Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.
After hours of rumors and speculation, multiple outlets are reporting that LSU defensive tackle Ego Ferguson didn’t travel with the team to Tampa.
No one seems to know why, and LSU hasn’t officially confirmed the report, but it’s becoming clear the junior won’t play in Wednesday’s Outback Bowl against Iowa.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Ferguson has been the Tigers’ most productive defensive lineman this season. He was the team’s fifth-leading tackler with 58 stops and contributed one sack, 3.5 tackles for loss, three pass deflections and one blocked field goal.
Without Ferguson, either freshman Christian LaCouture or junior Quentin Thomas will start at defensive tackle alongside junior Anthony Johnson. Both had their moments and provided quality depth at times this season, but at this point neither is the force in the interior that Ferguson had become.
He will be sorely missed against an Iowa offense that features a power running game. The Hawkeyes like to run the ball up the middle early and often anyway, but without Ferguson there as a deterrent, LSU should expect an even heavier dose than usual.
Since Ferguson is eligible and expected to declare for May’s NFL Draft, this very well could mean the end of his career at LSU.
James Moran is a 21-year-old mass communications senior from Beacon, N.Y.
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