Defense targets LSU rushing game
Canes will keep eye on Tigers QB, a transfer from Ohio State.
CORAL GABLES — There’s not much film on LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, but the No. 8 Hurricanes hope they have a good read on the graduate transfer from Ohio State entering Sunday
night’s season opener.
Burrow, the son of Ohio University defensive coordinator Jimmy Burrow, was named No. 25 LSU’s starting quarterback Monday. He completed 29 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games (no starts) during his time with Ohio State before transferring.
“Coach’s kid, so you know he’s smart and you know he’s been raised by the game. And a defensive coach’s kid, so I’ll leave that for interpretation,” Hurricanes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said with a grin after Wednesday’s practice.
“But what you saw in the limited
film that we have of him, he’s a guy that will go through the reads, he’ll stand in the pocket. To me, he can make the throws and he can anticipate the throws, which I think comes back to being raised in the game where he doesn’t have to see a guy get open. He can feel a guy get open before he gets open. We have a lot of respect for who he is.”
But Diaz said the Hurricanes’ focus is on stopping LSU’s running game, which is led by senior Nick Brossette and sophomore Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Brossette and Edwards-Helaire will play bigger roles after combining to rush for 127 yards on 28 carries last year, with last season’s starter, Derrius Guice, now playing in the NFL.
“Ultimately, whoever plays quarterback, as a defense your job is still to make his job as hard as possible and that’s to take away his best friend, which is the run game,” Diaz said. “So any time, no matter who’s quarterbacking LSU, you still have a great challenge of stopping their physical rushing attack. That’s still, no matter who the quarterback is, will be first and foremost on our minds.”
Here’s what else Diaz said Wednesday:
■ Diaz confirmed junior Pat Bethel will be the starting defensive tackle next to Gerald Willis against LSU. Both will make their first college starts after last year’s starting tackles, Kendrick Norton and RJ McIntosh, bypassed their junior years to enter the NFL draft. “Tough, dependable, steady, hardworking,” Diaz said of Bethel. “We took the team bowling and Pat was like one of the best bowlers on the team. It just made sense. You didn’t know why, but Pat is just a guy that should be good at bowling. He’s got the blue-collar shirt on, clocks out after 5 o’clock, and goes to the bowling alley and rolls a good score. That’s kind of who Pat is.”
■ With Zach McCloud listed as the starting strongside linebacker and Romeo Finley the starting striker, it’s expected to be an either-or situation with those two players. Which one will play more on Sunday? “It really will depend on what we’re seeing,” Diaz said. “That’s why I say, we have to match up to how [LSU is] choosing to attack us and Game 1 you don’t know. So, we’re ready for everything.”
■ As usual, Diaz plans to rotate in many defensive players to keep them fresh. “I would still be shocked if we didn’t play 22 guys on defense in the first half of the game,” he said. “That’s just kind of how we roll. But honestly that depends on snap counts and how long we’re on the field and all that type of stuff.”
■ On Willis, who is from New Orleans, making his first college start against his hometown team: “What’s been great is that he’s been everything we’ve asked, but it’s not added because of LSU. I’m sure inside of him, nothing needs to be said. But there could be an issue where you can put too much pressure on yourself with him coming back this game, especially at a position like defensive tackle, with how you’re really dominating the game is not always obvious to the naked eye.”
■ When asked which defensive players have improved the most since the end of last season, Diaz pointed to cornerback Jhavonte Dean, safety Robert Knowles, linebackers Mike Smith, Waynmon Steed and Bradley Jennings, and defensive tackles Pat Bethel and Jonathan Ford.