Ad Disclosure
Ahead of schedule for lofty sack goal, Arden Key and LSU D off to good start
By Gary Laney
Published:
BATON ROUGE, La. — Arden Key turned some heads, and maybe in corners earned some chuckles, when he declared in August camp that his goal this year is to finish with 20 sacks.
So far, the sophomore outside linebacker/defensive end is actually a little ahead of that pace.
Key had two sacks in LSU’s season-opening 16-14 loss to Wisconsin, highlighting a solid defensive effort in Dave Aranda’s debut as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator.
“We met all our goals,” Key said. “I feel like we just need to work on tackling and our technique.”
That was the general consensus of the Tigers. The defense allowed 339 yards despite being on the field 73 of the game’s 123 plays. LSU created three turnovers and had two sacks. Outside of disappointment in a handful of missed tackles and some issues caused by missed assignments, the group was solid.
“I think we played extremely well for our first game,” head coach Les Miles said. “We missed too many tackles. We don’t miss tackles where we just shut them completely down. But generally speaking, simple mistakes like alignment and tackles, but that was — and everybody can recognize that’s going to be a great defense.”
Much of that starts with the pressure Key is able to generate from his new hybrid role.
Last year, as a true freshman defensive end, he had five sacks and showed flashes of being a dominant speed-rusher off the edge out of a three-point stance.
This year, he’s playing a different technique. Instead of a 4-3 end, he’s a 3-4 outside linebacker, usually playing a standup technique that will allow, nay, require him to both attack up the field but also drop back into coverage.
So far, the part he’s used to doing is where he’s having more success.
He foiled Wisconsin’s first drive with what might be called a “persistence sack.” On a 3rd-and-4 from the 50, Badgers quarterback Bart Houston stepped up in the pocket and just as he seemed intent on sprinting for the first down, Key dragged him down from behind for a 2-yard loss.
“It was very exciting,” Key said. “It was our first game going against somebody else, and of course, I got the sack and it felt good.”
His second sack came early in the fourth quarter with LSU clinging to a 14-13 lead and Wisconsin again near midfield at the LSU 47. This time, Key simply beat his man around the edge to take Houston down for a 6-yard loss.
The speed rush is what Key, the lean, 6-foot-6, 238-pound Atlanta native, is known for. Small for a defensive end, he seemed like a player who would benefit from a move to a 3-4 outside linebacker role.
So far, that seems to have been proven true, although there was one hiccup to his game.
On some passing downs, Key, who finished with six total tackles, isn’t always rushing the passer. Unlike his days as a 4-3 defensive end, Key must also drop back in coverage, an area where he made a couple of mistakes in coverage against Wisconsin tight end Troy Fumagalli, who finished with game-highs of 7 receptions for 100 yards.
“The only thing is how much more depth you’ve got to get in a game and how big the field is and how wide the field is … He (Fumagalli) just got on me quick,” Key said. “By the time I saw him, it was too late.”
He said he can correct the issue by getting more depth between himself and the receiver so he can see what the receiver is intending on doing.
He said there’s urgency in getting that corrected. Until he fixes the issue, he expects opponents to challenge him in the passing game, especially since that’s one way to avoid his feared pass rush.
“I know teams are going to come after me and get me to drop more because I haven’t dropped before, so they’re going to test it out,” he said.
That’s where LSU is right now. In a new scheme, some players are adjusting to new roles. The good news is, most of the players have the physical ability to perfect those roles. With his length and speed, Key is potentially a difficult matchup in coverage for a tight end. With that same speed, he’s an impossible matchup for a left tackle to block.
It’s looking like for LSU to bounce back, it will need for Key and the defense to be dominant and after Week 1, at least that part of the formula looks likely to come into fruition.
