Tiger Watch: Five LSU Players to Follow Closely Against Ole Miss
Heading into the final stretch of the 2019 season, LSU is "as healthy as we've been all season." Those are the words of coach Ed Orgeron, who, despite the possibility of missing right tackle Austin Deculus against Ole Miss, is confident the Tigers will be able to survive in the short term.
LSU will be shuffling the offensive line this weekend it would appear and that means more opportunity for some of the backups on the roster. Here are five players to follow on Saturday when the Tigers travel to take on the Rebels.
Adrian Magee (senior left guard)
Magee is one of the feel good stories of the 2019 season for LSU, earning the starting left guard job in fall camp and showing immense improvement throughout the year. It certainly caught Orgeron and the staff by surprise, particularly when Ed Ingram's suspension was uplifted.
Orgeron thought Ingram would eventually steal the job from Magee, alluding to it multiple times, but Magee has held firm and will be asked to undergo further tests with a move to left tackle likely against Ole Miss.
With Austin Deculus potentially out with an injury, the plan, according to Orgeron on Monday, would move Magee to left tackle, Ingram to left guard and senior Badara Traore to right tackle.
Magee, while phenomenal at left guard this year, has taken little to no reps at tackle, a position he struggled with in 2018. It will be interesting to see how the senior adjusts in the early part of the game.
Badara Traore (senior tackle)
Traore at one point during fall camp, was fighting to be the backup tackle on the roster but eventually lost out to freshman Dare Rosenthal, who had filled in nicely for Saahdiq Charles. Charles has missed four games this year due to coaches decisions and will miss a fifth for that very same reason on Saturday.
The caveat is Orgeron said that Rosenthal also won't be available this weekend, but didn't provide a reason. Enter Traore, who has been the fourth tackle on the depth chart all season and will now be asked to start at right tackle.
This Ole Miss defense is not bad at all, allowing 20 points to Auburn and 24 points to Texas A&M the last two weeks. They play hard and according to Orgeron, have marked the LSU game on their calendar.
"This is a game that they want to win," Orgeron said. "This is rivalry game, for them, they want to beat LSU, this is a team they would like to beat, along with Mississippi State, and we know we're going to get their best shot. They play great at home, it's going to be a great crowd, it's going to be a great challenge for our football team."
The play of the offensive line, especially with all the shuffling for the week, will be extra important if LSU wants to avoid a too close for comfort outing against the Rebels.
Thaddeus Moss (senior tight end)
The senior has been all over the national highlights the last few days for his phenomenal catch at the one-yard line in the first half of the Alabama game.
If you've somehow already forgotten, here's what it looked like.
Moss has been on a tear the last five games, combining for 24 catches, 216 yards and a touchdown in that span. The tight end position has never been one of focus through the passing game, primarily used in the run block in year's past.
Well this season Moss is re-writing the script. The one area to look for as it pertains to Moss is will he be able to find the endzone against Ole Miss. His only score of the season came against Utah State on Oct. 5 and he's proved to be deserving of more redzone targets, just rewatch that catch again for evidence.
The senior has stepped up in the most crucial games for the Tigers this season and will continue to play a major role in the offense moving forward. Moss could just now be scratching the surface on his consistency within the offense and will be a player to monitor as the regular season draws to a close.
Marcel Brooks (freshman linebacker/safety)
Brooks has been an interesting case in his first season at LSU, starting out at safety before making a switch to outside linebacker once SEC play kicked into gear. The freshman has the speed and athleticism to get around offensive linemen, but not really the size yet.
Brooks has only three record tackles in 2019 with one sack coming against Florida. He also made a nice play in the Alabama game on third down in the first quarter, rushing Tua Tagovailoa and forcing an incomplete pass. He's one of those freshmen that you expect to break out any game now and Ole Miss will certainly provide that opportunity.
With Michael Divinity no longer on the roster, Brooks is seen as a prime candidate to take most if not all his reps behind sophomore K'Lavon Chaisson. Ray Thornton has taken some reps but Brooks is the five-star freshman who will be a key part of the future.
If LSU starts to break this one open in the second half, don't be surprised to see (the defensive) No. 9 on the field for extended run.
Cade York (freshman kicker)
It would seem the freshman has put his kicking woes in the past as York drilled field goals of 40 and 45-yards in the 46-41 win over Alabama. York had come into Saturday having missed two extra points and two field goals over the previous four games, though admittedly all not entirely his fault.
Still it was important for the freshman to regain some confidence after stumbling on some rocky ground the previous few weeks. The coaching staff had lost a little bit of confidence as his longest field goal during that four game time frame came from 25-yards out.
But Orgeron put him to the test against the Crimson Tide and thought York responded in a great way. In fact it turns out York was playing through a minor injury that Orgeron revealed on Monday.
"Yeah, he did a good job," Orgeron said. "Cade was struggling with a hip flexor and he would go through some weeks without kicking and try and kick in the game. But he's healthy now, he's confident. Again, just tell him good job, nothing too high, nothing too low."
Punter Zach Von Rosenberg said York's recent struggles were a inevitable maturation process that most freshmen regardless of position go through during a season. Von Rosenberg gave York high praise, saying he will go down as one of the great LSU kickers when it's all said and done.
