Was LSU a one-year fluke with Joe Burrow or does Ed Orgeron have the Tigers built to be a reborn superpower?
Joe Burrow led LSU to the national championship but can Ed Orgeron and the Tigers maintain their excellence or was this a one-year fluke?
Now that we’ve settled who the better Tigers are in the 2019 College Football season, it’s time to look ahead to 2020. LSU capped an improbable season, becoming the second team to finish 15-0 en route to their fourth national championship. Now Orgeron has to make sure his team has staying power.
LSU has been the second or third biggest superpower in the SEC for the better part of the last decade but couldn’t beat Alabama to get out of the West. But the Tide could be turning in the Tigers favor with Tua Tagovailoa declaring for the NFL Draft and Nick Saban having questions at quarterback. Plus, Saban has to figure out how to stop the new-look LSU offense under Joe Brady.
Sure, LSU will be faced with their own quarterback questions with Burrow off to the NFL, but Myles Brennan could be a perfect fit for the wide-open offense that put up record-breaking numbers in Burrow’s first season in the system.
It’ll help to have Biletnikoff Award winner, Ja’Marr Chase back to catch anything thrown in his vicinity. Rising sophomore cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr. might be the best cornerback in the nation already so he’ll make sure the nation’s best secondary this year doesn’t miss too much, despite losing Grant Delpit and Kristian Fulton to the NFL.
The real measuring stick of the longevity of LSU and whether they can be a superpower and rattle off years of sustained success is how well they recruit.
We can say all of that without mentioning LSU’s recruiting classes, many members of last and this year’s class have yet to make their presence felt. To say that the future is bright in Baton Rouge would be an understatement.
Last year’s class was the No. 5 class in the nation with Stingley being the headliner and the 2020 class also checks in at No. 5 with a little movement still to come potentially with the late signing day in February. Arik Gilbert won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award and serves as the signature recruit of this class. LSU always recruited well but with Orgeron’s infectious personality and now a national championship to help influence recruits on top of selling recruits on playing in this offense, it’s safe to think LSU can challenge for the No. 1 class in 2021 and 2022 with this momentum behind them.
The LSU Tigers have the coaching infrastructure to continue rolling. They have the recruits in place to keep it going. Lord knows quarterbacks will want to come play for this team. That’s the recipe for a superpower.
Burrow is leaving but LSU isn’t going anywhere.
Laissez les bons temps rouler, indeed.
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