Jake Peetz and DJ Mangas Plan to Be Diverse with LSU Football Offense
In 2019, the LSU offense was a spectacle to behold week in and week out because of the preparation and execution that translated to gaudy numbers on Saturday.
What offensive coordinator Jake Peetz and passing game coordinator DJ Mangas want to do above all else in 2021 is maximize the talent that's on the roster. It's why both said during their introductory press conference to expect LSU to be multiple with the offensive schemes and to not stick primarily with the spread offense.
An example Peetz gave was the Carolina Panthers found some success last year when it utilized two running backs out of the backfield as opposed to the more traditional one. Peetz and Mangas both know that it’s easier to fit a scheme to what the players do well, not ask the players to do something they aren’t proficient at.
Orgeron has given the duo free reign to come up with the best possible schemes and to put their abundance of playmakers in space and for a very deep quarterback room to find ways to get the ball to them. Peetz mentioned that the first few days and what will carry into the next several weeks is learning what each individual player does well on offense and devising the schemes around what those players can do.
"What I want to see is our players in the best position to make plays. What are they great at? That's something we've been spending a lot of time with our staff with. What schemes fit our players?" Peetz said. "What's the best way to run the ball? What's the best way to attack? Because that's what we want to do, we want to aggressively attack the defense at all fronts."
"The talent is always here at LSU," Mangas said. "Putting your players in position to succeed, using the whole field from sideline to sideline, making all 11 defenders defend the field. Maximizing the talent that you have, keeping it simple but applying pressure on the defense at the same time. That's the biggest takeaway for me and that's what I look forward to doing with Jake and the offense we have right now."
Peetz and Mangas of course enter a situation where talent won't be the issue. The Tigers have just recently returned four of their starters on the offensive line, have as deep a quarterback room as they've ever had and feature a number of explosive running backs and receivers to help propel the offense to another level.
Finding ways for each quarterback, each running back and each receiver to contribute is a part of the early discussions that are going on with the coaching staff.
"We wanna define what our players do at a very high level and amplify that, we want to adjust it, keep changing it so people can't set their watch to what we're doing and we wanna involve everybody," Peetz said. "If our best personnel grouping requires multiple running backs, let's do it. We have great playmakers here."
"You have to know your answers ahead of time. It's the preparation right now that adds up during the season," Mangas said. "You have a core set of your offense and you lean on that and when you see something maybe you haven't anticipated, you know your answers already because you've prepared. It comes down to preparation and knowing your answers."
Right now, both Peetz and Mangas are in the early stages of getting to know their players and coaching staff while at the same time discussing further about the detailed roles each will carry within the offense. There's plenty of work to be done but it's apparent that Peetz and Mangas have a plan to getting this offense back to where it wants to be.
