Brian Kelly provides update on Jarrick Bernard-Converse injury ahead of SEC title game

LSU could have one of its key defensive stars back for the SEC Championship Game this weekend after a Jarrick Bernard-Converse injury caused the Tigers to sit him in a loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.

Bernard-Converse has been a quality contributor for LSU all season after transferring in from Oklahoma State this offseason.

“Jarrick is, he will practice on Tuesday non-contact,” coach Brian Kelly said Monday. “If he gets through that non-contact practice then he’ll be fully cleared. So we’re expecting that he’ll be fully back for us.”

Bernard-Converse played in the first 11 games of the season for the Tigers, racking up 35 tackles, an interception and four passes defended.

He’s been part of an LSU defense that has had a real resurgence in Kelly’s first year in charge of the program, though Texas A&M scoring 38 in a surprising upset on Saturday certainly was a setback.

A former Oklahoma State standout, Bernard-Converse started 47 straight games for the Cowboys from 2018-21.

In his five-year college career he has accounted for 231 tackles, 9.0 tackles for a loss, 5.0 sacks, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and 30 passes defended.

Jarrick Bernard-Converse injury weakened secondary

Though LSU’s secondary was far from the primary issue in Saturday’s loss to Texas A&M, the Jarrick Bernard-Converse injury definitely didn’t help.

Particularly down the stretch, Texas A&M connected on some high-degree-of-difficulty passes a healthy Bernard-Converse might have been able to make a difference on, including a ridiculous one-handed grab by Moose Muhammad III that went for a 21-yard touchdown and extended the Aggies’ lead to two scores in the fourth quarter.

Having him back against Georgia would be huge.

The LSU defense has been pretty strong statistically this season otherwise, ranking 33rd nationally in scoring defense (21.5 points per game) and 36th in total defense (347.7 yards per game allowed).

Georgia and LSU are set for a 4 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS.