Magee, Diarse injured
The LSU football team has only been back on the field for a few weeks now, but the Tigers are already feeling a strain on its depth chart with a pair of minor injuries.
LSU senior running back Terrence Magee and freshman wide receiver John Diarse are both expected to potentially miss practice time this week, LSU coach Les Miles said on Saturday.
Diarse was inactive for today’s scrimmage with an undisclosed injury, but Miles said he expects him to return to the field by next Thursday at the latest and the injury was nothing serious.
Diarse missed all of last season with an ankle injury, but Miles said this injury is unrelated and that Diarse will finish the spring on the field.
“[Diarse] should be back this spring and I think he’s just inactive today,” Miles said. “If not, he may be given off until next Thursday. It’s not a serious thing in any event and he should finish the spring with us.”
Much like Diarse, Miles said Magee spraining his ankle is nothing serious, but seemed less certain about Magee’s standing than Diarse. Miles said he did not see Magee’s injury.
Magee is one of two senior running backs expected to compete for the starting job this fall along with Kenny Hilliard who Miles said he believes lost some weight this spring and looks quicker.
“Both Magee and Kenny Hilliard had really nice running days today,” Miles said. “I think Magee is going to have a really good fall and Hilliard is going to have a really good fall.”
Miles said he plans on giving some of the younger backs more carries during practice in order to give more rest to players like Magee and Hilliard.
The nation’s No. 1 recruit and LSU signee Leonard Fournette will also compete for touches once he joins the team in the fall.
Offensive miscues
Several LSU players including sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings said on Tuesday the quarterbacks and centers had a few miscues and fumbled snaps in last week’s team scrimmage.
On Saturday, Miles dismissed the issue, saying it isn’t uncommon for there to be an adjustment period during spring practices and that those types of problems are to be expected.
Miles named a specific instance where one of the quarterbacks struggled pitching the ball to the running backs because that player wasn’t in the Tigers’ system during the fall and wasn’t used to pitch plays. While Miles did not identify the player, freshman quarterback Brandon Harris is the only true freshman passer on the roster.
Miles said he doesn’t have a starting five on the offensive line yet, but believes up to four players could compete for the center spot by the end of spring practice. Sophomore Ethan Pocic has appeared to be the frontrunner through early practices, but Miles said he’s also seen work at left guard and tackle.
“We’re going to find out where Pocic fits, we’re going to find out where [Fehoko Fanaika] fits and we’re going to find out where [Evan] Washington fits,” Miles said. “I think those three guys are guys that have a place in this offensive line and right not they’re not necessarily locked into a spot.”
Miles also said the offense as a whole is taking strides in improvement over the past few weeks, but is still struggling to keep up with the defense.
“I think the offense took a real nice stride today,” Miles said. “But I would expect the defense to be a little further ahead and they are.”