LSU's offense now belongs to the Joes
Something historical happened Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
On the opening offensive series, LSU's first five plays were passes thrown by returning starting quarterback Joe Burrow.
Sure, it was just the Tigers' annual spring game, one in which the final score of Purple 17, White 14, meant nothing since there were several players that switched teams as the afternoon progressed.
But the significance of the Tigers willing to throw in any and all down-and-distance situations, from using five-wide receiving sets to dumping the ball to running backs in space, can’t be underplayed.
Not only did Burrow and backup QB Myles Brennan calmly make the right reads, but they threw accurate balls to 11 different receivers including running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Lanard Fournette who combined for seven catches for 43 yards.
Burrow, playing in the first half leading the projected starters on the White team, completed 15-of-25 passes for 159 yards, a TD of 10 yards to Justin Jefferson and an interception picked off by true freshman soon-to-be phenom Derek Stingley Jr.
Brennan, playing for the Purple team with reserves in the first half and for both the Purple and the White in the second half, was 16-of-24 for 212 yards.
“A big emphasis going into spring was the pass game, pass protection, spacing, getting the ball out faster with five and six-man protection, spreading the ball around a bit more,” said Burrow, the fifth-year senior who came to the Tigers last summer as a graduate transfer from Ohio State and led LSU to a 10-3 record. “We gave you guys a sneak peek today. Didn’t show too much.”
With SEC Network TV cameras telecasting the proceedings, there was no way LSU coach Ed Orgeron was going to show a hint of the fresh offensive concepts that new passing game coordinator Joe Brady has added since being hired from the staff of the New Orleans Saints in late January.
“We ran very little RPOs (run-pass option), very little tempo,” Orgeron said. “I like the way we threw the football and spread the ball around.”
The Tigers also had three running backs – Edwards-Helaire (12 rushes for 77 yards, one TD), Fournette (22 for 66) and freshman redshirt Chris Curry (15 for 72, two TDs) – show toughness running between the tackles and burst around the edge.
The best stat of the day was just two penalties out of 115 snaps with the White team not being flagged once.
That may not seem like a big deal, unless you remember last year’s spring where QBs Justin McMillin, Lowell Narcisse and Brennan completed 30-of-61 passes for 512 yards, three TDs and one interception.
Those were nothing but empty numbers when you recall the awful offensive execution.
Even Orgeron, at the time, couldn’t put a positive spin on it.
“Bad snaps, fumbled snaps, jump offsides, guys going the way, missed throws, missed protections, misreads,” Orgeron said that day.
No wonder Orgeron and offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger put the hard sell on Burrow during his mid-May visit to Baton Rouge when he was shopping for a new school.
They needed an experienced, steady hand who first could execute the basics and then gave him more responsibilities as the season progressed.
And now?
“It’s (the difference between) night and day with our plan, night and day with what we’re doing,” Orgeron said. “Then again, we didn’t have Joe Burrow last spring.
“We are further ahead (than last spring) because of Joe. We’re further ahead because of the offensive line. We’re further ahead with the scheme we want to put our players in space and put the ball in their hands. The addition of Joe Brady has been phenomenal.”
Just think back a year ago and how gloomy LSU’s immediate future looked.
There wasn’t a quarterback in camp who separated himself as a starter. There was no experience at running back, not much at receiver and the offensive line definitely needed work.
Who would have imagined Orgeron, a lifelong caffeine freak, would inject life into his offense with a double shot of Joe nine months apart with the transfer of Burrow and the hiring of Brady?
“We’re way ahead of where we were when I got here last year,” Burrow said. “We’re going to keep expanding on these packages. There’s a lot more.”
Make no mistake about it. This is Burrow’s offense.
He has confidence in the scheme (“Everybody is going to like what they see,” he said), his receivers (“It seems like they are open on every play”), his running backs (“Our backs can make really good plays in the run game"), his offensive line (“I’m excited by their improvement), his backup Brennan (“He can come in and the offense wouldn’t miss a beat if I had to go out") and the Brady/Ensminger offensive braintrust (“Really cool to watch them work together, they have ideas and they mesh them together.”)
Both Orgeron and Burrow can barely hide their enthusiasm that Burrow’s academic schedule allows him to practically be an unofficial member of the coaching staff.
“I’m in there (the coaches' offices) a lot more,” Burrow said. “I have a lot more input now those guys trust me for what I do as a player and a leader. I’m excited to give my input more this summer.”
Just the fact LSU finally has an offensive scheme that fits its personnel and is in line with the rest of modern-day college football makes it seem like a long summer until the 2019 season opener against Georgia Southern on Aug. 31 in Tiger Stadium.