GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Football coaches tend not to like to bring up last year – whether it was a great, bad or average season.
But LSU second-year defensive coordinator Blake Baker kept bringing it up at a spring football press conference Thursday.
“Defensive tackles are the tip of the spear, man, and we’ve got to be able to create knock-back and havoc,” he said. “I thought we got a little stale from that standpoint last year, and that’s on me.”
LSU’s defense improved from the previous season in 2024 under Baker, but it would have been hard not to as the Tigers fielded one of the worst defenses in school history in 2023. LSU finished 115th in pass defense with 255.6 yards allowed a game in ’23 and 105th in total defense with 416.6 yards given up on average.
COMPLETE VIDEO FROM BLAKE BAKER PRESS CONFERENCE
Baker’s 2024 defense was good at times, but not great. Their finishes in pass defense and total defense, though, were markedly better than the previous season at No. 76 with 224.3 yards allowed a game and 61st with 364.4 given up, respectively.
In his second year as Missouri’s defensive coordinator in 2023, Baker’s defense was significantly better than in his first season. Those Tigers finished No. 5 in the Southeastern Conference and No. 30 in the nation against the run (122.2 yards allowed a game). They were also fifth in the SEC and 33rd nationally in total defense (335.5 allowed a game). Baker is expecting a similar improve in year two at LSU.
“We have a chance to look much different than we did last year,” Baker said. “We’ve got a long ways to go. But hey it’s been exciting so far.”
Among the regular starters returning from last season are only senior linebacker Harold Perkins Jr., junior linebacker Whit Weeks, junior cornerback Ashton Stamps and senior safety Jardin Gilbert. But a host of players who started here and there and played a lot are also back in sophomore defensive tackles Ahmad Breaux and Dominick McKinley, sophomore defensive end Gabriel Reliford, sophomore linebacker Davhon Keys, sophmore safety Dashawn Spears, sophomore cornerback PJ Woodland and junior cornerback Javien Toviano.
Defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory, who was expected to start last year but was lost for the season with an Achilles injury, will return as a sixth-year senior.
“The first year you put in a defense, and especially as multiple as we are, there’s no way to see every single call vs. every single offensive play,” Baker explained.
The second year can be simpler.
“It was the same thing at Missouri from year one to year two – you’re not having to teach the nuances and the exceptions,” he said. “We’re able to coach those exceptions and nuances before it actually happens, whereas last year it had to show up by, ‘Oh, hey by the way, this is how we defend that.’ It’s been really good as far as speaking the same language now.”
Baker welcomes seven defensive players from the No. 1 portal class in the country in cornerback Mansoor Delane from Virginia Tech, safety Tamarcus Cooley from North Carolina State, cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson from Florida, edge rushers Jack Pyburn from Florida, Jimari Butler from Nebraska and Patrick Payton from Florida State and defensive tackle Sydir Mitchell from Texas. They have been busy learning the language and nuances.
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Baker is excited about the secondary, particularly with the additions of true freshman early enrollee DJ Pickett, who was the No. 1 cornerback in the nation in the high school class of 2025, Cooley, who was the No. 3 safety in the portal, and Delane and Jackson, who were the 14 and 15 portal cornerbacks.
“When you talk about those three guys, they’ve been as good as we were hoping them to be from being able to pick up the scheme and from an athleticism standpoint,” he said. “When you look at DJ Pickett, from the first bowl practices to now, he’s a different animal out there. He works at it, man. He’s very humble. He loves football. He’s very hard working. Tamarcus has been a great addition, adds some really good speed on the back end.”
Delane is Mr. Versatility.
“We can put Mansoor all over the secondary,” Baker said. “He can be a corner, safety, nickel, dime. On offense, they talk about weapons. He’s our defensive weapon. He’s very intelligent. And then Ja’Keem is really good, really fast, really long. Then you mix it in with Ashton Stamps.”
Baker also likes redshirt freshman cornerback Michael Turner, who played in only four games last season.
“He has gotten significantly better as the spring has gone on and from last fall to now,” he said. “PJ Woodland, he’s another defensive weapon. He’s so smart. We put him at nickel. We put him at dime. Hadn’t put him at safety yet, but he could do it in a pinch. Really proud of that group. I would say, it’s a lot different from last year.”
There are those two words again.
“There’s no pettiness. There’s no jealousy,” Baker said.
Baker has also seen significant improvement out of Spears, who was the No. 2 safety in the nation out of Denham Springs last year, but was a disappointment as he was relegated to backup duty after starting three of the first five games.
“Nobody was harder on Dashawn Spears last year than me,” Baker said. “And it’s starting to pay off. The dude is making a ton of plays out there.”
Baker sees similar development in Toviano, the No. 7 safety in the country in the 2023 class.
“To me, I think he’s finally settled into what he really is at safety,” he said. “We had him at corner. We had him at nickel. I think he’s a safety. And he’s tackled outstanding. He’s had a really good spring. Joel Rogers (a 2024 safety signee) has gotten better.”
Going into his second year and his second spring, Baker is enjoying the development part.
BLAKE BAKER: DEVELOPING PLAYERS CAN TAKE LONGER THAN “INSTANT OATMEAL”
“It takes time. I always say, everybody wants instant oatmeal,” he said. “They want a player right away. They want to pour the water in and mix it up and boom, here it comes. It’s not always that simple, especially at this level and especially what we ask our players to do. That room’s coming along. Still got a ways to go, but they’ve definitely gotten better from last year.”
Baker sees variety and depth on the edge, and not just from the defensive end transfers. Reliford, a freshman last season, and early enrollee freshman Damien Shanklin, redshirt freshmen Kolaj Cobbins and CJ Jackson have made their marks.
“Gabe Reliford, man you talk about development from where he was from the bowl game to now – really far ahead,” he said. “And then Shanklin’s coming along, CJ Jackson. Kolaj Cobbins. There’s not really a weak link in that room right now. Dylan Carpenter (a sophomore) is a little banged up, but he’s getting going again. All add something different to the table. It’s going to be a good tool using them against offensive tackles, because it’s not going to be the same picture every single snap.”
Pyburn, Butler and Payton are being added to the oatmeal, so to speak.
LSU secondary coach Corey Raymond highly recommended Pyburn to Baker as Raymond was coaching at Florida when Pyburn was there in 2022 and ’23.
“It helped having coach Raymond at Florida,” Baker said. “When he entered the portal, Corey said, ‘Man, he’s a dude. He’s going to be a guy who you’re going to have to pull back on the chain in practice, because he’s going to get after it.’ Any time we can add toughness.”
Pyburn plays the edge, but had only one sack in three seasons with the Gators.
“But I think he’s an underrated pass rusher. I really do,” Baker said. “You watch his tape. He’s slippery in pass rush. He’s got some quick twitch. He checked every box culturally, and he’s brought so much leadership to this defense. His personality? It didn’t take him a day to start speaking up, and they listen to him because he works so hard. He’s been outstanding.”
The oatmeal will be cooking for some time.
“Very rarely will we use the same 11 guys,” Baker said. “We’re going to put it together come the summer and fall camp as far as all those guys playing off each other.”
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