Dave Aranda calls it “Peso.”
To you and me, it is “Nickel,” the defensive package that has become oh-so common in college football to combat the spread offense. The normal Nickel package includes five defensive backs, the origins of its name and the root of LSU’s term for the grouping. One Mexican Peso is worth about one U.S. nickel.
Aranda’s version of the defense comes with a tweak: It not only includes five defensive backs, but incorporates four linebackers (two inside and two outside), leaving in the game just two defensive linemen. In Aranda’s speed-centric defensive options, Peso is a slight step slower than the quickest of them all, Cheetah, a defense that include one down lineman.