LSU Football: The offensive plan the Tigers need to change entering 2021 season

For the last couple of years, we’ve heard rumors that LSU football could use All-American cornerback Derek Stingley Jr on offense in 2021.

Orgeron famously said before the 2020 season that he promised Stingley during the recruiting process that he’d allow him to play on offense after two years (via WWL radio).

2021 is Stingley’s third, and likely final, season at LSU.

So is it finally going to happen?

Maybe not. And that’s not a bad thing for LSU, either.

LSU Football shouldn’t use Derek Stingley Jr on offense

All signs were pointing toward Stingley playing on offense during the summer. Stingley said at SEC Media days that he’d do whatever the team asked him to do.

Orgeron said in June that it was likely that Stingley would see some wide receiver snaps this fall (via Jeff Nowack).

A minor camp injury, however, has prevented Stingley from practicing during the early portion of fall camp. Stingley was expected to return soon from his injury. But it sounds like he might be out a bit longer.

Here’s what Orgeron said on Saturday about Stingley’s return (via 247Sports):

"I said that prematurely (that he’d be back). We thought Derek was going to come back, but I think that we’re going to have to give him a little more time. Eli Ricks is perhaps going to come back in some capacity next week. I think it’s going to take Derek — and this is more precautionary measure. We don’t want to bring him out there when he’s not full speed. It may take more than a week, but whatever it is, he’s going to be fine. It’s just that we want to make sure when he comes back that he doesn’t reinjure it.”"

By the time Stingley returns, there’s only going to be 7-10 days of fall camp left (really less, since the Tigers will be prepping for UCLA the final week of August).

With a new defensive coordinator in place, it would seem unwise to have Stingley focusing on anything other than mastering the new defense. I’m sure Stingley has been present in meetings, and he’s been watching film and taking part in the mental part of the game. But there’s no substitute for getting on the practice field and doing the real thing.

Stingley is the best defensive player in the SEC. There’s no need to risk him getting hurt trying to play wide receiver. The idea of Stingley on offense is fun, but it’s simply not practical.