LSU continues revamping its offense throughout fall camp

LSU’s offensive remodeling is underway during fall camp and the changes have been obvious. The run game looks completely different, while the passing game has favored more short-to-intermediate throws than last year’s incredibly dynamic offense based around the big play.

It’s a new group of talent for offensive coordinators Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton to work with and that means restructuring the system to favor the new-look personnel. Players like wide receiver Kyren Lacy highlight that change as players who have waited their turn are beginning to step into the spotlight.

“Fall camp is going really well for everyone,” Lacy said. “We’re all working on the details and it’s a lot of fun because you have different guys that can do different things, so everyday you’re going to have to get better to show that you’re improved from yesterday.”

While Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback and Kyren Lacy at receiver headline the list of playmakers on the roster, it’s LSU’s offensive line that has the highest expectations entering the year. The Joe Moore Award Finalists from a year ago return four starters and have one of the best offensive line coaches in the country in Brad Davis. It all starts up front for this offense and the flexibility of the offensive line will allow the Tigers to attack defenses in multiple ways.

“It’s a new offense and we have a lot of different players so us being diverse in the run game and showing different schemes is only going to help us,” offensive tackle Will Campbell said. “We’re going to be good at all of them because we’re working on all of them. Our biggest focus is dominating up front and letting guys like Kyren, Chris, Kaleb, Josh, the list goes on, let them do what they do best and that’s make plays.”

But just how different is this LSU offense going to be? In practice, it seems the identity is still being refined, with the run game continuing to be a primary focus. Kaleb Jackson and Josh Williams headline a backfield that will have much more on its plate in 2024. The talent at receiver helps keep defenses honest as a revamped passing game will be fascinating to watch this season.

“The whole offense is different. We have a new identity,” Lacy said. “We lost those guys, so we have to step up and make some plays to where we can pick up where we left off at.

“It’s a collection of guys competing in our wide receiver room. We all want to dominate every rep we get out there.”

Nussmeier comes in as perhaps the biggest X-Factor for LSU’s offense in 2024. If he reaches his ceiling and can play at an all-conference caliber, then a top five offense is once again in the picture. However, in his first year as a starter, nothing is a certainty. The offense has full confidence in him as the Louisiana native finally gets his shot to lead the Tigers in 2024.

“Nuss has waited his turn and I couldn’t be more excited for him,” Campbell said. “He’s going to go out there and light the SEC up. Obviously the offense is different, compared to last year because the style is different, but we’re still going to be explosive and put up a lot of points.”