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The Tigers will open training camp on Monday for the first real season of the Ed Orgeron Era at LSU, and while there will still be competition and some positional shuffling over the next few weeks, here is an early guess at the 2017 Tigers’ two deep on offense:
LSU Depth Chart: Offense
| Position | No. 1 | No. 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Position | No. 1 | No. 2 |
| QB | Danny Etling (Sr.) | Justin McMillan (So.) |
| RB | Derrius Guice (Jr.) | Darrell Williams (Sr.) |
| F-B | J.D. Moore (Sr.) | Bry'Keithon Mouton (Jr.) |
| Y-TE | Foster Moreau (Jr.) | Caleb Roddy (So.) |
| X-WR | Drake Davis (So.) | Dee Anderson (So.) |
| Z-WR | D.J. Chark (Sr.) | Derrick Dillon (So.) |
| Slot | Russell Gage (Sr.) | Stephen Sullivan (So.) |
| LT | K.J. Malone (Sr.) | Austin Deculus (Fr.) |
| LG | Garrett Brumfield (So.) | Edward Ingram (Fr.) |
| C | Will Clapp (Jr.) | Lloyd Cushenberry (Fr.) |
| RG | Maea Teuhema (Jr.) | Donovaughn Campbell (So.) |
| RT | Toby Weathersby (Jr.) | Jakori Savage (Fr.) |
The returning starters are marked in bold, and as you can see I am somewhat liberal in terms of how I apply the label. Yes, technically Foster Moreau, D.J. Chark and Russell Gage were designated as backups at their respective positions, but all three saw an amount of playing time that was as significant as anybody else. Gage was even listed as an official starter in three games last season.
And of course, roles will be changing with a new offensive scheme under coordinator Matt Canada. The fullback isn’t truly gone, but will move to more of an H-back role — designated with the “F” for our purposes — that will move around in and out of the backfield. Moreau and the other tight ends will still have the “Y” designation and line up at the traditional in-line spot on the line of scrimmage, although they will move around as well.
The receiver positions are a little more fluid than the position listings here suggest, but this is a best guess at how things will line up. The “X,” at least traditionally, is the split end position — he lines up on the line of scrimmage and therefore has to deal with press coverage more often. It’s usually where teams want to put a bigger player, so Drake Davis, Dee Anderson and Stephen Sullivan make sense there. The “Z” is usually the flanker, who aligns off the line and goes in motion. D.J. Chark makes sense there, especially since he’s likely to get a lot of action in the jet-sweep game. That may also fall on the Slot position as well, but for current purposes think of it more as the possession/underneath receiver that Russell Gage is.
Look for more to come as things evolve over the course of the next month.