Injuries continue to pile up for LSU early this season at a rate coach Lane Kiffin admitted Saturday was unlike anything he had previously encountered.
Senior linebacker Whit Weeks, one of the clear leaders and stars of the defense, exited the Tigers’ 35-6 rout of Texas A&M during the third quarter on crutches and in a walking boot.
Weeks’ departure came a week after injuries knocked tight end Trey’Dez Green (East Feliciana, Zachary) and safety Dashawn Spears (Denham Springs) out of LSU’s 32-24 loss at Ole Miss, following previous hits to edge rusher Gabriel Reliford (Evangel Christian) and cornerback Aidan Anding (Ruston) in the spring and wide receiver Phillip Wright III (Destrehan) earlier this month.
Sophomore linebacker Charles Ross II has now also been lost for the season with a torn ACL, Kiffin told reports Sunday.
“I have not been around this many significant injuries this early in the year like this,” the coach said. “It’s really unfortunate. The good thing was guys stepped up and played in place of really significant players in Spears and Trey’Dez being out, and now with Whit, I don’t have any update on that.
The timetables for Weeks from a reported fractured right leg and Green from a sprained knee remain unclear, with Kiffin only saying Saturday that Weeks’ injury “didn’t look good when he walked off.” More information is expected this week.
Those two players were chosen this season to wear the Tigers’ No. 7 jerseys designated for top playmakers for the team.
Green has been a top target early in the season with 14 catches for 222 yards and a touchdown and a notable matchup issue that commands attention from opposing defenses, while Weeks’ impact similarly exceeds his 23 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and three quarterback hurries — numbers that also make him one of the unit’s statistical leaders.
“Whit means everything,” veteran safety Ty Benefield said. “Being here for however long I’ve been here, he’s like a brother to me, and he’s such an amazing leader, a fierce competitor. He’ just legit. But obviously like I said before, next-man-up mentality, and (linebacker) Davhon (Keys) did his thing today, and I’m so happy just giving confidence to those guys because everybody on this roster has the ability and the talent to make plays. It’s just the mental piece. And he came in and executed, did his one-11th and super proud of him.”
Keys wrapped up six tackles in extended playing time Saturday.
Oregon transfer Zach Grace took over the bulk of Green’s snaps at tight end with fellow junior Malachi Thomas, a transfer from Pittsburgh, also involved, but neither recorded a catch.
Reliford and Anding, highly ranked in-state prospects in the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes, had trended toward more prominent rolls on the defense this season before tearing their ACL and Achilles, respectively.
Wright scored his first college touchdown Sept. 5 during a big three-catch, 70-yard fourth-quarter in the 51-10 rout of Clemson before suffering a leg injury Sept. 12 while covering a kick return in a 45-14 defeat of Louisiana Tech.
Spears, who has gradually emerged as a more consistent and notable playmaker the past two years, was lost early in the game against Ole Miss, just a week after being one of the major sparks in the Tigers’ finally blowing open the Louisiana Tech win.
The 6-foot-3, 209-pound athlete had seven tackles, a third-down sack, a fourth-down pass breakup and an interception-forcing quarterback hurry in the season’s earlygoing.
His absence most of the night in Oxford, Miss., appeared to further compound challenges LSU had containing Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
The Tigers adjusted Saturday by shifting Benfield to Spears’ “star” role and inserting redshirt freshman Jhase Thomas (Destrehan) at rover for his heaviest playing time thus far in his young career.
“That game plan was unique,” Kiffin said. “We made a unique move with Dashawn being out. We moved Ty and played him in that spot the whole game. So those perimeter runs and quarterback scrambles, that’s a really great tackler right there in re-routing perimeter plays and stuff. And we played two freshman safeties behind that.”
Eight regular-season games remain, though, including seven more SEC matchups, and each will pose its own set of matchup challenges.
Even before clarity on Weeks’ diagnosis postgame Saturday, Kiffin expressed concern about the impact injuries could have on the team’s outlook over the long haul.
He had previously expressed the losses for Spears and Green as more worrisome than the on-field loss to the Rebels from which they exited.
“Those things are gonna catch up to you,” Kiffin said. “I don’t care what plays you draw up.”
Quarterback Sam Leavitt brushed aside a question of the severity of a second-quarter hamstring injury that visibly limited his mobility Saturday, saying, “I’ll be just fine.”
He and Kiffin joked that the issue may have actually provided a silver-lining in forcing him to remain in the pocket and focus more on processing through his passing reads without being able to bail and scramble, though it also meant the Tigers needed to lean more into Landen Clark at times when mobility might be necessary.
“Guys fighting through injuries,” the coach said. “Sam obviously is very injured. I joked with him maybe it was the best thing that happened because he had to stay in the pocket and throw on time because he knew he couldn’t run. But really gutsy performance by him. I was actually getting ready to take him out, and he said no way was he coming out. He was gonna play through it.”
