Lane Kiffin Is Considering an Unusual Move With LSU Stars Against McNeese

The LSU Tigers have had some awful injury luck early this season.

In the heartbreaking loss to Ole Miss, LSU safety Dashawn Spears suffered a season-ending ACL injury before star tight end Trey'Dez Green had to get carted off in the second half and is set to miss multiple games.

Then in last week's blowout win over Texas A&M, two LSU linebackers joined the list. Whit Weeks fractured his fibula -- an injury that will sideline him for a majority of the season -- and Charles Ross II tore his ACL.

As a result, LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is considering an interesting decision ahead of Saturday's matchup with McNeese.

Lane Kiffin Weighing Possibility of Resting Some Starters vs. McNeese

LSU Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) looks on prior to the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Tiger Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

LSU doesn't have to release an injury report before facing McNeese since it's not an SEC game. This allows the Tigers to potentially rest key players in order to avoid further injuries, something Kiffin talked about with the media earlier this week.

"I've been going through that all day yesterday," Kiffin said, per WBRZ2. "I don't know where we're going to end up on that. We got seven conference games to go."

This includes potentially resting LSU starting quarterback Sam Leavitt, who suffered a lower-body injury in the win over Texas A&M and had a noticeable limp while remaining in the game.

"I'm human. With what's happened with these freak injuries, it's tough," Kiffin said. "We'll be extremely cautious this week all around because it's just the schedule you play with."

If Leavitt doesn't play against McNeese, Landen Clark would get the start at quaterback.

It's Hard to Blame Lane Kiffin for This Potential Approach

LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin stands on the field during warm up against the Texas A&M Aggies at Tiger Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kiffin doesn't want to disrespect McNeese, but the reality is that LSU's backups and third-string players will be able to get the job done against a team that's currently third-to-last in the Southland Conference rankings.

The Tigers have championship-level hopes this season. Would fans rather do what's in the team's best interest to keep everyone as healthy as possible, or risk more injuries just to honor sportsmanship? The answer is clear.

If LSU had hosted McNeese in the season opener and chose to rest starters, things would be viewed much differetly. Doing that would be seen as disrespectful and unnecessary.

But that's not what's happening here. LSU has lost multiple starters on defense and are one low hit on Leavitt away from losing their starting quarterback as well.

Time will tell how LSU approaches all of this during its non-conference finale.

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