Defense will most definitely be the strength of next year’s team. White could be the best linebacker in the SEC, and maybe best mlb ever at LSU (and that’s saying a lot). We have a lockdown corner in Greedy Williams and ridiculous depth at safety. Fehoko, Alexander, Lawrence and Shelvin give us more beef up front than we have had in a while.

The offense, however, is full of question marks:

QB: I am more hopeful than most here. My son was a hs qb and I spent about ten years doing the radio for a couple local teams. So I have seen dozens of hs qbs play, a couple who did play a little college. What a rarely saw was consistently accurate passers, good high school qbs do well to push a 60 % passing rate. Brennan is remarkably accurate, completing an amazing 69% of his passes as a senior for 3982 yds with 48 tds and only three interceptions. That is amazing. I saw good hs qbs struggle to throw 70% of their passes warming up. I don’t think people realize how good his senior stats are at any level of football. So qb is a place where I think we will be better than next year.

Running back: Okay, there is going to be a drop off when we lose Guice and Williams. There is reason for optimism with Hellaire, Brossette and Curry, but let’s not kid ourselves. We have been spoiled with Fournette and Guice. The only question is how big the drop off will be.

Tight ends: Foster Moreau has been a really solid tight end for LSU and could have a really big year. I see him sneaking on a Sunday squad one day. At 6’ 6” 255 pounds he has good size. He isn’t great at anything, but solid at everything. You don’t tip your hand as muc( with a te that can block and catch. There is good depth here with Pettigrew, Roddy and Washington. This unit should be an upgrade from last year.

Receivers: This is a heavy on potential, low on experience group which makes it anyone’s guess as to whether it’s an upgrade or downgrade. Chark will be hard to replace. Giles caught 69 passes at Texas Tech so he could be our possession guy and most experienced receiver. Marshall will play and could be a star early. Then you have a half dozen or more talented players with great potential - Drake, Anderson, McMath, Netherly, Dillon and Sullivan. The cupboard is hardly bare. Whether this group is an upgrade or not will depend on coaching and scheme.

Offensive line: The attrition, injuries and transfers from last year will help this year. We had some really young guys in Deculus, Ingram and Charles step up. I think Traore will be a major upgrade over Malone. I assume Weathersby is leaving. If Clapp stays, this line will be better, more experienced and deeper than last year. Even if he leaves, this still could surprisingly be a position of strength for LSU, having a weak line with a new qb and young rbs would not be good.

Fullback: Tory Carter was quite a surprise last year. He was a tough kid as advertised, but more athletic and versatile than I expected. He should be better than last year, one of those things high energy players, good for team morale.

Coaching: This is the big unknown. If Canada comes back, it has to be an upgrade from last year assuming chemistry with Orgeron holds up. This offense clearly got better over the season. As the players learned it, Canada added to it. I thought he changed it nicely later in the season to find where the defense was weak. Whether he stays seems questionable and if he leaves you have kids learning their third offense in three years, not ideal. I hope he stays for continuity purposes and to see how good the offense can be with an accurate qb with a stronger arm who can throw over the middle.

Summary: Who knows if the offense will be better. Etling was a gamer and you lose Chark, Guice and Williams. It will likely come down to qb play and coaching. Optimists have good reason for hope, pessimists good reason for concern.