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Remember what I said about offseason news as we hit The Gulf?
Well, post-spring top 25s certainly qualify, and a host of them came out this week, with LSU ranging from 12th to 20th, and unanimously third in the SEC West Division.
The Tigers check in at No. 12 in ESPN’s rankings, courtesy of March Schlabach:
Outlook: Ed Orgeron's first spring did little to alleviate LSU fans' lingering concerns about the team's offense. Returning starting quarterback Danny Etling struggled mightily during the spring game, and then he underwent minor back surgery when spring practice was over. The bad news for new offensive coordinator Matt Canada: Neither Justin McMillan nor early enrollee Lowell Narcisse seemed ready to push Etling. In fact, Orgeron wants to see incoming freshman Myles Brennan play before he names a starter. Another concern for the Tigers: Star defensive end/linebacker Arden Key hasn't participated in football activities since February for unexplained personal reasons. Orgeron has said he hopes that Key returns to the team at some point this summer.
16th in Dennis Dodd’s summation over at CBS Sports:
How can you not root for Ed Orgeron? A Louisiana native son from humble roots who built himself back up as head-coaching material. This looks a lot like the team that got Les Miles fired. Example: quarterback issues. But tailback Derrius Guice and a usual athletic defense will put the Tigers in the mix.
And 20th in Stewart Mandel’s ratings over at Fox Sports:
Former Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada showed off his use of pre-snap motion during LSU’s spring game, but QB Danny Etling showed little improvement. RB Derrius Guice will be one of the nation’s best. LSU must reload on defense, but should have a strong pass-rush with Arden Key and upstart Rashard Lawrence. The secondary is inexperienced; early enrollee Grant Delpit emerged as a potential starting safety.
Funny how despite the range in rankings, all three summaries are near identical: Derrius Guice good, defense good, questions at quarterback.