LSU Football: Daronte Jones gets endorsement from former Tiger

LSU football took a few swings at various candidates before finally hiring a defensive coordinator last month.

Daronte Jones was hired by Ed Orgeron to lead the Tigers’ defense in 2021.

Jones, who served as the defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings last season, will replace Bo Pelini in Baton Rouge. He was recommended to Orgeron by former LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda (now the head coach at Baylor).

Pelini’s return to LSU didn’t go as planned in 2020. The Tigers gave up 34.9 points per game this past season, which was No. 98 in the nation.

The previous season, under Aranda, LSU gave up 21.9 points per game (No. 32 in the nation). That’s quite a drop off — even when you take the loss of talent to the NFL into account.

Daronte Jones receives strong endorsement from former LSU football star

Jones will obviously have his work cut out for him in Baton Rouge — Pelini didn’t do the program any favors.

Former LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson is among those who believe Jones can get the job done at LSU.

Jefferson, who now plays for the Vikings, played under Jones in Minnesota last season.

Jones obviously wasn’t Jefferson’s position coach, but their paths crossed quite a bit in practice.

The former Tigers standout spoke to 247Sports this week about Jones and had glowing praise for the new LSU defensive coordinator.

“He’s definitely a great coach. I like his energy, I like his attitude,” said Jefferson (via 247Sports). “He always came up to me and gave me a little pep talk before the game, but I love the coach. He does everything for his players and he knows exactly what to do.”

It sounds like Jefferson thinks the Tigers’ defense is in good hands.

That’s good news for the future of LSU football because you’re not getting far in the SEC without a strong defense.