NEW ORLEANS

Talk about a high-energy guy, it doesn’t take much to get LSU offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa’s motor revving.

He seemingly talks a mile a minute, seldom pausing to catch his breath. And, he doesn’t hold a lot back -- or at least he didn’t early Saturday afternoon at an LSU news conference.

Studrawa also seems comfortable talking about his offense, even though he’s been on the job as coordinator for just one season. He was thrust into a new role suddenly and just before the season began. Coach Steve Kragthorpe was hired to coordinate the offense but then stepped down when diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system for which there is no cure.

When he stepped down as coordinator and only coach quarterbacks, Studrawa took his place and the Tigers haven’t missed a beat despite turmoil at quarterback.

The transition was seamless, helped in part by a talented group of running backs and an impressive offensive line. Also, Studrawa assisted head coach Les Miles when searching for a replacement when Gary Crowton left the Tigers.

When Kragthorpe was hired, he and Studrawa became friends.

“He was the best guy for the job by far,” Studrawa said Saturday. “So, our friendship developed strongly from the get-go. I was so excited about this football team coming out of spring. We corrected some things we didn’t do well last year. Steve was a big part of that coaching our quarterbacks.”

Studrawa’s role changed in a heartbeat when Kragthorpe’s diagnosis came through.

When he heard the news, Studrawa said his first thought was of his friend.

“In the first sense, that is he going to be OK? And, you’re friend’s hurt,” Studrawa said. “When you travel around and move job-to-job like coaches do, the guys in in the room are who you are closest with. When something happens to one of those guys, it affects everybody. And we were all concerned about Steve from the get-go.”

This hasn’t been Studrawa’s first go-round calling plays. Miles pointed out “Coach Stud” as he is called, held a similar position at Bowling Green before arriving at LSU,

“Just like this team’s been all year, from coach Miles on down, the selflessness and the sacrifice of the coaches to take on different roles and to put the team first and Steve first and put our offense first, those things happened from everybody in that room and the staff right down to the players,” Studrawa said. “It’s been just a tremendous season because of that sacrifice.”

Kragthorpe remains active on the coaching staff, and he provides Studrawa with in-game suggestions. He likely will be back in a similar capacity next year. Studrawa probably isn’t going anywhere either.

LSU rolls into Monday’s championship game unbeaten with the No. 1 ranking. Studrawa will tell you it hasn’t been easy to get to this point, but it hasn’t been all that bad either.

Contact Gregg Dewalt at 256-740-5748 or gregg.dewalt@timesdaily.com.