Brian Kelly updates availability of key players entering Week 6
It was another physical SEC game on Saturday, but not in the traditional sense where defenses were setting the tone. Instead, it was the two offenses taking charge and eclipsing 100 combined points. LSU’s injury report for the Ole Mis game only included one key name: Wide receiver Aaron Anderson. This week, it could be a more significant injury report based on what Kelly saw over the weekend.
Here’s a look at the injury updates as well as two key names in two defensive position units as the Tigers prepare to head to Missouri for another road SEC challenge.
Injury report
WR Chris Hilton – Questionable
LB Omar Speights – Questionable
WR Aaron Anderson – Questionable
WR Kyren Lacy – Probable
Anderson missed last game with a hamstring injury, while Hilton and Speights both played ample snaps. Speights was battling a hip flexor that held him out against Arkansas and is now questionable again. Hilton went down on the final play of the game against Ole Miss trying to make the catch in the endzone and Kelly says it’s a lower body injury.
Kyren Lacy played and looked fine on Saturday, so we’ll track his progress throughout the week.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels has made it clear that Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. are his top two targets, but with the uncertainty at receiver now, we’ll see if there’s a spot for Shelton Sampson to perhaps step in and get snaps this week against Missouri.
As for linebacker, Kelly sounded hesitant to heap too much praise on freshman Whit Weeks, insinuating that Omar Speights is their choice if he’s healthy to start games.
Kelly will give his final injury update on Thursday night.
Duce Chestnut / Cornerbacks
Chestnut did not travel with the team due to “coach’s decision” on Saturday, leaving LSU with Zy Alexander, Denver Harris, Laterrance Welch, and Ashton Stamps to play the position throughout the game. All four played over 30 snaps, showing a fairly equal distribution. These seem to be the four corners LSU is moving forward with this season in hopes of getting things together in the back end.
Kelly talked at length about going from a group of Greg Brooks, Jay Ward, Mekhi Garner, Jarrick Bernard Converse, and Joe Foucha in the secondary to a lot of inexperience, especially at cornerback. Outside of Harris, none of the four cornerbacks had started an FBS game before this year and it’s clear this unit is still overwhelmed at this point. Communication busts, missing tackles, and losing in one-on-one coverage, the secondary continues to get torched every week.
“You’re seeing what I’m seeing,” Kelly said. “We’re working our tails off. We had some injuries there. We lost Zy for a little bit with an ankle (injury). Ashton Stamps was coming off of a groin injury. They were in the game. They gave us everything they had and did the best they could given the circumstances. I’m proud of those guys. They went out and they competed and did the best that they could given the circumstances.
“But, that’s our rotation. Those are the four guys. (Laterrance Welch and Denver Harris), those are the four guys that we’re rolling with right now.
Dashawn Womack / Defensive line
Brian Kelly said that Womack is healthy and available, despite not playing any snaps against Ole Miss. Womack is a raw prospect, but the talent is evident and he’s already made plays this year in SEC competition
There really has not been much of a rotation on the defensive line at all, as Shea wrote about at length in his snap count story. The depth of the defensive line was supposed to be a strength coming into the season, especially with Maason Smith recovering from his injury, but now it seems the Tigers’ defense has reverted back to playing the starting defensive linemen a vast majority of the snaps. When asked about the defensive line rotation, Kelly had a roundabout answer.
“It’s really about getting the right players on the field, playing their very best football, so what is that configuration?” Kelly said. “We’ve got to be able to maximize the potential of our defensive line and we’re in conversation about if we’re doing that. We’re big up front, we have to play physical, play with low pads and create a new line of scrimmage. We have to create the right scheme so our guys can be the best versions of themselves.”
After a showing where the defensive line struggled as much as it did, finding a balance on the defensive line, to at least keep players fresh has to be one of the top priorities for this unit moving forward.
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