Aranda's new defense to make debut in Citrus Bowl

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Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda suggested earlier this month that change is coming. LSU’s defense will shift toward the unpredictable, imaginative 3-4 unit that Aranda’s reputation is built upon, employing more hybrid outside linebackers to get creative. The Tigers will move away from the "basic” style that Aranda said he used this season.

And he's not waiting until 2017 to do it.

“(The bowl game is) an opportunity to play off some of the things we've done and take it to the next level,” Aranda said.

“This year, we played a very basic style,” he added. “Will be interesting to see what the bowl game brings.”

For one, it will bring a new middle linebacker — the only real certainty about LSU’s tweaked defense in Saturday’s Citrus Bowl against Louisville in Orlando, Florida. Donnie Alexander, a smaller, speedy junior, replaces hulking 250-pound senior Kendell Beckwith.

The switch is connected to the scheme change. Beckwith’s season-ending knee injury opened the door for Aranda to take the next step with his defense — eight months earlier than expected. He won’t have to wait until the 2017 season opener Sept. 2 against BYU in Houston.

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“We've been dominated by D-linemen, dominated by DBs,” Aranda said. “Some of that is going to change, in terms of who we've got coming back and what their strengths are. It's a good turn of events in this bowl game.”

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While LSU loses Beckwith’s size in the middle, the Tigers gain speed. Alexander is known for his athleticism and quickness, but he hopes to pack on the pounds in the offseason.

Currently weighing 216 pounds, Alexander said he wants to play at 225 next season. The key isn’t getting to that mark, he said. It’s staying there through the season, when players lose pounds during weeks of hot practices in August and September.

Alexander will remain next season at the middle inside linebacker spot, a position Aranda refers to as the Mack. In August, coaches moved Alexander from behind Riley at the Rover inside linebacker position to behind Beckwith at the Mack. He swapped with Devin White, who backed up Riley this season.

At some point, though, coaches hope to move White back to Mack, a position that requires a veteran player who can made play calls for the defense.

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