By Matt Osborne
SouthernPigskin.com

Follow us at Twitter.com/SouthernPigskin.  Become a fan at the SouthernPigskin.com Facebook Page

Even with a superstar offensive weapon, the Tigers are going to be relying upon an athletic and experienced defense to lead the program back to contention this season.

The 2015 season ended up being an emotional roller coaster for head coach Les Miles and the LSU Tigers.

After starting the campaign with modest expectations, the Tigers jumped out to a surprising 7-0 start and found themselves ranked No. 2 in the national polls. Three consecutive losses would follow up that hot start, however, and reports of the universitys decision to part ways with Miles were already being reported by some media outlets.

Ultimately, the reports of Miles departure from Baton Rouge proved to be premature, as athletics director Joe Alleva publicly announced the decision to retain the cMad Hatterd for another year following a victory over Texas A&M to conclude the regular season.

Taking some time to reflect upon the events of last year, the 2015 season should still be considered a relative success for the Tigers.

But that certainly does not mean that there are not areas in which LSU must improve significantly in order to live up to the lofty expectations which are being set for this team heading into 2016.

From a statistical standpoint, last season was the worst year that LSU has had defensively since 2009. The Tigers finished fifth in the league in total defense (347.2 yards per game) after having finished inside the top three in the SEC for five consecutive seasons.

And while the LSU defense endured a relative down campaign a season ago, there are legitimate reasons for excitement for the Tigers in 2016.

For starters, LSU is set to return an almost unheard of number of defensive starters. In recent years the Tigers have had the misfortune of losing significant numbers of underclassmen to the NFL Draft, making it difficult to reap the fruits of having an experienced unit the following season.

The Tigers have eight defensive starters returning this fall, led by a couple of star players in cornerback TreDavious White and safety Jamal Adams.

cDefensively, we feel like the — really, since 2005, our defense has been really significant and we’ve had 24 fourth quarter comebacks,d Miles said of his unit at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama. cSo, were excited. Felt like the spring went well with the defense.d

Perhaps even more impactful than the return of eight starters for the Tigers is the addition of new defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. In his three seasons as defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, the Badgers never failed to finish outside of No. 7 nationally in total defense. Last season, the Badgers finished with the No. 2 defense in college football, allowing just 268.5 yards per contest.

Aranda has plans of transitioning LSU from a four-three defense into a three-four, which is a transition would usually takes a considerable amount of time at most programs.

But with the talent which he has at his disposal, and with Arandas willingness to adapt to his personnel, Miles is expecting immediate success out of the defense this fall.

cDave Aranda really fits the bill, just what we need,d remarked Miles. cHe transitioned from a four down to a three down personnel group. He has also the opportunity to play four down. So we’ll mix up personnels, but we’ll be playing Dave Aranda football, and that’s historically been very good.

The change in schematic approach naturally had many LSU fans worried about how the defense would respond, especially considering how much success the Tigers have enjoyed in the past while implementing a base four-three system.

The players, however, have indicated that the overall changes that have been made are not quite as drastic as some might be expecting.

Ultimately, they say, there is an LSU brand of defense which is going to exist regardless of the system that is in place.

cIts pretty much the same,d White told media members about the new system under Aranda. cWere going to play that LSU defense. Hes a little more quiet [than Kevin Steele], but its been fun having him around.”

There is no denying the fact that running back Leonard Fournette is the best player on LSUs team, if not in all of college football.

But even with a superstar offensive weapon, the Tigers are going to be relying upon an athletic and experienced defense to lead the program back to contention this season.

Given what the past has shown us, there is no reason to expect that the Tigers wont live up to the immense hype this fall.