Mike Denbrock: LSU OC designing explosive offense for 2022
When LSU Offensive Coordinator MIke Denbrock talks about coaching at LSU, he exudes enthusiasm. The seasoned offensive coach sat down with Jordy Culotta to discuss his approach to the offense and his transition to Baton Rouge. His energy is contagious, and his eye for talent and success feels promising for the upcoming fall.
Coach Denbrock and Brian Kelly have worked together four times, including their start as grad assistants at Grand Valley State. Once Kelly became head coach there, he called Denbrock to join him, which would begin a coaching relationship that has lasted over decades. Denbrock shares that his years as tackle/tight end/offensive line coach, his time as a wide receiver/running backs coach, and his experience coordinating the offense has allowed him to get a “full perspective of offensive football.”
One of Denbrock’s most enlightening moments in coaching came with Kelly at Grand Valley State when they “swapped jobs,” which “benefited him tremendously.” Denbrock called this experience “an education.” His biggest takeaways as a defensive coach was “gaining some knowledge of what it's like to be on the other side of the ball” and “trying to instill that defensive philosophy about playing hard and togetherness and unit strength and how important that is even on the offensive side of the ball.”
Denbrock continues to share his thoughts on working with Kelly again. He shared, “One thing about Coach Kelly that I've always admired is his ability to be light on his feet and see where the game is going. He’s not afraid to make changes or adjustments.”
As LSU fans and former players know, with the exception of 2019, the offense has concerned us for years, no matter who has been the play caller. Denbrock is determined to “allow the athletes to do what they do” and to find “ways to create space for those guys who are explosive and need to touch the football.” He elaborated that the offense will “utilize space and grass” and “be a group that plays up on our toes and dictates the tempo of the game, but also does it in an incredibly physical style.”
The physical aspect of the offense will come with a “strong run game” in order to “play action pass off of our run game and RPO off that run game. Even when they think they know we're going to run it, we're going off of our run game, and do a number of things with that. We also want to stretch the football field and throw the ball down the field to create explosive plays.”
When it comes to finding those explosive players, Denbrock used the spring to evaluate the personnel and “gauge how we needed to use the system.” His assessment will determine if the offense leans more toward “throwing the football or towards leaning on the running backs.” His conclusion is “the edges of our offense have the skill level that can match up with anybody.”
The offensive staff also has to answer the biggest question of the offseason: who is the quarterback? Denbrock views LSU’s quarterback situation like this: “In today's college football world, I don't know anybody who's got a better quarterback room than we do when it comes to not only knowledge of the game, but also talent.”
Between the wide receivers and the quarterbacks, Denbrock is confident that the offensive staff is going to give those playmakers opportunities to shine. “It's a little bit of a two-edged sword when you have so many talented guys in there, but fortunately we've got a lot of guys who also have their mind set on being here at LSU and being part of getting us back at our rightful place amongst the elite of college football. Those kids are committed, and they've done an incredible job of competing on the field, but also supporting one another and making each other better in healthy competition.”
No matter who the QB is, Kelly and Denbrock have decided “a base way that we're going to play offense with some tweaks that will happen depending on who ends up winning the job. If it is a little bit more of a pocket presence or a little bit more of an athletic guy, those subtleties can be inserted in there when that decision gets made.”
We all know that as the offensive line goes, so does the offense. It’s the big guys up front who are going to pave the way for that explosive offense. Denbrock is seeing the unit come together. Young guys like Will Campbell are raising the standard with work ethic. As a former offensive line coach, Denbrock’s mind goes there first. He credits offensive line coach Brad Davis with being “an incredible teacher” and “relationship builder.” Denbrock described, “That room in particular is one that has to be in each other's corner. They all need to have each other's back and fight their way out. A lot of progress was made over the spring. We're going to play the best five guys.”
The running back room has been strengthened by the transfer portal, just like almost every other position. In addition to LSU running backs with varied skill sets, Denbrock has observed that Noah Cain , Penn State transfer, adds a certain “professionalism” because he knows “how to do things the right way.” He’s expecting the addition to “up the ante a little bit” and “put everybody on notice that this train's going to continue to move.”
According to Denbrock, the offensive staff has gelled so well that he has to redirect them at times to get back on track “because we have such a good time together.” He continued, “It's funny because I’ve never worked with any of the full-time coaches before I walked in the door here, but what an amazing group of men. It's an honor to be in charge of that room and have a voice in that room.” Surprisingly, what matters most to Denbrock as the OC is to “is to support them in their goals and dreams and help them grow as coaches. If I possibly can, I want to put them in positions where they feel like their voice is important to what we're doing and how we're doing it.”
Rebuilding the LSU roster required Louisiana talent as well as transfers from around the country. Denbrock discussed how the staff has worked to build a winning team: “First of all, it's a never-ending process. Luckily we've got an incredible recruiting department that does a lot of the legwork in bringing us players.” Finding players to fill gaps and needs is “an ongoing deal that we're addressing even as we speak.” As the coaches and staff have worked together this offseason, Denbrock is sure that the team “can line up and compete” in the competitive SEC.
Competing in the SEC is one of the main reasons why Denbrock is here. Having played Georgia and Alabama the last two years in the postseason, Denbrock experienced the SEC intensity firsthand. “Obviously that was a whole different level than what we had yet to achieve at the University of Cincinnati, so I was just incredibly impressed across the board with how athletic everybody is. The size of the linemen is incredible. I think that's the big piece of it, the line of scrimmage is just different. Those guys are massive and athletic, and you better be able to match up with them.”
Baton Rouge has already made an impact on Denbrock, and he understands why Joe Burrow chose LSU over Cincinnati four years ago. Coach Fickle and Coach Denbrock were sure Burrow was going to be a Bearcat, but he had one visit left to take, to Tiger Stadium. We all know how that turned out. Denbrock gets it now: “Right when I moved here, it became very clear in the first two seconds why Cincinnati probably really never had a chance…because once you see Tiger Stadium, once you get around the people in this community, and the people that support this football program, I don't know how you say no.”
In fact, Denbrock is thankful every day for his opportunity in this community. He’s enjoying the food, the heat, and the city. His transition has been smooth, and he even sees some similarities to the small town he grew up in, Homer, Michigan. Homer was “a community of people that were supportive, and you felt like they had your back. I feel the same thing here in Baton Rouge.” When it comes to being a part of LSU football:
“I have to really honestly wake up every day, and sometimes it just hits me, like you're the offensive coordinator at LSU. How cool is that? Watching from afar for so many years, I had such admiration for the style of play at LSU and how guys dug in to support the state of Louisiana. It was something that I kind of longed to be a part of, if that makes sense. When the opportunity presented itself, it was just a feeling of this is the pinnacle. This is a destination place that you work your whole career for an opportunity to be a part of and I just feel blessed and more than anything, grateful.”
Joy Holden
