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While the Tiger offense is looking like a fresh start with an all new system, the defense will move into year two under Dave Aranda looking at something of an evolution. In recent interviews, Aranda has talked about keeping things very basic for the Tigers in year one. He inherited a fairly veteran group of players — albeit one that was on their third coordinator in as many years — so he felt that it would be best to keep things basic and try and bridge the gap between what the players had been used to under pair of 4-3 coaches in John Chavis and Kevin Steele.
LSU’s personnel is starting to shift more towards Aranda’s preferred 3-4 scheme, and expect that to play out on the field more as well.
LSU Depth Chart - Defense
| Position | No. 1 | No. 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Position | No. 1 | No. 2 |
| DE | Christian LaCouture (Sr.) | Glenn Logan (Fr.) |
| NT | Greg Gilmore (Sr.) | Ed Alexander (So.) |
| DE | Rashard Lawrence (So.) | Frank Herron (Sr.) |
| Buck-LB | Arden Key (Jr.) | K'Lavon Chaisson (Fr.) |
| Mack-LB | Donnie Alexander (Sr.) | Tyler Taylor (Fr.) |
| Rover-LB | Devin White (So.) | Jacob Phillips (Fr.) |
| Field-LB | Corey Thompson (Sr.) | Michael Divinity (So.) |
| CB | Kevin Toliver (Jr.) | Kristian Fulton (So.) |
| CB | Donte Jackson (Jr.) | Kary Vincent (Fr.) |
| NB | Xavier Lewis (So.) | Andraez "Greedy" Williams (Fr.) |
| SS | Ed Paris (Sr.) | Grant Delpitt (Fr.) |
| FS | John Battle (Sr.) | Eric Monroe (Fr.) |
The 2016 and ‘17 classes will play heavy roles this season, and a big reason why there’s more size in the front seven. Players like Ed Anderson and Tyler Shelvin (assuming he makes it in) fit more as the classic nose tackle as reserves behind the very solid Greg Gilmore, and there’s some strong depth developing at the outside linebacker positions alongside Arden Key.
But there is also still more experience than most consider with players like Christian LaCouture and Corey Thompson, seniors who missed last season with injury, and younger veterans like Donnie Alexander and John Battle, who filled in last season when other players were hurt.
Pairing that core group with two very strong cornerbacks and the potential of underclassmen like Rashard Lawrence and Devin White, and Aranda has a good shot to field another dominating defense.