We all know about the historic offense that the LSU Tigers fielded in 2023. Led by the Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels, the Tigers were nearly impossible to stop on offense. However, not only did LSU lose Jayden Daniels, but they lost their two leading receivers in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., their leading running back in Logan Diggs, and their offensive coordinator in Mike Denbrock.
I don't care who you are or who you have to replace them, that's a tall task for anybody.
We got the chance to talk to Brian Kelly for the first time this spring after the Tigers second day of spring camp, and one of the first questions he was asked was about the offense and how it's going to look this year with Garrett Nussmeier and Joe Sloan leading the charge. He said their focus will continue to be finding the best playmakers and finding the best way to get them to ball.
One of the biggest moves of the offseason for the Tigers was the promotion of Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton to co-offensive coordinator. Though they share the same title, it is expected that Sloan will be the play caller.
Kelly was asked about what went into the decision to promote Sloan to play caller, and he said it came down to familiarity, his understanding of what Kelly wants in an offense and his leadership.
With a new quarterback and offensive coordinator, you might expect to see some changes in philosophy, but for the most part, we can expect this year's offense to look somewhat similar to last year's.
Obviously, there will be less quarterback runs and more rushes from the actual running backs, but they still expect to attack their opponents similarly to last season; with down field shots and a well balanced passing and rushing attack. What is going to change is who's making the plays, and they're going to find ways to utilize their players strengths while sticking to their offensive philosophy.
There is still a long way to go until the start of the season, but it seems Kelly, Sloan and Nussmeier are all on the same page about what the offense is going to look like in 2024.
They've got the players and coaches to have a lethal offense, they just need to put it together on the field before their trip to Vegas.