It's spring, so it's time for LSU to plant another new offense

“Did you see all the athletes in space?” asked an excited Ed Orgeron as LSU’s football coach held the door open for me Thursday night after exiting from his opening media conference following the Tigers’ first day of spring practice.

Athletes in space?

Just for a moment, I thought it might be a little-known revolutionary graduate transfer program that Orgeron the recruiter was about to tap into. Maybe he found a Martian who can run the 40 at the speed of light.

But after witnessing the array of potential offensive makers tracking down passes from returning quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Myles Brennan in the Tigers’ initial spring shakedown, I knew exactly why Orgeron was stoked.

Starting his third spring in charge of a program that took an unexpected leap last season when it finished 10-3 overall and ranked No. 6 and No. 7 in the final AP and Coaches polls respectively, it appears Orgeron has an offensive philosophy he truly believes he can build on.

Which is LSU getting up to speed on the run/pass option attack that most other national championship contenders have already mastered.

Orgeron is convinced that the addition of New Orleans Saints’ offensive assistant Joe Brady as the Tigers’ passing game coordinator will aid offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger to up LSU’s scoring ante.

“Steve still coaches the quarterbacks,” Orgeron said Thursday, “but we’re implementing the run/pass options that Joe (Brady) brought in, we’re implementing the Saints’ passing game that Joe brought in.

“Anytime you show Drew Brees running around, our guys get motivated. They believe in Joe. They believe in Steve. I think it’s a tremendous combination.”

Could this have been done a year ago when the Tigers were searching for a starting QB successor to the graduated Danny Etling?

Probably not.

For one, Ensminger was getting his feet wet again as the O-coordinator, revamping an offense that in 2017 under one-and-done O-coordinator Matt Canada had more shifts, motion and deception than the Harlem Globetrotters weave.

Secondly, LSU’s spring last March and April was a three-ring quarterback circus with Brennan, Justin McMillan and Lowell Narcisse battling to replace Etling .

When no QB separated himself in the spring as the clear-cut starter and once Burrow made his decision in May to enter LSU from Ohio State as a graduate transfer with two years remaining eligibility, it became a loser-leave-school for the spring QB trio.

McMillan became a grad transfer at Tulane where he led the Green Wave to a 7-6 record and a Cure Bowl win over Louisiana-Lafayette. Narcisse transferred to Gulf Coast Community College, lost his starting job halfway through the season and signed in December to play for Texas-San Antonio which is coached by former LSU assistant Frank Wilson.

Brennan stayed put and was able to gain a valuable redshirt year forced somewhat by a lower body injury all season that affected his throwing motion.

Meanwhile, Burrow showed grit, poise, smarts and toughness and made just enough plays in the passing game at key moments to throw for 2,894 yards with a 16-to-5 TDs to interception ratio.

He still couldn't prevent LSU’s red zone offense being among the worst in the FBS (Division 1-A) scoring just 31 touchdowns in 60 red zone possessions (52.2 percent).

It was a weakness that probably could have doomed the TIgers to a 7-5 record or worse if not for the automatic placekicking leg of graduate transfer Cole Tracy. He made 29-of-33 field goals including a perfect 13-of-13 inside 29 yards.

LSU finished the 2018 season averaging 32.3 points per game, a figure bloated by its heartbreaking 74-72 seven-overtime loss to Texas A&M in the regular season finale. Take away the 41 points the Tigers scored in those seven overtimes and they averaged just 29.2 points last year.

Yet, a positive developing offensive trait down the stretch was the surprising rushing ability of Burrow, who finished as the team’s third leading rusher. He had 399 yards (despite losing 194 through sacks) and scored seven TDs.

Burrow almost willed LSU to victory in the seven-OT affair at A&M. Lost in the postgame babble of controversial officiating was the fact Burrow turned in one of the greatest overall QB performances in school history.

He had 370 yards total offense, throwing for 270 yards and three TDs and a pair of two-point conversions, and rushing 29 times for 100 yards and three TDs.

Burrow had previously shown flashes of running ability throughput the season. Combine that with the A&M game, and Orgeron was convinced more RPOs was his team’s offensive future.

So, he signed on highly-regarded RPO expert Brady and the Tigers are now on a new offensive adventure that Orgeron thinks will take his program to a championship level.

“I really like the direction of the offense,” Orgeron said Thursday. “They (the quarterbacks) spread the ball around. They got the balls to our playmakers in space and they made plays.

“In 7-in-7, I asked (defensive coordinator) Dave (Aranda), `What do you think (about the offense)?’ He said, `The quarterback knows exactly where to go with the ball.’

“We have two smart quarterbacks in Joe and Myles. They have done a great job of studying all the time, putting in endless hours on offense to get this thing done. I thought they were on fire today.”

Orgeron said Burrow’s experience should accelerate the Tigers’ offensive expansion.

“We can put a lot on him,” Orgeron said. “Joe’s tough. Joe can make decisions. We’re doing a lot of things at the line of scrimmage, letting him check out of plays and letting him handle the offense in a lot of situations.

“We’re running a lot of hurry-up, but Joe is smart and we can do it. We’re running the ball with him, we ran a couple of read options with Joe today and he did a terrific job.”

Also, Brennan’s work in the Tigers’ “Fourth Quarter” off-season training program convinced Orgeron that the third-year sophomore is seriously stepping up his game.

“Myles has gained 11 or 12 pounds,” Orgeron said. “He took a leadership role. He was out there calling the team out, working hard, coming in his own working and studying film.

“I want to see him act like and work like the championship quarterback, and he’s done that. He’s one of the few guys that we would call `elite’ in the `Fourth Quarter.’ If I had to call one elite, it would be Myles.”