2015 LSU Tigers football team

2015 LSU Tigers football

Texas Bowl champion
Texas Bowl, W 56–27 vs. Texas Tech
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 16
2015 record	9–3 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach	Les Miles (11th year)
Offensive coordinator	Cam Cameron (3rd year)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Steele (1st year)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Tiger Stadium (Capacity: 102,321)

2015 SEC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
East Division
#25 Florida x		7	–	1		10	–	4
#22 Tennessee		5	–	3		9	–	4
Georgia		5	–	3		10	–	3
Vanderbilt		2	–	6		4	–	8
Kentucky		2	–	6		5	–	7
Missouri		1	–	7		5	–	7
South Carolina		1	–	7		3	–	9
West Division
#1 Alabama x$#^		7	–	1		14	–	1
#10 Ole Miss		6	–	2		10	–	3
Arkansas		5	–	3		8	–	5
#16 LSU		5	–	3		9	–	3
Texas A&M		4	–	4		8	–	5
Mississippi State		4	–	4		9	–	4
Auburn		2	–	6		7	–	6
Championship: Alabama 29, Florida 15
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Tiger Stadium, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by 11th-year head coach Les Miles. They finished the season 9–3, 5–3 in SEC play to finish in a tie for third place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Texas Bowl where they defeated Texas Tech.

Previous season and offseason

The 2014 LSU Tigers football team finished the season 8–5 (4–4 in SEC) with a loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, 31–28. The Tigers won all four non-conference games including the Big-Ten runner-up Wisconsin Badgers, and four SEC games against Florida, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. LSU suffered its first loss of the season at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the first loss to the Bulldogs since 1999 and first loss to the Bulldogs at home since 1991.

The previous season was one of the worst for LSU under Les Miles, matching the record of the 2008 LSU Tigers football team. The team did manage to sign the consensus #2 recruiting class in the country, including top rated recruits Leonard Fournette, Malachi Dupre, and Brandon Harris, all who made contributions during the season. After the bowl game, Defensive Coordinator John Chavis announced he was leaving LSU for the same position at Texas A&M. LSU hired former Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele to fill the position, and subsequently hired former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron to coach the defensive line.^[1]^[2] Former defensive line coach and ace recruiter Brick Haley was demoted to an administrative position and will likely not return to the coaching staff.

LSU lost only three underclassmen to the NFL in the offseason: linebacker Kwon Alexander, cornerback Jalen Collins and defensive end Danielle Hunter; this was a large decrease compared to losing 11 underclassmen in 2012 and 7 in 2013.^[3] On January 16 Les Miles held a press conference announcing that six underclassmen starters would return, including leading receiver Travin Dural and star defensive back Jalen Mills, as well as offensive linemen Vadal Alexander and Jerald Hawkins, tight end Dillon Gordon, and linebacker Lamar Louis.^[4]

For the third consecutive season, LSU signed a top-ten recruiting class consisting of 25 signees, highlighted by top-rated recruits Kevin Toliver II, Arden Key, Tyron Johnson, and Donte Jackson.^[5] While not as acclaimed as the previous season's consensus #2 ranked class, the class was ranked #10 by ESPN, #8 by rivals.com, and #5 by 24/7 sports.

Players drafted

Main article: 2015 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
2	42	Jalen Collins	Defensive Back	Atlanta Falcons
3	88	Danielle Hunter	Defensive Lineman	Minnesota Vikings
4	124	Kwon Alexander	Linebacker	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7	235	Kenny Hilliard	Running back	Houston Texans

Reference:^[6]

Class of 2015 signees

2015 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Nick Brossette RB	Baton Rouge, LA	University Laboratory School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	211 lb (96 kg)	Aug 26, 2013
Nick Brossette RB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
George Brown Jr. OT	Cincinnati, OH	Winton Woods High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	274 lb (124 kg)	Dec 6, 2014
George Brown Jr. OT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Jeremy Cutrer DB	Kentwood, LA	Mississippi Gulf Coast Comm College	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 23, 2014
Jeremy Cutrer DB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Derrick Dillon WR	Franklinton, LA	Pine High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Feb 4, 2015
Derrick Dillon WR	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
David Ducre RB	Mandeville, LA	Lakeshore High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Feb 19, 2014
David Ducre RB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Blake Ferguson LS	Buford, GA	Buford High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sep 22, 2013
Blake Ferguson LS	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Jazz Ferguson WR	Saint Francisville, LA	West Feliciana High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	Feb 19, 2014
Jazz Ferguson WR	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Lanard Fournette RB	New Orleans, LA	Saint Augustine High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	Jan 24, 2015
Lanard Fournette RB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Josh Growden K	Australia	Clare H.S.	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Feb 4, 2015
Josh Growden K	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Derrius Guice RB	Baton Rouge, LA	Catholic High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	May 31, 2014
Derrius Guice RB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Donte Jackson ATH	Jefferson, LA	Riverdale High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jan 21, 2015
Donte Jackson ATH	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Tyron Johnson WR	New Orleans, LA	Warren Easton High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jan 2, 2015
Tyron Johnson WR	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Arden Key DE	Lithonia, GA	Hapeville Charter High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Feb 2, 2015
Arden Key DE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Xavier Lewis DB	Laplace, LA	East Saint John High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Jul 8, 2014
Xavier Lewis DB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Adrian Magee OT	Franklinton, LA	Franklinton High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	310 lb (140 kg)	Apr 27, 2014
Adrian Magee OT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Brandon Martin WR	Dallas, TX	Prime Prep Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Feb 4, 2015
Brandon Martin WR	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Justin McMillan QB	Cedar Hill, TX	Cedar Hill High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jun 11, 2014
Justin McMillan QB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Foster Moreau TE	New Orleans, LA	Jesuit High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Feb 4, 2015
Foster Moreau TE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Bry'Kiethon Mouton TE	Lafayette, LA	Acadiana High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Aug 1, 2014
Bry'Kiethon Mouton TE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Hanner Shipley DE	Marble Falls, TX	Faith Academy of Marble Falls	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Jan 8, 2014
Hanner Shipley DE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Maea Teuhema OG	Keller, TX	Keller High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	330 lb (150 kg)	Feb 5, 2014
Maea Teuhema OG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Kevin Toliver II DB	Jacksonville, FL	Trinity Christian Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	Nov 4, 2012
Kevin Toliver II DB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Chidi Valentine-Okeke OT	Ludowici, GA	Faith Baptist Christian Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	Jan 29, 2015
Chidi Valentine-Okeke OT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Isaiah Washington DE	New Orleans, LA	Edna Karr High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Feb 15, 2014
Isaiah Washington DE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Toby Weathersby OG	Houston, TX	Westfield High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	Feb 4, 2015
Toby Weathersby OG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 12 Rivals: 8 247Sports: 5 ESPN: 10
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 LSU Football Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015. "Louisiana State College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015. "LSU Tigers". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015.

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at LSU	Alma Mater
Les Miles	Head coach	11	Michigan (1976)
Frank Wilson	Running backs/Recruiting coordinator	6	Nicholls State (1997)
Bradley Dale Peveto	Special teams/ Defensive Assistiant	6	Southern Methodist (1987)
Cam Cameron	Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks	3	Indiana (1983)
Jeff Grimes	Offensive line/Running Game Coordinator	2	Texas - El Paso (1991)
Kevin Steele	Defensive coordinator	1	Tennessee (1979)
Steve Ensminger	Tight ends	6	LSU (1982)
Corey Raymond	Defensive backs	3	LSU (1992)
Ed Orgeron	Defensive line	1	Northwestern State (1984)
Tony Ball	Wide receivers	1	UT-Chattanooga (1983)
Reference:^[7]

Depth chart

The official opening day depth chart was released on August 31, 2015.^[8]

Defense

FS
28 Jalen Mills, Sr
29 Rickey Jefferson, Jr
23 Corey Thompson, Jr

WLB	MIKE	SLB
45 Deion Jones, Sr	52 Kendell Beckwith, Jr	11 Lamar Louis, Sr
48 Donnie Alexander, So	22 Ronnie Feist, Jr	40 Duke Riley, Jr
35 Devin Voorhies, So	⋅	⋅

SS
33 Jamal Adams, So
26 John Battle, So
⋅

CB
13 Dwayne Thomas, Jr
2 Kevin Toliver II, Fr
24 Edward Paris, So

DE	DT	DT	DE
92 Lewis Neal, Jr	57 Davon Godchaux, So	91 Christian LaCouture, So	46 Tashawn Bower, Jr
58 Sione Teuhema, So	97 Frank Herron, So	99 Greg Gilmore, So	49 Arden Key, Fr
98 Deondre Clark, So	95 Quentin Thomas, Sr	95 Quentin Thomas, Sr	93 M.J. Patterson, So

CB
18 Tre'Davious White, Jr
1 Donte Jackson, Fr
39 Russell Gage, So

Offense

WR
83 Travin Dural, Jr
9 John Diarse, So
8 Trey Quinn, So

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
65 Jerald Hawkins, Jr	64 Will Clapp, Fr	77 Ethan Pocic, Jr	76 Josh Boutte, Jr	74 Vadal Alexander, Sr
63 K.J. Malone, So	75 Maea Teuhema, Fr	72 Andy Dodd, So	64 Will Clapp, Fr	66 Toby Weathersby, Fr
⋅	63 K.J. Malone, So	⋅	78 Garrett Brumfield, Fr	70 George Brown Jr., Fr

TE
85 Dillon Gordon, Sr
81 Colin Jeter, Jr
89 DeSean Smith, Jr

WR
15 Malachi Dupre, So
82 D.J. Chark, So
9 John Diarse, So

QB
6 Brandon Harris, So
10 Anthony Jennings, Jr
12 Justin McMillan, Fr

FB
44 John David Moore, So
47 Bry'Keithon Mouton, Fr
41 David Ducre, Fr

Special Teams
PK 14 Trent Domingue, Jr
PK 42 Colby Delahoussaye, Jr
P 38 Jamie Keehn, Jr
KR 7 Leonard Fournette, So
PR 18 Tre'Davious White, Jr
LS 50 Reid Ferguson, Sr
H 16 Brad Kragthorpe, Sr

RB
7 Leonard Fournette, So
34 Darrel Williams, So
5 Derrius Guice, Fr

Schedule

LSU announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consists of 7 home games and 5 away games in the regular season. The Tigers will host SEC foes Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, and Texas A&M, and will travel to Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and South Carolina.^[9] The Tigers planned to open the 2015 season against the McNeese State Cowboys at home on September 5, however, several lightning delays caused the game to be cancelled. As a result, LSU will play a schedule of 11 regular season games for 2015. The Tigers officially opened their season on the road against conference and division rival Mississippi State on September 12. The other non-conference games on LSU's schedule are against Eastern Michigan, Syracuse, and WKU. This season will consist of the first meeting against the Syracuse Orange since the 1989 Hall of Fame Bowl where the Orange defeated the Tigers 23–10. Because of massive flooding to the Columbia, SC area, both schools agreed to play the October 10th matchup at Tiger Stadium, while still treating it as a home game for South Carolina.

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	6:30 p.m.	#25 (FCS) McNeese State*	#14	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	SECN	Canceled^[a]
September 12	8:15 p.m.	at No. 25 Mississippi State	No. 14	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS (Rivalry)	ESPN	W 21–19	62,531
September 19	2:30 p.m.	No. 18 Auburn	No. 13	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA (Tiger Bowl)	CBS	W 45–21	102,321
September 26	11:00 a.m.	at Syracuse*	No. 8	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	ESPN	W 34–24	43,101
October 3	6:00 p.m.	Eastern Michigan*	No. 9	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	ESPNU	W 44–22	102,321
October 10	2:30 p.m.	at South Carolina	No. 7	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA^[b]	ESPN	W 45–24	42,058
October 17	6:00 p.m.	No. 8 Florida	No. 6	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA (Rivalry)	ESPN	W 35–28	102,321
October 24	6:00 p.m.	WKU*	No. 5	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	ESPNU	W 48–20	101,561
November 7	7:00 p.m.	at No. 4 Alabama	No. 2	Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL (Rivalry)	CBS	L 16–30	101,821
November 14	6:15 p.m.	Arkansas	No. 9	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA (Golden Boot)	ESPN	L 14–31	101,699
November 21	2:30 p.m.	at No. 22 Ole Miss	No. 15	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS (Magnolia Bowl)	CBS	L 17–38	60,705
November 28	6:30 p.m.	Texas A&M		Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA (Rivalry)	SECN	W 19–7	101,803
December 29	8:00 p.m.	vs. Texas Tech*	No. 20	NRG Stadium • Houston, TX (Texas Bowl)	ESPN	W 56–27	71,054
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

^{^[a]}The game between LSU and McNeese State was canceled due to inclement weather. The game was delayed due to lightning after 5 minutes of play during which each team held the ball for one drive and no one scored. Both schools' athletic directors decided not to reschedule the game, thus declaring it a "no contest". LSU did agree to pay McNeese State its promised fee of $500,000.

^{^[b]}The game between LSU and South Carolina was originally scheduled to take place in Columbia, South Carolina. However, in light of massive flooding in Columbia earlier in the week, the game was moved to Baton Rouge.^[10]

Schedule Source:^[11]

Rankings

Further information: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	14	14	13	8 (1)	9	7	6	5 (1)	4 (5)	4 (5)	9	17	RV	23	22	16
Coaches	13	15	14	9	8	5 (1)	5 (1)	5 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	9	17	RV	23	21	17
CFP	Not released									2	9	15	NR	21	20	Not released

References

↑ Scarborough, Alex (January 13, 2015). "LSU Hires Kevin Steele as DC". ESPN. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
↑ Scarborough, Alex (January 13, 2015). "Ex-USC Trojans Interim Coach Ed Orgeron Hired as LSU Defensive Line Coach". ESPN. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
↑ Ching, David (January 22, 2015). "Smaller Draft Hit Should Help LSU in 2015". ESPN. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
↑ Ivy, Joshua (January 17, 2015). "Six Starters Returning in 2015". Fansided. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
↑ "LSU recruiting class". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
↑ "Football – 2015 NFL Draft". National Football League. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
↑ "Football – 2015 Coaches". Louisiana State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
↑ "LSU's Depth Chart: Week 1". 247 Sports. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
↑ "LSU Announces 2015 Football Schedule" (Press release). Louisiana State University Department of Athletics. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
↑ "Football Game Moved to Baton Rouge". University of South Carolina Department of Athletics. October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
↑ "2015 LSU Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 31, 2014.

LSU Tigers football

Venues	State Field (1893–1924) Tiger Stadium (1924–present) Charles McClendon Practice Facility LSU Football Operations Center LSU Indoor Practice Facility LSU Academic Center for Student-Athletes

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Arkansas Auburn Florida Mississippi State Ole Miss: Magnolia Bowl Texas A&M Tulane: Battle for the Rag

Culture & lore	History Traditions Mike the Tiger LSU Tiger Marching Band Songs of LSU Chinese Bandits Cannon's Halloween Run Earthquake Game Bluegrass Miracle 2011 "Game of the Century"

People	Head coaches All-Americans LSU Hall of Fame inductees College Football Hall of Fame inductees NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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