Eight first-time starters took the field for LSU on Saturday against North Carolina, but the team lost one of them to injury for at least six weeks.
 
Junior guard Will Blackwell broke his ankle on LSU’s first offensive play Saturday and did not return. Junior center T-Bob Hebert replaced him at guard in light of the blow to the offensive line.
 
LSU coach Les Miles said Monday that Blackwell’s injury hurts because the team is losing “a tremendous leader in that line.”
 
“Will will be lost for a significant length of time,” Miles said. “He would have eventually matured into a really good player. [Sophomore guard] Matt Branch, [redshirt freshman guard] Josh Williford and [Hebert], all of those will get snaps inside there that will fit to replace what is an injured starter.”
 
Hebert said he felt comfortable stepping in for Blackwell and will embrace the role in Blackwell’s absence.
 
“I was able to do it just because playing center, you have to know all the positions,” Hebert said. “During the game I wasn’t having to waste a lot of energy from a mental aspect so I could focus on doing my blocks correctly. I kind of expected if one of the guards went down, my name might be called.”
 
Miles said the main message LSU needs to glean from its 30-24 win in which the team scored no points in the second half is the importance of finishing games when it has a sizable lead.
 
He said giving up big plays, like the 97-yard touchdown pass the defense allowed, is an area that needs to be addressed, in addition to ball security.
 
“The back end of the game being up 30-10, defensively we need to understand the situation that our opponent is in,” Miles said. “We were all on the sidelines telling them this was the time they were going to take a deep shot. We got that communicated to the field, but the difference is they didn’t understand exactly what we were saying.”
 
Miles said he spoke with the Southeastern Conference head of officials, Rogers Redding, about North Carolina’s onside kick in the fourth quarter when it appeared that a Tar Heel made contact with freshman running back Alfred Blue before the ball traveled 10 yards to the 40-yard line.
 
“He said frankly you cannot block anyone in advance of the ball, and anybody that would contact somebody in advance of the ball has created a foul,” Miles said. “Maybe they went back to review possession, and if that’s the case, I think they came back with the right ruling on the field because they did have the ball. The issue became was he interfered with before the ball got there, and if they were not going to actually review that, that is a really good question.”
 
 
 
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Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]