LSU coach Ed Orgeron met with the media for the final time before LSU football’s game against Utah State. The Tigers are coming off a bye week, Saturday’s game is the last non-conference game of the season.
In the upcoming weeks, LSU plays Florida, Mississippi State and Auburn in consecutive weeks. But for now, the focus remains on Utah State, who is led by quarterback Jordan Love and is considered one of the best Group of Five teams in the country.
Ed Ingram to start, Adrian Magee moved to left tackle
One of the topics of conversation around LSU in recent weeks was how to handle sophomore offensive lineman Ed Ingram’s return to the team. Ingram was suspended for over a year before being reinstated after sexual assault charges in Texas were dismissed on Sept. 20.
Orgeron announced Ingram, who started 12 games at right guard in 2017, will start at left guard and senior Adrian Magee, who started the first four games at left guard, will move to left tackle. Junior left tackle Saahdiq Charles has been held out of two games so far this season due to a coaches decision and will likely miss this Saturday’s game as well.
“We’ll have to monitor [Ingram’s] plays and see how he goes, but you know, the offense hasn’t been going very much on long drives,” Orgeron said. “But if it is a long drive and he is tired, we’ll give him a break.”
Orgeron added Ingram dropped a lot of weight and was down to 280 pounds before re-adding some weight. Ingram was listed at 314 pounds as a freshman in 2017, and he is currently listed at 295 pounds.
Ray Thornton suspended for violation of team rules
Junior outside linebacker Ray Thornton is suspended indefinitely, according to Orgeron. Thornton played in all four games this season and recorded three tackles.
Orgeron said Thornton’s suspension stems from a violation from team rules, but he provided no other information on the linebacker’s status.
Lanard Fournette leaves teams, Kenan Jones enters transfer portal
On Wednesday, news broke senior running back Lanard Fournette was leaving the team. Orgeron said it’s something Fournette had been thinking about after graduating in the spring and it was strictly Fournette’s decision.
“John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price are going to have to play a lot, and so will Chris Curry,” Orgeron said. “Those guys are ready to go. John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price are second team backs right down the middle for us. They’re both able to do a lot of things, Chris Curry is able to do a lot of things, especially in the run game, and so is Clyde. So we feel good about our backs.”
Then on Thursday, freshman safety Kenan Jones decided to enter the transfer portal. Jones played in two games this year and recorded no statistics.
Jones moved to safety from wide receiver this past spring and is also a member of LSU’s track and field team.
His departure leaves LSU with little depth at safety, especially after junior Todd Harris injured his knee against Northwestern State and is out for the season. Orgeron said junior Kary Vincent will be relied on to play at safety along with junior Cameron Lewis behind junior starters Grant Delpit and JaCoby Stevens.
Injury report
Notebook: LSU offensive line shakeup ahead of Utah State, Ray Thornton suspended, two players leave team
By Brandon Adam
October 3, 2019
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