With Major Resources Committed to Offensive Line, What Holes Does LSU Need to Plug?
In this story:
LSU spent considerable resources reshaping the future of this offensive line room. It's why back in December when Brian Kelly was introduced as the next head coach, the offensive line was the group that came up most often in needing repairs.
The Tigers lost all five starters across the line, with Cam Wire and Garrett Dellinger returning as really the lone linemen with significant playing experience for the purple and gold in 2021. Kelly acted quickly, first retaining offensive line coach Brad Davis and securing the signings of freshmen Will Campbell, Emery Jones, Bo Bordelon and Fitzgerald West.
But it was the work Kelly and Davis did in landing key transfers like tackle Miles Frazier and senior Tre'Mond Shorts that leads LSU to believe the rebuild will come a bit quicker heading into 2022. Of course fresh faces don't magically make for an improved group and certainly most true freshmen need some time to mature and get acclimated to the SEC.
But a full spring and summer under Davis' guidance should really be the difference in getting this group back to a respectable level. Frazier, the freshman All-American from a year ago figures to plug in as an immediate starter at one of the tackle spots, at least that's the hope.
However possibly even more intriguing is who LSU positions to take over that center spot in the middle. It's one of the most important positions on the field and certainly that camaraderie between the o-line and the quarterback starts with that center-quarterback relationship.
LSU currently doesn't have many returning players on the roster with center experience other than Charles Turner, who was injured a lot last year and is more of a plug and play linemen than anything else. The one player who makes the most sense is Shorts, the East Tennessee transfer who has 43 games of college experience under his belt.
Much like LSU's last center Liam Shanahan, Shorts comes in with a track record of being very versatile and makes a ton of sense to earn reps at center this spring. Having a veteran in the middle of that o-line is always a smart move for any college program and it'll be interesting to see what Kelly and Davis ultimately decide with that position.
Starting to answer a few of the questions up front will be a main goal this spring but as long as there's progress made and good data collected, there won't be a rush to make any significant decisions until the fall. There are a lot of new faces on this line so it's expected that it'll take time to build up that chemistry no matter who's lined up on the line of scrimmage.
It's expected to be a really competitive spring at many positions with a new coaching staff and fresh eyes to watch all of the talent. Certainly offensive line will be one of the main priorities to follow in year one under Kelly as his Notre Dame teams always produced elite offensive lines.
If he can have a similar effect in Baton Rouge, then the Tigers' offense will be in a much better place to get its athletes in space and allow whoever's behind center to carve up defenses come this fall.
