Dave Aranda shares how his time at LSU molded him

Dave Aranda credits his time at LSU with helping prepare him to take the next step in his career. Before becoming the head coach at Baylor in 2020, Aranda spent four seasons with the Tigers as an associate head coach and defensive coordinator.

Aranda originally joined Les Miles‘ staff but ended up working mostly under Ed Orgeron after Miles was fired four games into 2016. He watched Orgeron take a team that went 8-4 and slowly build them into a championship contender, learning what it takes to make all the pieces fit together.

By 2019, LSU achieved that goal in going undefeated and taking out Clemson to win a national title. That gave Aranda the chance to take on a new challenge with the Bears, and he carried those lessons with him.

“Just to be working with the type of people and athletes,” Aranda said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “I think of Jack Ritchie, I think of Tommy Moffitt, our athletic trainer at the time and our strength coach at the time. Both are legends. I think of working with coach Miles in the beginning and then working with coach Orgeron.

“I just have such a great friendship with Coach O. His son is on our staff here. And so just the different personalities and the different ways to do it. And if you really own your way and you find your way, and you unabashedly are you, you can do it your way. I look at Coach O and I saw him do that.”

Using his experience at LSU, Aranda managed to find success quickly in Waco. After going just 2-7 in his first season, the Bears went 12-2 in 2021 to win both the Big 12 Championship and Sugar Bowl.

Aranda thinks back on his time with the Tigers as giving him a “road map” for how to build toward those things. He shared stories of the work ethic he witnessed from players such as Joe Burrow and Patrick Queen, lauding them for their dedication.

“I saw Joe Burrow; I’d get in the office there and the coffee was down the hall,” Aranda said. “I’m walking to get coffee and Joe was always there. He was there more than some of the coaches were there. I’m seeing Patrick Queen always working to get better, staying after it. He was doing that because Devin White was doing that.

“You could see guys that found who they were and were able to be who they were, no matter where. And when the game time came and the lights came on, they could express who they were. I think seeing that gives you kind of a road map.”

Entering his fourth season at Baylor, Aranda is coming off of a 6-7 finish. He made several staff changes as a result, including bringing on Orgeron’s son, Parker, as an analyst.

As Aranda hopes to get things going back in the right direction, the lessons he learned at LSU will continue to be a valuable guide.