ATLANTA -- LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire suffered an injury in practice last week, but Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron said Monday that the junior is “a little bit better than we thought.”
“He’s off the crutches and he’s off the scooter,” Orgeron said. “We’re going to see if he can do something tomorrow. It’s going to be a day-by-day deal but I promise you this it’s a little bit better than what I thought about last week.
“So, he has a chance to play. I don’t know if he’s gonna play. It’ll be day-by-day.”
Orgeron said LSU’s three other running backs, freshmen Tyrion Davis-Price, John Emery Jr. and Chris Curry, are all getting reps at practice in the event that Edwards-Helaire is unable to play against the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
“All three of those guys do different things,” Orgeron said. “With Clyde, he did everything well. He blocked well. He ran inside, ran outside and caught the football well. But we are going to have to adjust if Clyde doesn’t play and rotate those backs to do what they can do best.”
Edwards-Helaire is LSU’s leading rusher with 1,290 yards and 16 touchdowns this season and he’s also caught 50 passes for 399 yards and a score.
Davis-Price emerged as the Tigers’ main backup to Edwards-Helaire tallying 270 yards and six rushing scores while Emery has also flashed the ability that had him rated as one of the country’s top running backs coming out of high school, scoring three times and averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
