Coach Ed Orgeron held a press conference after Thursday’s practice, discussing Saturday’s home opener against Chattanooga.
“The guys are focused and ready to go,” Orgeron said. “I think they’re ready to take care of the tasks at hand. We’re excited about playing our first game in Tiger Stadium.”
Rashard Lawrence’s injury and Arden Key’s status
Sophomore defensive end Rashard Lawrence will not play on Saturday after suffering a slight ankle injury against BYU. Lawrence had his ankle rolled on in the season opener, and has not practiced all week.
Redshirt freshman defensive end Glen Logan will start with true freshmen Neil Farrell and Justin Thomas rotating behind Logan. Farrell is the only one of the trio to have record a tackle.
“We think we will play three of those guys there, a lot of young guys,” Orgeron said. “Let them play, let them get reps and see how they do.”
Logan will be one of a handful of freshmen starters on the Tigers defense. Freshman K’Lavon Chaisson is expected to make his second career start on Saturday in place of junior outside linebacker Arden Key.
Key returned to full-contact practice on Wednesday, but he is still not cleared for game play.
“We’re just bringing him along slowly, seeing what he can do,” Orgeron said. “He’s not ready yet.”
The following weeks are still unsure, but Orgeron said that he knows where Key is at and when he will be ready to go.
Defensive starters returning
With the return of senior inside linebacker Donnie Alexander, Orgeron and defensive coordinator Dave Aranda have to make a decision on who will start at the position.
Freshman inside linebacker Tyler Taylor started in place of Alexander against BYU, and recorded two tackles.
“I think that’s going to be all the way to game time [the decision],” Orgeron said. “Dave has not made a decision yet. Obviously Donnie had a tremendous is a tremendous strength for us. Donnie’s up to 230. He’s done a lot of good things and the young guys have too.”
Importance of non-conference home games
The Tigers have won 47 straight non-conference games in Tiger Stadium dating back to 2000, and will look to continue that streak. The game against Chattanooga will be the Tigers’ last game before starting conference play next week when the team travels to play Mississippi State in Starkville.
“Obviously, because we play in the SEC West, we need to prepare ourselves,” Orgeron said. “The better football team we play, the more you know about your team. We found out about our team last week. We found out a lot of good thing, but we’re going to get tested.”
