Comment from Roman Harper is why LSU football fans should be confident about 2021
By Zach Ragan
LSU football‘s 2020 season didn’t exactly go to plan.
The Tigers didn’t look like the defending national champions this past season.
Ed Orgeron’s squad struggled out of the gate, losing the season-opener 44-34 to Mississippi State in Baton Rouge.
After a win against Vanderbilt, the Tigers dropped another surprising game. In week three, LSU lost 45-41 to Missouri.
In 2019, no one could get close to LSU. But in 2020, they weren’t even a threat to win the SEC West.
While it was a lackluster season, things aren’t necessarily “bleak” heading into the 2021 season.
In fact, I think there are plenty of reasons for LSU fans to feel confident about this upcoming season. And it has a lot to do with something that former Pro-Bowl defensive back Roman Harper said recently.
There’s reason to be optimistic about LSU football in 2021
With two weeks left in the 2020 season, LSU was 3-5 with a game against No. 6 Florida coming up.
The Tigers were also dealing with multiple opt-outs late in the season. The team’s top wide receiver, Terrace Marshall Jr, opted out in late November. Marshall’s decision to opt-out came not long after giving a speech to his teammates about “finishing the season”.
True freshman sensation Arik Gilbert, the top-rated tight end in the 2020 recruiting class, also opted out late in the season (just before LSU’s game against Florida).
It felt like everything was falling apart for the Tigers at that point. 3-7 was looking like a real possibility.
But then something strange happened. LSU played their best football of the season. They came together as a team. It’s something that an outsider like Harper noticed.
“It seemed like, from the outside looking in, they were not all in all year long,” said Harper this week (via 247Sports). “That has to change if you want to be consistent and able to win at the highest level in the SEC. Their last two games, they finished the season strong. It seemed like a more confident team.”
The reason Harper thinks the team came together?
A youth movement.
“They had more younger guys playing,” explained Harper. “Youth has started to take over. That has to continue, even throughout the offseason, come into next season with experience.”
This makes a lot of sense. The younger players on LSU’s roster either didn’t experience the national championship the year before, or they didn’t play a big role in the Tigers’ 15-0 season. Those young players are hungry. And it showed near the end of the season when LSU was playing at a high level.
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That’s a great reason for fans to be excited. LSU has some much-needed experience now. And they have a roster full of kids eager to compete. The sky is the limit from here.