LSU starting OL has surgery, will miss Alabama game
LSU starting offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger left the Texas A&M game before the bye week with an injury, and his absence will continue through Saturday's Top 15 matchup with Alabama.
On Monday, LSU head coach Brian Kelly said Dellinger had TightRope surgery during the bye week and will miss this weekend's matchup with the Tide.
Kelly said Dellinger is expected to have a "solid" chance to return to the field when LSU takes on Florida in two weeks.
As for the next game on the schedule, Kelly said backup Paul Mubenga – who stepped in when Dellinger was injured vs. the Aggies – will make his first college start as he steps into the open spot at left guard.
"Paul has steadily worked himself up into what would have been what I call a key backup," Kelly said, adding that the biggest strides to be made involved becoming "more physical" rather than the mental side of the game. "(He's) someone who is poised to go in at a pivotal time, and you expect him to get the job done. Now he's a starter for us, at least for this week.
"His development has been one where I think he has made his most progress through execution. He is a quick study. You don't have to tell him twice. He understands our scheme in terms of what we are trying to accomplish."
LSU's offensive line has largely remained the same five starters over the past two seasons, meaning this weekend's shakeup with Dellinger out and Mubenga in as a big deviation from the norm over the past double-digit games for the Tigers.
On Monday, Kelly said LSU will need to find balance in the run game given the LSU offense has proven to be able to score points through the air. And while starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is coming off a three-interception half in the loss to Texas A&M that saw the Tigers let the lead slip away, Kelly remains confident in his quarterback as Nussmeier makes his 10th career start.
"That's the process of a first-time starter at quarterback," Kelly said . "Jayden Daniels' first year, we threw for 86 yards against Auburn. We barely got out of Arkansas after a 13-10 win. We got our butts kicked against Tennessee. Jayden Daniels, they're ready to put up a statue in Washington right now. There were many, many people calling for his job here in Baton Rouge early in his tenure.
"So it's the life of the quarterback at any level and Garrett knows that. His dad is a quarterbacks coach. He's built for this and he's not a guy that is gonna shy away from it.
"He was in the press room and he took full responsibility and accountability for what happened, which as you know, the quarterback gets too much of the credit and gets too much of the blame. But having said that, he is up for the challenge of getting better. He's out there and we're working with him to get him to the level that he needs to be and he's excited about doing it. I'm not really worried about a loss of confidence with him because he knows this. He knows what this looks like and he knows others that have been here that are having incredible success in the NFL right now have gone through a similar path of development and he's going through that too."
