LSU Coach Ed Orgeron Hoping to See Return of Key Seniors in 2021

All elite college football teams lose significant pieces to the NFL draft. But no program possibly in the history of the sport took a cataclysmic hit like LSU did a season ago. Not only did seniors like Joe Burrow, Rashard Lawrence and Kristian Fulton move on after last year's championship, but also juniors.

It's hard to knock Justin Jefferson, K'Lavon Chaisson, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Patrick Queen or even Grant Delpit for leaving school a year early. They were all high draft picks who are now flourishing in their NFL homes.

Hindsight is 20/20, but LSU could've really used some more returning veteran leadership for this season—guys like Jacob Phillips and Saahdiq Charles to really round out the roster. Of course it also killed the Tigers when Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Shelvin both elected to opt-out of the 2020 season as well.

As a result, this youthful 2020 team has struggled at times finding strong voices in the locker room and on the sidelines when getting behind in games. It's a major reason why when meeting with reporters on Monday, coach Ed Orgeron talked about roster management and more importantly, how an offseason goal is to keep some of the veteran voices around for another year.

"One of our biggest things of roster management is now that we have the extra year, it's keeping a lot of guys for maturity for next year," Orgeron said.

The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility for fall athletes before the 2020 season, meaning that seniors have the option of returning for a fifth year should they so choose. Orgeron is hoping that a number of the Tigers' current seniors will elect to return in 2021.

"We're going to look at our roster management and see where we need to get better in our roster and develop guys, ask guys to stay," Orgeron said. "We've got an extra year with these guys. Some of these guys, I want them to stay, see if I can have them stay, have a maturuer team next year. I know I'm building a championship team, no doubt in my mind."

A few names that immediately come to mind are center Liam Shanahan and defensive linemen like Glen Logan and Neil Farrell. With NFL draft buzz, it's unlikely that linebacker Jabril Cox or safety JaCoby Stevens would elect to return for next season.

Orgeron was asked about Shanahan specifically on Tuesday's edition of Off the Bench, explaining he'd love to have the senior center return for an extra year.

This season has proven veteran leadership matters. LSU is set to welcome another elite recruiting class next season, currently headlined by safety Sage Ryan, linebacker Raesjon Davis and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

Much like the freshmen this season, those guys will need to be shown the ropes. Current true freshmen like Elias Ricks, Arik Gilbert and BJ Ojulari are practically every down players for the purple and gold.

Establishing that culture and developing a team chemistry that players want to return to is a major stepping stone for Orgeron and his tenure if he wants to build a consistent winner in Baton Rouge.

"We have a plan here. I know the people surrounding me are very supportive. We just had one of the best teams in college football last year. We're not that far away," Orgeron said.