The defending national champion LSU Tigers took a hit on Monday when All-American wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase announced he was opting out of the 2020 college football season.
Chase became the third Tiger to opt out, following Neil Farrell and Kary Vincent.
Not long after Chase’s decision became official, the Tigers lost another key starter in defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin.
Losing all four players, especially an All-American like Chase and a talented defensive tackle like Shelvin makes it much tougher on LSU to repeat as national champions. The Tigers are already replacing a host of stars from last season’s team.
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Could more players soon opt out ahead of the 2020 season?
According to LSU head coach Ed Orgeron, there shouldn’t be many, but we could see a player or two decide against playing this year.
Orgeron did not name the players he believed were considering opting out.
“Maybe there’s one or two that I know are thinking about it,” he said on this week’s Zoom call with the media. “Hopefully they don’t. But if they do, that’s what we’re living in. But we have depth. If they do opt out, we’re still going to have a great football team.”
LSU is set to kick off the season on Sept. 26 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Tiger Stadium.
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