2020 LSU Football Position Breakdown Part 5: Offensive Line
As the dust began to settle following the Tigers 42-25 national championship win over Clemson, it became clear that one of the areas LSU would need to rebuild was the unit that was undoubtedly the most improved throughout the 2019 season.
After two years of being chastised for a lack of production up front, the 2019 offensive line, stocked full of juniors and seniors, decided enough was enough. Week after week early on in the season, the same question seemed to be asked.
Can they do it against Texas? Can they hold up against Auburn? Can Florida be the team to get pressure on Joe Burrow? As the weeks went on those questions and concerns people raised were always answered by the o-line.
"They're unreal," Burrow said after the SEC Championship win over Georgia. "They've been unreal all year. They're one of the most improved groups I've ever been around. They took that criticism from last year to heart."
The first people Burrow thanked at his Heisman speech were his o-line teammates. For its efforts in 2019, the o-line was awarded the Joe Moore Award, given to the best unit in the country.
But like any great season, any historic season, the veterans most responsible for it are in high demand. In addition to the loss of seniors Damien Lewis, Adrian Magee and Badara Traore, juniors Lloyd Cushenberry and Saahdiq Charles decided to chase their NFL dreams a year early and declare for the 2020 draft.
All that remains from LSU's starting offensive line in 2019 is senior tackle Austin Deculus. Deculus will be pushed into a position he hasn't really been in before, a position of leadership as LSU looks to retool a unit that was the front line of a historic offensive season in college football.
Projected Starters: Left Tackle-Dare Rosenthal (sophomore), Left Guard- Ed Ingram (senior), Center-Chasen Hines (junior), Right Guard- Kardell Thomas (redshirt freshman), Right Tackle- Austin Deculus (senior)
With four of five positions open for battle it's nearly impossible to give an accurate portrayal of what this unit will look like come opening kick on Sep. 5 against UTSA.
Rosenthal started three games at left tackle for Charles throughout the course of the 2019 season and did a fine job against Mississippi State, Utah State and Northwestern State. In a recent radio interview with "Off the Bench," coach Ed Orgeron said that Rosenthal would be the starting left tackle in 2020.
"Dare Rosenthal is going to be our starting left tackle," Orgeron said. "I expect him to have a big year.”
Ingram will pencil in at one of the starting guard spots in 2020, most likely at left guard after spending much of the season behind Adrian Magee. When Magee was inserted at right guard during the Oklahoma game or at left tackle for Charles, Ingram was the lineman that would slide into that left guard spot.
With this being his first full offseason with the team since 2017, Ingram has the talent to be the best lineman on the roster.
At center, LSU is losing one of its biggest leaders in Cushenberry, someone that will be very hard to replace on and off the field. The Tigers don't have many options but Chasen Hines seems like the guy heading into spring camp.
During fall camp in 2019, Hines was battling with Magee for that starting left guard spot before ultimately losing out to the more experienced senior. As a result, Hines moved to backup center behind Cushenberry but there really hasn't been much of an update on how he's progressing at the position change.
It'll be interesting to see what kind of leap he makes as spring ball approaches but right now that's a position that is up for grabs.
Right guard is another position for the taking as the two most likely candidates are redshirt freshmen Kardell Thomas and Anthony Bradford. Thomas was a highly regarded freshman in 2019 but a knee injury knocked him out for his entire first year with the Tigers.
Bradford is another young prospect the coaching staff is high on which will create a fun position battle to watch unfold come spring.
The right tackle position is the only no-brainer on the offensive line as Deculus proved this year he could be a reliable starter after a rough first season as a starter. Being the only full time veteran starter from the championship team, it will be interesting to see what kind of leadership role he takes on with the unit.
A look at the depth chart: Marcus Dumervil (freshman tackle), Charles Turner (freshman center), Anthony Bradford (redshirt freshman guard), Xavier Hill (freshman guard), Cameron Wire (redshirt sophomore tackle)
As you can see, the group behind the projected starters isn't a very experienced one as most have yet to play a game with the Tigers. Dumervil and Hill come in as the 2020 freshmen most likely to push for a starting spot.
Dumervil in particular is a four-star prospect that could push Rosenthal at left tackle for snaps but inexperience is the downfall for any young offensive lineman in college.
The Bradford, Thomas and Hill competition at right guard is the most enticing as Ingram is a shoe in to lock down the left guard spot barring injury. The position is so wide open at the moment that naming a starter is probably the most difficult of all of the position battles up for grabs, next to running back.
Tackle Cameron Wire and center Charles Turner are both players that have a little experience, appearing in six and three games in 2019 but it's also unclear if they'll be ready to take on a bigger workload. The spring practices will be important for every single one of these inexperienced linemen.
The offensive line will go into 2020 facing many question marks that recent LSU offensive lines have faced, only this time a lack of experience, not production, will be be the driving force of conversation. Spring ball should provide a little more clarity into what a retooled offensive line could look like.
