Tag: Omar Speights

LSU WR Chris Hilton Jr. out vs. Auburn, no other injuries reported Thursday

Chris Hilton will miss Saturday’s game as expected, but everyone else listed on Monday’s report will be available.

The Tigers got an overall encouraging injury report from coach Brian Kelly on Thursday.

Though receiver [autotag]Chris Hilton Jr.[/autotag], who was listed as doubtful entering the week with a high ankle sprain, will indeed miss the game against Auburn on Saturday in Week 7, the team is otherwise healthy.

Kelly listed receiver [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] and center [autotag]Charles Turner[/autotag] as probable for Saturday’s game entering the week, and he confirmed Thursday that all three will be available with no other injuries to report.

LSU will hope that it’s able to figure some things out against a struggling Auburn team that has lost two in a row as it’s now getting back closer to full health ahead of a home SEC West contest.

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Brian Kelly updates injury report ahead of LSU’s Week 7 contest against Auburn

The Tigers are getting closer to full health as they return home to face Auburn.

LSU was without some key players on Saturday, but it was ultimately able to overcome that in a 49-39 road win against Missouri. Now, as the team prepares to return home and face another SEC opponent in Auburn, it’s getting closer to full health.

Coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] updated the injury report on Monday, and while [autotag]Chris Hilton Jr.[/autotag] is expected to miss some more time with a high ankle sprain, receiver [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] — who both missed the Missouri game — are listed as probable.

Center [autotag]Charles Turner[/autotag], who suffered an injury during the game, is also considered probable.

According to Kelly, the staff was worried about a meniscus injury for Turner, but an MRI came back negative.

Quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], who injured his ribs on Saturday, is expected to be a full participant in Tuesday’s practice.

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Brian Kelly updates injury report on Thursday leading up to Missouri game in Week 6

The Tigers could be without several contributors against Missouri on Saturday.

As LSU prepares for what feels like a must-win game on the road in Columbia, Missouri, to keep the team’s SEC West hopes alive, it could be without several key players when it faces the unbeaten Missouri Tigers.

Coach Brian Kelly listed three primary contributors as doubtful: receiver [autotag]Chris Hilton Jr.[/autotag], receiver/returner [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag].

Hilton and Anderson are rotational receivers, though the latter sees expanded action on special teams in the return game. If neither are able to suit up, it could open the door for [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag] to see even more targets.

Speights, an All-Pac-12 transfer from Oregon State, could be set to miss his third game of the season. After suffering a hip flexor against Grambling, he missed the wins over Mississippi State and Arkansas before returning last week.

However, he found himself back on the injury report this week, and that could mean that true freshman linebacker [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag] will make his third start of the season against Mizzou.

The Tigers will look to get back in the win column against Missouri on Saturday morning in a game that kicks at 11 a.m. CT.

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What happened to LSU’s defense?

LSU’s defense should never be this bad.

LSU’s defense shouldn’t be this bad. It doesn’t make sense.

The unit reached a new low on Saturday night, allowing over 700 yards and 55 points to Ole Miss.

The Rebel offense is good, and Lane Kiffin is one of the best playcallers in the country. But it’s an offense that only scored 10 points the week prior. Not unstoppable by any means.

So, how did LSU, a defense filled with four and five-star recruits, allow 700 yards?

This is a unit that finished last year ranked as the 26th-best defense in the nation, according to ESPN’s SP+ metric.

Plenty of the guys that made that happen returned.[autotag] Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] was an All-American, and [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] was talked about with the best defenders in America.

Talented transfers were added too, from linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] to cornerback [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag].

Sure, there were losses. LSU lost both starting defensive ends and its top corners. But the returning talent was supposed to overshadow the losses.

Through five games, LSU’s 115th in scoring defense and 116th in yards/play. The Tigers rank outside the top 115 in late down and red zone defense too. It’s hard to imagine it getting any worse.

Defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag] was being considered for head coaching jobs last year. Now LSU fans are calling for his job.

While the offense has taken off, the defense has regressed.

It doesn’t get any easier this week. LSU’s set to face Missouri and the SEC’s leading receiver, Luther Burden. Missouri ranks 20th in yards per play and fourth in yards per pass.

If LSU doesn’t figure things out this week, what happened in Oxford could happen in Missouri.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] reaffirmed his trust in House and offered a reminder that nobody else is walking through that door. LSU has to work with what they have now.

You would think that should be enough. Again, this is the same talent that led LSU to a top-30 defense last year.

Maybe this defense hears all the noise and decides to come out and play the best game of its life. Who knows at this point?

Kelly and House know what the expectation is. Kelly said it himself on Monday.

LSU reaching a NY6 at this point isn’t out of the question even if its playoff hopes are all but dead.

If the defense figures it out, LSU can reenter the national discussion, but it needs to be figured out soon or Kelly’s going to feel the pressure to make a change at DC.

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Brian Kelly updates LSU’s injury report heading into Week 6 matchup at Missouri

The Tigers have some banged up players after Saturday’s loss at Ole Miss.

LSU was finally getting back closer to full health last week, but several Tigers players got banged up in the 55-49 loss, leading to a more crowded Monday injury report than we saw last week.

Addressing the media, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] listed receivers [autotag]Chris Hilton[/autotag], [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] and [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] as questionable. Speights made his return to the field after missing back-to-back games with a hip flexor while Hilton also played Saturday.

Anderson missed the game after a hamstring injury suffered in practice on Thursday.

We’ll be monitoring the progress of those players throughout the week, but if Hilton or Anderson aren’t able to go, the Tigers should have [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag] available, who was listed as probable alongside redshirt freshman former walk-on receiver [autotag]Javen Nicholas[/autotag], who could see his number called depending on the status of other players.

Kelly said that all five players are dealing with lower-body injuries but declined to go into further detail.

The Tigers will look to bounce back in Week 6 as they hit the road to take on a ranked unbeaten team in Missouri.

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Stock Up, Stock Down: LSU suffers a loss to Ole Miss

This game was a doozy.

This game was a doozy.

Neither team decided to bring their defense to this ball game. [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] put up some great numbers but it wasn’t enough as LSU’s defense allowed 55 points to an Ole Miss Rebels offense that only scored 10 last week against Alabama.

Ole Miss had two punts and one turnover on downs on their 12 drives. Every other drive they had ended with at least three points. The Rebels scored seven touchdowns and two field goals on their other drives.

Something has got to give for this defense. I do not know what needs to change, but they lost this game for the Tigers.

With that in mind, here’s how things are trending after the game.

LSU LB Omar Speights will play vs. Ole Miss, Brian Kelly confirms

Omar Speights will be on a limited workload, but he will make his return on Saturday after missing the last two games.

LSU has been dealing with several key injuries over the last few weeks, but the Tigers are getting closer to full health ahead of a key SEC West game on the road against Ole Miss on Saturday.

One of those players is linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag], who missed the last two games after suffering an injury in Week 2 against Grambling. Speights was expected to make his return to the field this week, and coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] confirmed Thursday that will be the case.

He will likely be on a limited workload, and it’s unclear if he will get the start. True freshman linebacker [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag], who emerged in Speights’ absence, will likely play a key role, as well.

Speights, an All-Pac-12 transfer from Oregon State, was one of the team’s biggest offseason additions, and his return should elevate an LSU defense that has struggled a bit so far.

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Brian Kelly discusses LSU’s health heading into Ole Miss game

LSU is getting healthy entering the Ole Miss game.

LSU is getting healthier according to [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag].

“Leading into it, we don’t have anybody right that we would list as anything but probable,” he said Monday leading up to LSU’s Week 5 contest against Ole Miss.

This is good news for a team that’s dealt with some injuries to key players in the first month.

The most notable of which is linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag], who missed the last two games after suffering an injury against Grambling.

Another one was tight end [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], who returned last week after missing the Mississippi State game.

Conference play is heating up, so for LSU to be this healthy at this point is a major plus.

Against Florida State, Speights logged five total tackles and assisted on another, according to PFF.

Speights’ return should open up more possibilities for LSU’s defense. We’ve seen [autotag]Matt House[/autotag] try a few different things with the linebacker group this year and having a veteran like Speights back could help solidify that group and bring consistency to the defense.

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Report: LSU linebacker OUT for tonight’s game against the Hogs

LSU to be without one starting linebacker for a second straight week when they face the Hogs on Saturday night, according to reports.

The LSU Tigers will be without veteran linebacker Omar Speights for tonight’s game against the [autotag]Arkansas Razorbacks[/autotag], according to Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel.

This will be the second straight game that Speights has missed as he’s dealing with a hip flexor injury. He didn’t travel with the Tigers to Starville for the team’s 41-14 win last week.

Speights was supposed to be a pretty big part of the LSU defense after he transferred to Baton Rouge following a successful four-year career at Oregon State. Last year, the senior linebacker received first team All-Pac-12 honors before transferring to LSU.

Without Speights, expect the Tigers to turn to true freshman Whit Weeks and veteran Greg Penn III for another week. Arkansas’ offense will need all the help they can get following a sloppy performance in the team’s 38-31 loss to BYU last week.

Kickoff from Baton Rouge is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and coverage can be found on ESPN.

Report: LSU linebacker Omar Speights won’t play Saturday vs. Arkansas

Omar Speights will miss Saturday’s game with a hip flexor, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

LSU will be without starting linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] for its game against Arkansas in Baton Rouge on Saturday night, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Speights missed last week’s game against Mississippi State with what Thamel is calling a hip flexor, and he was listed as doubtful to play against the Razorbacks by coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] earlier this week.

Speights, a First Team All-Pac-12 transfer from Oregon State, made eight tackles while starting at inside linebacker in the season opener against Florida State.

With Speights not expected to suit up, LSU will turn to veteran [autotag]Greg Penn III[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Whit Weeks[/autotag] to hold down the inside linebacker group for the second week in a row.

Even without a key defensive starter, LSU will look to start SEC play 2-0 when it faces Arkansas on Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT.

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