LSU football's defense will improve in this key department in 2026

LSU football's defense made a leap in defensive coordinator Blake Baker's second year. The Tigers were a top-15 unit in the country and new head coach Lane Kiffin made retaining Baker a priority. Baker has been a turnaround artist in Baton Rouge -- making remarkable progress in just two years.

Entering year three, LSU has a chance to make another leap. LSU's defense was good in 2025, but wasn't perfect. LSU's run defense allowed too many explosive plays. Part of that is a trade-off that comes with playing aggressive defense; the rest can be blamed on poor run fits and missed tackles. LSU was generally pretty good at defending the run, but a few offenses found a way to outleverage LSU.

That will be harder to do this fall. I expect LSU's run defense to improve, specifically when it comes to preventing explosive runs. LSU wasn't at the bottom of the barrel when it came to defending explosive runs in 2025. The Tigers ranked 77th nationally in 10-yard run rate allowed, but LSU was top 50 at preventing 20+ and 30+ yard runs. Baker's unit did a fine job preventing home runs, but not the occasional double.

LSU's improvement in this department starts with two players: Ty Benefield and DaShawn Spears. Benefield was a transfer portal addition from Boise State, while Spears was with LSU last year but is now set for a bigger role.

Benefield's run stop rate of 5.3% would have led all LSU safeties last year. Benefield is an elite athlete. Boise State was comfortable playing Benefield in the box and Benefield is physical enough to fit the run. As for Spears, he posted an 85.7 run defense grade in 2025, which was among the best on LSU. Most of Spears' snaps came in passing situations, though. Now Spears will be close to a full-time player.

Benefield and Spears both have decent size for a safety. Having two staunch run defenders on the backend will allow Baker to be more aggressive while also preventing the big play.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football's defense will improve in this key department in 2026

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