LSU Announces Spring Game Date and Promises Changes in Passing Attack

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

During a press conference on Wednesday, LSU head coach Les Miles but his best football political foot forward promising change in the Tigers offense in 2016 while titillating the fan base with the announcement of the spring game. The dialogue is the same but perhaps this year real change is coming?

Miles job was in jeopardy by the end of the 2015 college football regular season despite running a consistently winning program and kicking off the year 7-0, which should have been 8-0 but an opening season game against McNeese State was cancelled due to weather. The seven-game win streak was followed by a three-game losing streak with losses to Alabama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss. No matter how anyone views the defeats, the fan base never wants to lose to the Crimson Tide and certainly believe they should be able to top the Razorbacks and the Rebels year after year. A 19-7 regular season ending victory against a visiting Texas A&M squad helped save Miles’ job and then he added a nice 56-27 whipping of Texas Tech in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl to end the campaign on a high note.

The offense was in question heading into the 2015 season even though a Heisman Trophy contender was lining up in the backfield. The problem was not the ground attack led by then sophomore Leonard Fournette who would go on to gain 1,953 yards scoring 22 touchdowns in just 12 games, but the defunct passing game led solely by Brandon Harris.

Harris ended his sophomore season by completing 53.8 percent of his passes throwing for 2,165 yards with 13 scores against six picks. Entering the 2016 schedule, Harris, senior Anthony Jennings, and Purdue transfer Danny Etling will battle it out for the starting job under center.

The Tigers have the ground game, a stingy defense, but lack the ability to get the ball downfield despite having, on paper, one of the more talented wide receivers corps in the nation. All of that is expected to change if Miles’ words are good as gold. During his press conference, Miles stated the spring schedule will “emphasize” the passing attack adding “If you do the same thing you’ve always done, it will be the same thing you’ve always been. We’re going to change spring. It’s going to be different.”

With Heisman Trophy contender Fournette coming back for his junior year, tough to imagine the offense changing too much except a greater focus on taking advantage of those rare moments when the Tigers do have to pass or attempt to catch a defense off guard. Part of the new change is sending out his assistants during the spring to learn the offenses of other opponents. Which opponents was not made clear and to what extent the emphasis of learning nuisances of the passing game was not covered in any detail.

After Miles made some big promises he slid back into his comfort zone putting forth, “No matter what, if we change nothing, our execution will be better.”

Spring practices are scheduled to start on March 7 with the spring game set for April 16.

Photo credit: bleacherreport.com; Les Miles yells out instructions on the LSU sidelines.