Coach Brian Kelly talks current state of LSU football starting cornerbacks

LSU is a long way from the glory days of “DBU.” On Saturday, LSU lost to Ole Miss in a shootout involving 1,340 yards gained between the two teams. Naturally, with numbers like that, some changes are necessary on both defenses. On Monday, coach Brian Kelly spoke to the media and gave some insight on the LSU football starting cornerbacks, including Zy Alexander and others.

Coach Brian Kelly gives insight on LSU football starting cornerbacks

When it comes to the Tigers’ loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, the numbers speak for themselves. It wasn’t all on the defensive back room, but much of the blame falls on them and the coaching staff.

Ole Miss gained 389 yards through the air and was practically scoring at will through the large portion of the game. There were plenty of missed tackles, and blown coverage was a common occurrence.

Naturally, this led many fans to question the cornerback rotation, as well as what coach Brian Kelly had planned for the future of the room.

On Monday, Kelly gave some insight on the starting lineup and how he feels about the group as a whole.

“We’re working our tails off. You know, we had some injuries there; we lost Zy (Alexander) for a little bit with an ankle, Ashton Stamps coming off a groin injury. They were game, they gave us everything they had and did the best they could given the circumstances,” Coach Brian Kelly said about the cornerback rotation. “So, I’m proud of those guys; they went out, and they competed and did the best that they could given the circumstances. But that’s our rotation. Those are the four guys, LT (Laterrance Welch) and Denver (Harris), those are the four guys that we are rolling with right now.”

One of the biggest questions about this group was the relative inexperience and youth. Of the four players he listed, there’s one junior, two sophomores and a freshman, none of which had significant playing time at the FBS level prior to this season.

Zy Alexander has been the most impressive up to this point, recording 23 tackles, five passes defended and one interception. Still, none have shined as many fans had hoped. The season is still young, but if the Tiger defense is going to turn things around, the cornerback group will need to be better going forward.

Something needs to change on defense

While the Ole Miss loss no doubt put the Tiger defense on the map, it wasn’t an outlier.

Through five games, the LSU football passing defense has allowed 260.2 yards per game through the air, ranking No. 108. Their rush defense, on the other hand, is ever so slightly better, ranking No. 102 allowing 169.2 yards per game.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that those numbers aren’t good enough if you want to compete in the SEC.

The Tigers still have seven games remaining on their schedule. While a 3-2 record isn’t exactly the end of the world, coach Brian Kelly and the defense have no room for error going forward.

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