LSU football's offensive line has been a clear struggle point over the first few weeks of the season, but some reinforcements will arrive when they host Central Michigan this week.
Tackle Austin Deculus and guard Chasen Hines will be back in action after recovering from injuries, leaving Cameron Wire as the lone inactive among the starting group.
"That's the first time we've had those guys for a while and we're very pleased with that," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said.
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But some other callbacks to that deflating UCLA opener have the attention of LSU in its prep this week, with a familiar coach in Jim McElwain leading the Chippewas into Tiger Stadium. The former Florida Gators coach leads an offense very similar to Chip Kelly's, Orgeron says, with a lot of formations, motions and shifts designed to get the defense out of alignment.
"The motions and shifts cause maybe some confusion on what gap you may have. We've gotta to make sure we cover that, we've worked very hard this week on doing that," Orgeron said. "And then when we do have the gap we have to make a tackle and knock them back."
While Central Michigan doesn't possess the play-makers of a premier Pac-12 team, it has its own set of impressive and productive running backs that will likely try to attack the Tigers' defensive group in similar ways to the Bruins. Orgeron knows McElwain will have closely studied that tape. The Tigers will get a lot of the same test questions they saw two weeks ago. It's up to the defense to make sure the answers are correct this time.
"We know we're going to get everything that we've seen that hurt us," Orgeron said. "We're prepared for it."
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SOME INACTIVES
As mentioned above, offensive lineman Cameron Wire will be inactive, along with running back John Emery Jr., whom Orgeron revealed earlier this week is academically ineligible the rest of the year.
Freshman running back Armoni Goodwin will also be out on Saturday due to an injury suffered in the win over McNeese State. The team is hopeful he'll back healthy for the start of SEC play. The injury means more snaps likely coming for freshman Corey Kiner alongside starter Ty Davis Price.
Defensive back Dwight McGlothern is questionable.
"We've got to go guns-a-blazing," Orgeron said. "We're going with our first-teamers to win the football game. That's our mindset."
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MORE UP-TEMPO ACTION?
LSU fans should expect to see an up-tempo attack at certain points against the Chippewas, which the team is working on incorporating more into the offense. The goal is to expand that attack as the season rolls on.
"We've made some improvement in it ... you're going to see it at opportune times. It's going to be part of our package, Orgeron said.
The shift comes after two weeks of the LSU offense having its struggles getting going, particularly early in games. The Tigers defeated McNeese handily with a final score of 34-7, but it was far from the blowout you'd expect for an SEC team matching up with an FCS program.
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GLEN LOGAN'S/MYLES BRENNAN TIMETABLE?
Glen Logan is expected to be out for two or three more weeks as he recovers from a broken bone in his foot. The defensive lineman did make significant progress this week, though, running for the first time since the injury.
Quarterback Myles Brennan was spotted throwing before the McNeese game, but still has no official timetable for a return to action following a freak injury before the season. Brennan broke his non-throwing arm and required surgery.
Orgeron said the open week before LSU's matchup with Alabama would be a potential target for Brennan's return to action.