Defensive lineman reflects on coach Jamar Cain’s departure

BY PETER RAUTERKUS @peter_rauterkus

Just before LSU football was set to take the practice field Saturday, defensive line coach Jamar Cain informed the team of his departure for a job as pass rush specialist with the Denver Broncos.

“It was tough when he told us because it was tough for me. Because like I said, this is the guy that gave me the shot,” said junior defensive lineman Jacobian Guillory.

Guillory is entering his fourth season with LSU in 2023 and will now have a fourth different defensive line coach.

He has also been at LSU longer than anyone else, signing with the program in 2020. From his freshman year to now, much has changed within the LSU program.

Guillory was recruited by former head coach Ed Orgeron and spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons as a rotational piece of LSU’s defensive line. In 2022, his role drastically changed after the first game of the season.

The perceived star of LSU’s de - fensive line, Maason Smith, tore his ACL on the first drive of the game, which made LSU’s depth on the defensive line razor thin.

While Guillory didn’t start, he saw increased snaps with him being the only true defensive tackle behind Jaquelin Roy and Mekhi Wingo. Guillory finished the season with 15 total tackles, a career high for him.

That was the lone season that Guillory played with Cain as defensive line coach. It wasn’t always easy for the two of them working together, but their relationship flourished and was positive, according to Guillory.

“We were bumping heads so much every day, yelling at each other. I was like ‘man, I can’t stand this guy. Now I’m like ‘I don’t know if I want to be coached by anybody else,’” Guillory said.

Despite spending just one season at LSU, Cain’s impact was felt. Even with the lack of depth following Smith’s injury, LSU still managed productive play from the defensive line, finishing in

POWERHOUSE, from page 9

Crews especially has continued to prove why he is regarded as a possible No. 1 draft pick in the MLB. Not only is his spot in center field unwavering, but the Florida native is also stepping up to the plate with a .531 batting average. To put that in perspective, a .531 batting average means that in 10 at-bats, Crews will land on a base at least five times.

Crews currently leads the country in batting average, according to D1 Baseball. Mike Boeve, who plays for Omaha, is second in the country for batting average and, though currently strutting a solid .489, is still nowhere near passing Crews.

After totaling 36 runs in a series against Samford, fans were excited to see just how well this offense would do in conference play. Just one week later LSU took the first game of its series against Texas A&M 9-0. Though it wasn’t a complete sweep for the Tigers, they outscored the Aggies that

ARKANSAS, from page 9

Led by White, the LSU bats got hot again in the sixth inning as a grand slam brought in four more runs. White finished the day going 2-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

LSU as a team finished the game with 11 hits, finishing the series with 35 hits across three games.

“We’ve patterned good performances. I think we were going outside of ourselves and expanding the zone a little too much yesterday,” Johnson said. “That’s not when we’re at our best or best for them. We really look for a pitch that we can drive and if not, we don’t swing and make pitchers execute that way.”

On the mound, Thatcher Hurd got things started for LSU. He struggled early, allowing two runs in the first inning while throwing over 40 pitches. He allowed two more runs, finishing the game allowing four earned runs on four hits and five walks.

The bullpen was vital for LSU, though.

Griffin Herring relieved Hurd, and seemed to be a breath of fresh air out of the bullpen for the Tigers. He immediately struck weekend 27-15.

DEPARTURE, from page 9 the top half of the country in rush defense.

Cain’s impact was felt on the recruiting trail, too. He had a hand in LSU landing four-star defensive line prospects Dashawn Womack and Jaxon Howard.

Cain came to LSU from Oklahoma where he spent two seasons on Lincoln Riley’s staff as a defensive ends and outside linebackers coach. He carried over the relationships built in recruiting at Oklahoma to LSU, which paid dividends for the Tigers.

LSU now begins the search for a new defensive line coach, a process that the program has become used to over the last few seasons.

Heading into the series against Arkansas, fans believed that this type of offense would continue to prevail. When game one finally began, however, this was not the case.

“Offensively, we had a couple of opportunities that got away from us,” Johnson said after that game. “You know, but good pitching will do that too.”

The Razorbacks’ bullpen for game one was unmanageable for the Tigers. Left-handed pitchers

Hunter Hollan and Hagen Smith proved to be a challenge for every single LSU hitter. Though the Tigers had eight hits in the game, not a single one resulted in a run until the bottom of the eighth inning. LSU was outscored by Arkansas 9-3 after going into an extra inning with one run each.

It was obvious that the lefthanded pitchers accounted for LSU’s poor performance at the plate and that remained a concern going into the next game. If Arkansas had another left-handed out two batters and closed out the third inning with minimal damage.

Herring finished the game allowing one earned run on two hits in two innings. He also struck out two batters and walked one.

Garrett Edwards replaced Herring in the fifth inning and was dominant over the course of four innings.

In those innings, he allowed no earned runs on two hits while striking out six batters and walking just one.

The key for his success was pitch balance and variety, according to Edwards. He especially cited success with his off speed pitches.

“Today felt good. All three pitches but more specifically changeup. I thought my changeup was really effective tonight,” Edwards said.

LSU allowed more hits in game three than any other in the series, but situational pitching seemed to be key for LSU in keeping Arkansas’ offense at bay.

The Tigers now improve to 21-3 on the season and 4-2 in SEC play. LSU will be back in action Tuesday to take on Grambling before another home SEC series versus Tennessee next weekend.

In the meantime, though, LSU continues to push forward in spring practice. Despite not having a coach at the moment, Guillory doesn’t believe it will affect how the defensive line practices.

“I think we’re all bought in and we’re ready to work no matter who the coach is,” Guillory said. “We all want to get better everyday. Everybody wants to be in the starting group, everyone’s working.” pitcher ready to go in game two, would LSU perform poorly again?

In an interim role, Gerald Chatman is a possible name mentioned to fill in for Cain. Chatman is currently a senior defensive analyst for LSU football, and was someone Guillory mentioned when talking about possible coaches.

Yet again, however, LSU reminded fans of just the type of powerhouse it is.

In game two of the series, the Tigers collected 16 hits, taking the game 12-2 and drawing it to a close in the seventh inning. In game three, where the outcome would determine who ultimately took the series, LSU defeated Arkansas 14-5.

Though Arkansas didn’t use any more left-handed pitchers, the performance of the Tigers at the plate was undeniable.

“A little adversity doesn’t shake them,” Johnson said. “And I thought their performance today was another good example of that. You know, you never know when the big pitch is going to come. But you want to be in the right headspace so that you can execute your plan when it does and we did that.”

Game three was really where this dominance was indisputable. LSU plated six runs in just the fourth inning alone, grabbing onto a lead that it ultimately never let go of.

Crews started the scoring early, grabbing a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. In that solid fourth inning, Thompson led the Tigers off at the plate with a double. Soon after, Dugas secured a two-run shot of his own. White had struggled throughout the series at the plate, but the pieces had finally started to come together in game three when he sent over a three-run home run, allowing the Tigers to reach 10 runs.

White was untouchable in this last game and further solidified his strength at the plate in the sixth inning when he sent over yet another home run. This next time, however, White’s shot accounted for four runs; it was a grand slam.

“What Tommy [White] did today was very special,” Crews said. “Very mature of him to shake that off and move on and do what he did today.”

In game three, LSU totaled four home runs, 11 hits and 13 RBI.

Moving forward, LSU will continue to see other strong SEC programs, and after that first performance against Arkansas, it’s probable that the Tigers will be seeing a lot more left-handed pitchers in the future. This weakness could be one that halts LSU’s success. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the Tigers adjust and if their solid performances can come against lefthanded pitchers as well.

LSU is now 21-3 on the season and will be gearing up for yet another top-25 matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers, who sport multiple left-handed pitchers. The home-field advantage will be crucial for LSU, but this series will be a huge test to see if that first game against Arkansas was just a fluke, especially if the Volunteers have left-handed pitchers coming out of the bullpen.

Until then, however, LSU remains a powerhouse.

LSU’s defensive line outlook for the 2023 season is more promising than it was last season. Despite dealing with injuries this spring, the additions of Jordan Jefferson, Jalen Lee, Paris Shand and Bradyn Swinson out of the transfer portal gives LSU more depth than it had last season.

Guillory adds experience to that group and he believes that with the depth, the group is more well-rounded than it has been. He said they now have every position covered and is excited about how it could look in the fall.

“We can be really dangerous,” Guillory said. “It’s gonna be crazy this year. It’s gonna be a whole bunch of stuff that just ain’t been seen yet.”