LSU Football: Freshman wide receiver will miss UCLA game
LSU freshman wide receiver Malik Nabers will not play Saturday against UCLA, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. The former four-star recruit and No. 135 player in the On3 recruiting rankings has impressed throughout camp but recently sustained an injury. The type or extent of the injury remain unknown at this time and his status beyond Saturday remains unclear.
Nabers was set to be a key part of the wide receiver core, alongside sophomore Kayshon Boutte, freshman Brian Thomas Jr. and other young stars.
Head coach Ed Orgeron has not released a depth chart for Saturday’s game, despite the school already putting out their weekly notes. LSU will face the Bruins in Los Angeles on Sept. 4 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
LSU practices in Houston
Tigers have spent the week in Houston as they continue practicing ahead of their opening game. The team was forced to evacuate their practice facility as Hurricane Ida approached. As LSU traveled to Houston, evacuation traffic significantly slowed down the trip. After the team’s 9:30 p.m. departure Saturday night, it arrived in Houston at 8 a.m. Sunday morning. The team buses were on the road for over 10 hours on what is usually a trip that takes four hours, according to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger.
UCLA got its season underway on Saturday with a 44-10 victory over Hawaii. As LSU now spends the next week away from home, UCLA will have game experience under its belt and a lot less miles on their bodies. The Tigers will fly to Los Angeles on Thursday.
2021 LSU outlook
LSU is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2020 campaign. The team will look to get back to its 2019 national championship form under Orgeron and a new group of stars.
Quarterback Myles Brennan went down with an injury during the preseason, opening the door for Max Johnson to emerge as the offensive leader. Tyrion Davis-Price and John Emery Jr. headline a deep running back room which runs behind a veteran offensive line. LSU’s top returning wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and Brian Thomas Jr. are Malik Nabers and others in a wide receiver core which hopes to fill the gap left by Ja’Marr Chase.
The front seven complements a talented secondary on defense. Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. is the star of the show, looking to duplicate his 2019 season which featured six interceptions. Eli Ricks emerged as a second corner last season, and the team adds Georgia transfer Major Burns and Clemson transfer Mike Jones to the starting lineup, too.