LSU Players Feel Leadership and Team Camaraderie Never Been Better in Football Program
At this point a year ago, the Tigers were coming off of the greatest season the college game has ever seen. From a Heisman winner in Joe Burrow leading LSU to heights they never imagined to one of the most all-around potent offenses in college football history, the Tigers had tremendous shoes to fill coming into the 2020-21 season.
With a pandemic in the mix and just an entirely new starting unit on both ends of the field, things just couldn’t click for Ed Orgeron’s group last fall.
Now, the tide has turned for LSU coming into the 2021 season with familiar faces stepping up and taking the next step to make this Tigers team shake back to what they are fully capable of accomplishing.
Offensive linemen Austin Deculus and Ed Ingram know the work that needs to be done in order to compete for a national title as the two have stepped up to lead this team and change the mentality from last year to now.
“It’s not as much joking around and playing around in meetings and walkthroughs and stuff as it was last year,” Ingram said. “Last season, we had a lot of jokesters and a lot of younger guys playing around, a lot of older guys not stepping up saying anything.”
From a leadership perspective, Ingram has seen this unit step up and put their foot down to ultimately bring back the energy this team administered all throughout their national championship run.
“We had no leadership last year,” Ingram said. “This year we have a ton of leadership. We’re tired of losing.”
The Tigers standard is not going 5-5 like Orgeron’s group performed a season ago, it’s competing to their highest capabilities. “One Team, One Heartbeat.”
Leadership plays a pivotal role in success, but overall camaraderie of a team is the deciding factor between average and title contender. Playing for each other and not just your individual success is what brings a team to their highest potential.
This year, the super senior offensive lineman Deculus has seen a shift in this unit’s ability to play for each in order to ultimately bring another title back to Death Valley.
“The overall camaraderie of this team,” Deculus said. “I really don’t think in the past years the team chemistry, it’s always been there, but I think this is the most spoken out it has been to how Coach O has said how united and ‘One Team, One Heartbeat’ it is. I think this is the best example of that.”
The energy of this LSU locker room has done a 180 since last fall with this squad fully expecting to beat the odds and shock the country. Though still young, the veterans on this team are stepping up to bring this Tigers team back to the standard of what is expected in Death Valley.
With two players who have experienced the highs and lows of what college football has to offer in Deculus and Ingram leading the charge, expectations are high heading into Sept. 4th’s season opener against UCLA. As this team continues finding their groove and the veterans take charge, this LSU group has the chance to be special this season.
