Heading to Florida without two starters, LSU offensive line continuing to adjust

BATON ROUGE, La. — Derrius Guice isn’t always aware of who’s in the LSU offensive huddle with him, but at one point in the Tigers’ 42-7 win over Missouri on Saturday, he noticed something that made him do a double take.

“I even noticed in one of the plays (true freshman) Donavaughn Campbell had come in (at right guard),” Guice said. “I hadn’t even noticed he had come in. I said to myself, ‘Wow, he really did what he had to do.'”

It seems like these days, there’s always a fresh face on the offensive line. On Saturday, Garrett Brumfield got significant time at left guard when Will Clapp went down with a shoulder injury.

Brumfield played admirably as LSU rolled up 634 yards of offense, a school record for an SEC game. With Clapp injured — interim head coach Ed Orgeron said Wednesday on the SEC teleconference that Clapp, reserve tight end Foster Moreau and star running back Leonard Fournette are all likely out — Brumfield could get his first start against Florida on Saturday.

That means two of LSU’s original starters — right tackle Toby Weathersby and Clapp — are out for the game. LSU will have used backups to start games at three of the five offensive line positions this season, and it would just be reaching the halfway point of the regular season.

“A little bit of adversity just makes us stronger,” said center Ethan Pocic, who missed the spring with an injury and may be looking at a position move this week (more on that later). “The group has done a great job.”

The good news this week is that the Tigers’ offensive line will be relating to Florida’s defensive line that may be even more battered than the Tigers’ front.

LSU offensive line coach Jeff Grimes has had his hands full managing the injuries, and the line has slowly caught on despite the position structure constantly changing. Orgeron said he thought the offensive line played its best game against Missouri, which is notable considering the absence of key players.

How much have injuries played a role in the evolution of the offensive line? Consider all this activity since the spring:

• Maea Teuhema, a 2015 starter at guard, earned the starting left tackle spot in the spring but began August camp in a walking boot after injuring his ankle in offseason workouts. Malone moved into the spot and didn’t let go, leaving Teuhema to compete at right tackle with Weathersby.
• Clapp, who also missed spring with his shoulder injury, was limited in August camp, giving Brumfield plenty of snaps with the first team.
• In the Tigers’ 16-14 loss to Wisconsin, right guard Josh Boutte was ejected for a cheap shot on a Wisconsin player. Teuhema, who relieved both Malone and Weathersby in the opener against Wisconsin, replaced Boutte for the Tigers’ Sept. 10 game against Jacksonville State.
• Weathersby went down in LSU’s 23-20 win over Mississippi State on Sept. 17. Teuhema, who you may recall competed at right tackle in August camp after losing left tackle to Malone, filled the void.
• Clapp went down with a shoulder injury against Missouri and was replaced by Brumfield.

The shifting of positions may not be done. At practice this week, LSU experimented with Pocic at right tackle for Weathersby, a move that would allow Teuhema to play guard while Andy Dodd, who filled in admirably for Pocic during spring drills, would get his first start.

“Jeff Grimes is managing his position,” Orgeron said Wednesday. “We’re experimenting with Will Clapp being out.”

Either way, somebody will get his first college start, presumably in The Swamp.

The constant turnover has created a new normal. In the Mississippi State win, Pocic had to slide to left tackle to give Malone a break when the left tackle started suffering from cramps. Those two have been the iron men of the line as the only two not to miss a start, assuming Clapp misses the Florida game.

For his part, Malone said he doesn’t care who lines up next to him.

“I really don’t see a difference,” he said. “Whoever’s by me, I’m going to trust them 100 percent. Whoever coach Grimes puts in there, I’m going to trust.”

Gary Laney