Kragthorpe: BYU prepares to face former USU assistant Dave Aranda, who’s building a defensive powerhouse at LSU

Riley Nelson once shredded Dave Aranda’s defense. Taysom Hill produced respectable yardage totals, but not a lot of points, in two games vs. two schools. And now, BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum will take his turn against one of the country’s most renowned defensive coordinators.

Five years after coming to Utah State for a $155,000 salary, needing a job when the Hawaii staff was dismissed after losing badly to BYU to end the season, Aranda is the highest-paid assistant coach in college football. LSU is paying him $1.8 million — fewer than half of the 130 head coaches in the FBS make that much money — and anyone who watched his Tiger defense perform last season would say he’s worth it.

The defense BYU expects to see Saturday in a game that’s being relocated to New Orleans from Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey is creative, diverse and relentless, as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner discovered in the Citrus Bowl last December. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was sacked eight times in LSU’s 29-9 victory, as the Cardinals produced three field goals and 220 total yards.

Aranda’s scheme causes problems for quarterbacks and those who protect them, disguising where the rushers are coming from at various times. He gives the opposing offense different looks, without necessarily changing his defensive personnel.

In their season opener, the Tigers may be missing linebacker Arden Key, who registered 11 sacks last season. Key has been limited in practice by a shoulder injury. The way Aranda talks about using Key, though, gives some insight into his approach.

“You put him in a position to create mismatches,” Aranda said in a news conference last week. “You find the weakest offender and you shift the numbers away from Arden, so there’s a choice that has to be made. You build around him.”

Aranda will be facing BYU for the fourth time in this decade with a fourth school. For anyone who studies the coaching profession, his climb has been fascinating to witness.

His defenses at Utah State, Wisconsin and LSU over the past five seasons each ranked in the top 15. SI.com listed him No. 2 among assistant coaches to watch in the upcoming offseason when head coaching vacancies are being filled, although his low-key personality may better suit him to remaining an assistant. And he’s making plenty of money in that role.

Aranda is a perfect example of how coaching is a crazy business. Nobody would have watched Nelson throw for 363 yards and three touchdowns in BYU’s 41-20 win over Hawaii in December 2011 and pegged Aranda as a rising star, right? Gary Andersen did, though.

Andersen brought him to Utah State, where Aranda may have done the best one-season work of any assistant football coach in the state’s recent history. The Aggies went 11-2, losing only to Wisconsin (16-14) and BYU (6-3) on the road in games where the defense played well enough for USU to win. It helped that the Aggies were playing in the final year of football in a weakened Western Athletic Conference, but Aranda’s defense was impressive throughout the season. USU produced what remains the only nonconference loss of Utah’s Pac-12 era, 27-20 in overtime in Logan.

In 2013, Andersen took him to Wisconsin. Aranda faced BYU for a third straight season and contained Hill and the Cougar offense in a 27-17 win.

Aranda stayed in Madison for three seasons, including one year after Andersen moved to Oregon State. LSU then hired Aranda in 2016, and the Tigers allowed only 16 touchdowns last season — including one to Alabama in a 10-0 loss.

Aranda’s career arc is clear evidence that succeeding in coaching requires great players. He maximized Kyler Fackrell, Zach Vigil and others at USU. Wisconsin’s recruiting philosophy shifted to faster players and more linebackers, giving him more pass-rushing options. And LSU is loaded with Southeastern Conference athletes, enabling him to be even more aggressive and creative.

The Tigers will give Mangum, offensive coordinator Ty Detmer and the BYU offensive line a lot to think about Saturday. The safest prediction of the season: Mangum won’t match what Nelson once did against Aranda’s defense.