Tag: Zy Alexander

LSU true freshman receiver makes a position change

Receiver Khai Prean has moved to cornerback after redshirting in 2023.

Ahead of the ReliaQuest Bowl against Wisconsin, it seems a member of LSU’s 2023 signing class has made a position change.

Receiver [autotag]Khai Prean[/autotag], a former four-star recruit from Saint James, has moved to cornerback. He also changed his jersey number from No. 82 to No. 28.

Prean was listed as an athlete as a recruit, ranking just outside the top 400 nationally. He played on both sides of the ball in high school, and he was listed on LSU’s depth chart as a cornerback ahead of the matchup against the Badgers.

He will take a redshirt this season as he hasn’t appeared in a game, but he could potentially make his debut in the game against the Badgers.

Prean will help provide added depth in 2024 at a position where the Tigers really need it. Outside of veteran [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag], the team is likely to rely heavily on young players in the secondary next fall.

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Brian Kelly expresses confidence in his defensive backs despite being shorthanded

The injury report for this weekend’s high-profile matchup against Alabama was released Monday morning, and it isn’t good news for the secondary.

The injury report for this weekend’s high-profile matchup against Alabama was released Monday morning. Out of LSU’s four transfer portal defensive backs still available ([autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] suffered an injury before the season started), only [autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] is going to play.

[autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag], [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] are all out.

Even with all of those injuries, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] still believes that his secondary is capable of getting the job done. Sam, [autotag]Sage Ryan[/autotag] and others will have to step up in a big way to stop Jalen Milroe, Jermaine Burton and the rest of the Tide offense.

Alabama doesn’t have the best offense in the country, as a matter of fact, LSU does. The Tide have had issues blocking for Milroe. Left Tackle has been a big point of contention for the Tide and Tommy Rees is still working out who fits best at what position. LSU/Alabama will kick off at 6:45 on Saturday night.

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Brian Kelly details Jalen Milroe’s improvement at Alabama

Jalen Milroe didn’t start the season on the best note, but he’s playing quite a bit better now.

LSU will be facing a different Alabama starting quarterback on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa than in last year’s win.

Bryce Young has moved on, and this is now Jalen Milroe’s team. After a rough start to the season that even saw his apparent benching, Milroe has been playing much better in recent weeks.

Coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] detailed that improvement at his press conference on Monday.

“I think at first there was this sense that he was just going to run all over the place… He is a threat to run, there’s no doubt about that,” Kelly said. “But he’s going to stand in the pocket, he’s going to throw the football. And the way they create offense is through a balance of running the football, formationing you so you can get some shots down the field.

“And he throws the ball well. And he can hit the open targets, he can push the ball downfield. So I think what he’s done really well is when he’s been given the opportunity to take shots down the field, he’s hooked up. He hasn’t missed receivers. When they’ve created the opportunities, he’s come through for them. And I think that’s been impressive.”

The deep ball has certainly been Milroe’s best friend this season, and that’s a concern for an LSU secondary that will be without [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] in addition to [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag], who haven’t been available in several weeks.

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LSU secondary struggling with injuries, absences during bye week

LSU only had one player returning to this year’s secondary from last year.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] swung for the fences in the transfer portal as he picked up an entire secondary for his first year on the Bayou. That worked for last season, but it left the Tigers thin for this year.

LSU only had one player returning to this year’s secondary from last year. Kelly had to dive back into the transfer portal to find an all-new secondary. Kelly picked up four solid defensive backs from the portal ([autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag], [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag], [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag]).

Those guys would make up a pretty solid secondary but there is only one issue: We didn’t account for injuries.

If the Alabama game were to be played this week, all four of those guys would likely be inactive for that pivotal game. Johnson suffered an injury during fall camp that required season-ending surgery and Alexander suffered a leg injury against Army that could cause him to lose some time.

As for Chestnut and Harris, here is what Kelly had to say about them.

“All I can tell you is they’re on scholarship, they’re enrolled in school, but right now, they are not participating,” Kelly said earlier this week, per On3. “They’re still in the program. They’re still in good standing. But they are not able to play right now. Let’s leave it at that. Let’s be patient. We’ll see what happens down the road.”

It has been tough sledding for this secondary all season long, and LSU needs all hands on deck if it wants to beat Alabama.

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A look at the young corners LSU will rely on down the stretch

LSU’s cornerback room is growing thin. Here are the young corners that will see an increase in playing time because of it.

LSU lost another corner when [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] left the Army game with an injury.

There were questions about the cornerback room entering the year, and just about everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.

[autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] suffered a serious leg injury in training camp. [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] have been in and out of the lineup for what appears to be disciplinary reasons, though [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] hasn’t said specifically why Chestnut is currently unavailable. And now Alexander, LSU’s most experienced corner, is out for the foreseeable future.

There was optimism about all four of those names when they arrived from the transfer portal, but it now looks like LSU will be without all four against Alabama next week.

That leaves LSU relying on some young guns that have seen minimal snaps so far. Let’s dive in and take a look at who LSU will need to perform against ‘Bama.

LSU OT Emery Jones expected to play vs. Alabama

Emery Jones was injured in the Auburn game and missed last week’s contest against Army.

LSU is dealing with several key injuries as it prepares for a crucial game against Alabama after the bye this weekend.

On Tuesday, Brian Kelly offered vague updates on cornerback [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] and defensive tackle [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] that weren’t particularly encouraging. However, he did provide a more positive update on another injured player during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference.

Right tackle [autotag]Emery Jones[/autotag], who suffered an injury against Auburn and missed the Army game, is expected to play in that game. Kelly said Jones would practice on Wednesday and be a full participant by Monday of Alabama week.

With Jones out, LSU has turned to a true freshman in Lance Heard. The former five-star prospect has held the position down, but having Jones back against a challenging Crimson Tide front will certainly be welcome for the Tigers.

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Brian Kelly updates injuries on Zy Alexander and Mekhi Wingo

Two LSU starters are dealing with injuries during the bye week.

Two LSU starters are dealing with injuries during the bye week as LSU prepares to face off against Alabama next week in Tuscaloosa.

[autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] and [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] are two key starters on the defensive side of the ball for LSU. Wingo is one of the captains of this team and was chosen to wear the coveted No. 18 for the Bayou Bengals this season. The Missouri transfer has started in seven games this season making 22 tackles, three tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

Kelly did not go into details about his injury, but Wingo is being held out of practice.

Alexander is a transfer from Southeastern Louisiana. He has started in eight games this fall at cornerback, making 44 tackles, nine passes defended, and two interceptions. When Kelly was asked recently about the two players’ statuses, here is what he had to say.

“Neither one is practicing, but we’ll see what it looks like next week,” Kelly said.

Hopefully, both of them will be healed up by next weekend.

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Latest update on injury to LSU cornerback Zy Alexander

Zy Alexander exited the Army win with a lower leg injury, and his status moving forward is unclear.

LSU got the big 62-0 win over Army on Saturday night in Week 8, but the team didn’t emerge entirely unscathed despite not giving up a point.

Cornerback [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag], a transfer from Southeastern Louisiana who has started all eight games on the outside, left the game with a lower leg injury. He reportedly could not put weight on his ankle and was ruled out.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] didn’t have much to update about Alexander immediately following the game. He said the team would have a clearer picture surrounding the extent of his injury in the coming days.

It’s unclear if Alexander will return for the Alabama game, and if he doesn’t, LSU’s depth will be strained. With [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] already out for a lengthy period of time, [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] away from the team and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] inactive against Army, the Tigers had to rely on two true freshmen in [autotag]Jeremiah Hughes[/autotag] and [autotag]Javien Toviano[/autotag], as well as [autotag]Laterrance Welch[/autotag].

Safety/nickel [autotag]Sage Ryan[/autotag] can also play outside corner, and [autotag]Ashton Stamps[/autotag], who missed Saturday night’s game with an injury, is expected to return during the bye week.

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Brian Kelly provides another update on CB Duce Chestnut’s status with team

Brian Kelly said that Duce Chestnut remains on scholarship but is currently inactive.

LSU’s already thin secondary has been without one of its major offseason additions in recent weeks.

Cornerback [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag], a transfer pickup from Syracuse this past spring, is currently away from the team for undisclosed reasons and has not played since the Week 4 win over Arkansas.

Coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] has said multiple times that a decision on Chestnut’s future with the team would be made soon, but in his latest update on Thursday, he provided little new information other than saying that Chestnut is inactive but remains on scholarship.

“Duce is inactive,” Kelly said. “He is still on scholarship, he is still on the roster, but he’s inactive right now.”

Without Chestnut, LSU has leaned heavily on a pair of other transfers in [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag], which has represented the starting outside duo in recent weeks.

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LSU cornerback Duce Chestnut not currently with team, Brian Kelly says

Brian Kelly said a decision on Duce Chestnut’s future with the team will be made in the coming weeks.

LSU’s already struggling secondary took another hit this week as [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] announced Thursday that Syracuse transfer cornerback [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] is not currently with the team.

According to Kelly, a decision on Chestnut’s future with the program will be made in the next few weeks, though he declined to go into further detail.

Chestnut was a Freshman All-American with the Orange and an All-ACC honorable mention last season. He began the year as a starter, appearing in the first four games, though he was supplanted in the starting lineup by fellow transfer [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag].

In those four games, Chestnut totaled four tackles with an interception, putting him in a tie for the team lead.

Chestnut did not travel with the team to Oxford, Mississippi, this past weekend for what Kelly only called a coach’s decision at the time. Now, an LSU defensive backs group that also lost cornerback transfer [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] with a leg injury before the season is even thinner.

It’s unclear if Chestnut will return to the team at some point, but in the meantime, Harris and [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] — another transfer — will likely be the starting cornerback duo.

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