrogant with people. I've tried to show people how important they are to me, our team and our program and people are passionate about LSU baseball," Mainieri said. "Don't confuse their passion with criticism because people are passionate about the program and you can't take it personal. Just be confident and go do your thing."

Photo courtesy of LSUsports.