The countdown to kickoff clocks have long been ticking. But most media members, coaches and many college football fans will tell you that the season officially makes its impending arrival felt by the annual return of media days.

SEC Media Days kicks off in downtown Dallas on Monday and will run through Thursday as the newly-expanded 16-team conference will have four schools take the podium on all four days, previewing the 2024 season.

LSU football and head coach Brian Kelly will help usher in the new season by appearing Day 1 of SEC Media Days. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. and tight end Mason Taylor will be the players representing the Tigers at media days.

With the start of the 2024 season for LSU less than 60 days away and the start of preseason practice just a few days away, let's look at five pressing questions around the team.

Defensive progression for LSU football under new DC Blake Baker

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LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker isn't new to the state of Louisiana, nor even to LSU but Kelly hired him over the offseason away from Missouri to fix the Tigers' underwhelming defense.

Baker's four-down lineman front has been described as "attacking" by several defensive players since he's taken over the defense, but there's been plenty of holes to fill as the defense heads into the season.

Most of the starters along the defensive line are gone as are a couple of players in the secondary. All of the defensive players are learning and/or rehashing Baker's scheme of one-gap assignments.

After one of the worst statistical seasons in LSU football history in 2023, how does Kelly feel about the progress LSU's defense has been in seven-plus months under Baker and how much can fans expect to be improved on that side of the ball?

Is Brian Kelly satisfied with running back depth?

Senior tailback John Emery Jr. was in the transfer portal for a few weeks back in the spring. After that short period of time, Emery ultimately decided to withdraw his name from the portal and return to LSU, the school he signed with out of Destrahan High School back in 2019.

He was not able to participate in spring drills as that left the Tigers with two scholarship running backs, sophomore Kaleb Jackson and senior Josh Williams, during the development and evaluation period. Trey Holly has been dealing with legal issues that prevented him from going through spring practice with LSU.

Kelly and company did welcome four-star freshman Caden Durham into the fold this summer for conditioning, but he's yet to be among the others in practice. All these things considered, how does Kelly feel about the development of the tailback position?

Who will be LSU football's backup quarterback?

Despite losing Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jayden Daniels to the Washington Commanders as No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, there is no question about who's picking up the reins. Garrett Nussmeier, who started the ReliaQuest Bowl win over Wisconsin for the Tigers, is primed for a big year in his first full season of being the LSU's starting quarterback.

The intriguing question is who will back him up. The two contenders are Vanderbilt transfer A.J. Swann and sophomore Rickie Collins. Both alternated in the No. 2 spot all spring long and all signs point to that competition rolling on into preseason camp.

Swann has played SEC football before, playing in 15 games in his first two seasons at Vanderbilt and he's thrown for more than 2,700 career yards and 22 touchdowns. Collins, while he doesn't have experience yet, did have a solid spring which has afforded himself a chance to win the backup job.

All eyes on defensive line, secondary. Is depth quality enough for LSU football?

There's no doubt, the swings and misses LSU had in the transfer portal for defensive linemen didn't look good. The Tigers managed to snag Wisconsin senior defensive tackle Gio Paez and Division II transfer Jay'viar Suggs. LSU needed more to address the immediate need but it wasn't able to get it.

How much does that affect how the defense performs and what Baker aims to do up front?

On the backend, many fans still have nightmares about teams hitting deep shots over the top on LSU last season. What's difference about the cornerbacks and safeties is there are guys that have at least one year of experience playing in the SEC. The hope is that translate into better play.

But having guys like Zy Alexander, Ashton Stamps, Javien Toviano back, along with super freshman P.J. Woodland, along with Major Burns and Sage Ryan at the safety spots, certainly has the Tigers secondary looking a little more solid heading into the 2024 season.

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LSU football vs. USC in Las Vegas. Can Tigers finally win an opener?

LSU hasn't won a season opener since 2019. Think about that: that's five straight season-opening losses. For a program like LSU, it's hard to fathom that fact.

It's been said that season opener set the tone for how the season goes for most teams. Looking at the Tigers, with 2022 being the outlier, there's been some truth to losing the opener and the team not fully gaining its footing.

Kelly and company kickoff 2024 in Las Vegas against the USC Trojans. Can this be the one they win? And how much stock is Kelly putting into setting the tone for the 2024 season with a victory over USC in Allegiant Stadium?

Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Pressing LSU football questions ahead of 2024 SEC Media Kickoff