Editor's note: We broke down LSU's need to improve at quarterback as part of our SEC blog's positional series three weeks ago. Today we conclude our position-by-position look at the 2015 Tigers.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- When a school advertises itself as "Defensive Back University," something special is obviously going down there.

Even while it has been a couple of years since LSU had a DB who jumped off the screen like Tyrann Mathieu, the Tigers still could make a case as the nation's top secondary. That shouldn't change in 2015.

"The tradition of DBU is going to still be here," rising senior defensive back Jalen Mills said. "We're looking forward to next year and not just being a dominant defense as a whole, but a dominant, just us as a whole secondary."

Only two defenses (San Jose State at 117.8 ypg and Clemson at 157.4) allowed fewer passing yards per game than LSU's average of 164.2 in 2014. The Tigers lost three valuable veterans from that pass defense in All-SEC safety Ronald Martin and cornerbacks Jalen Collins and Rashard Robinson, but there is a ton of talent still on hand.

Any conversation about the secondary starts with cornerback Tre'Davious White and three-year starter Mills, who is capable of playing either safety or corner. But the Tigers' next superstar-in-waiting at DB might be Jamal Adams, who made a big impression last fall as a true freshman.

"He probably might not know what to do, but he's going to give tremendous effort as a freshman," Martin said while assessing Adams' rookie season. "You don't see too many guys come in as a freshman and give tremendous effort like that. That's what I give him the most. He has a lot of potential, very athletic and I think that's what stood him apart from a lot of the freshmen."

The Tigers should also get Dwayne Thomas and Corey Thompson back from injury, plus junior Rickey Jefferson, whom teammates point to as one of the group's vocal leaders after his role expanded as a sophomore in 2014.

"I already put it in my head that I'm going to be hard on the guys coming in and I'm going to be hard on the guys that were in because I see what we've got here," Jefferson said. "I know we've got a great opportunity to be amongst the best, and DBU, and we're going to bring that tradition back and keep it alive. So that's really my focus and what I'm planning to do next year."

Speaking of the guys coming in, LSU is in position to clean up at defensive back on national signing day. Cornerback Kevin Tolliver -- ESPN's No. 10 overall prospect -- is already on campus as an early enrollee and could immediately help address LSU's slight depth concerns at the position. The Tigers also landed commitments from four-star DBs Xavier Lewis, Donte Jackson and Jeremy Cutrer.

And they also return underclassmen Ed Paris, Devin Voorhies, Russell Gage and John Battle, who could compete for bigger roles after getting limited playing time in 2014.

Overall, there will be a few youngsters filling key roles and some depth-chart questions to answer at cornerback, but 2015 looks to be another potential-packed season for LSU's secondary. Take it from departing senior Martin.

"Those young guys, those guys have got to prepare and be stepped up for the spring," Martin said. "I think those guys are going to have a pretty good spring because they'll learn from the fall. Especially Jamal. I think he's going to step up and be a leader for those guys next year, him and [Tre'Davious White]. Basically I think Jamal and Tre'Davious and Corey Thompson coming back, I think those guys are going to be great."

BREAKDOWN

Returning players: CB Tre'Davious White (33 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interceptions), DB Jalen Mills (62 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 INT), S Jamal Adams (66 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 sack), S Rickey Jefferson (23 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 2 INT), DB Dwayne Thomas (24 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT), CB Ed Paris (3 tackles), CB Russell Gage (2 tackles), S Devin Voorhies (5 tackles), DB John Battle (0 tackles), S Corey Thompson (DNP).

Departed players: CB Jalen Collins (38 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 INT), S Ronald Martin (73 tackles, 2 INT), CB Rashard Robinson (17 tackles, 1 TFL).

Committed prospects: Kevin Tolliver (No. 10 overall prospect, No. 2 CB, five stars, early enrollee), Xavier Lewis (No. 150 overall, No. 13 CB, four stars), Donte Jackson (No. 176 overall, No. 15 athlete, four stars), Jeremy Cutrer (No. 26 on ESPN JC 50, No. 2 S).

Outlook: Despite the losses of Martin, Collins and Robinson -- who combined to start 26 games in 2014 -- the secondary is still in good shape. The Tigers will be short on experience at cornerback behind White and potentially Mills, but adding several future stars on signing day -- led by five-star early enrollee Kevin Tolliver -- is an outstanding answer to those concerns. This group looks more than capable of continuing the DBU tradition this fall.