LSU’s defense took another hit Saturday night, and this one looked serious enough to leave head coach Lane Kiffin sounding bluntly concerned.
Linebacker Whit Weeks left the Tigers’ game against Texas A&M in the second half and headed to the locker room on crutches with a walking boot on his right foot. ESPN’s Kris Budden first relayed the scene during the game, saying, "More bad news for LSU's defense, Whit Weeks was injured on A&M's last possession," Budden said during the game.
"He went into the tent to look at his right ankle and has been walked off the field and into the locker room. That ankle in a boot and on crunches.
If I get anything else, I'll let you guys know."
Before the fourth quarter, Budden got a direct update from Kiffin, and the message wasn’t encouraging. "Whit left, It looked really bad," Kiffin told Budden. "It's the next people up and hopefully we don't keep having to say that."
Weeks finished with four total tackles before exiting. Coming into Saturday, he had 20 total tackles, including 10 solo stops, plus one pass breakup through LSU’s first three games.
The timeline for his return remains unknown, but the sight of a player leaving on crutches with a boot is obviously a troubling one for LSU. It comes on the heels of another major blow to the defense, with starting safety Dashawn Spears already lost for the season after tearing his ACL in the loss to Ole Miss.
Weeks has been one of LSU’s loudest defensive voices since the offseason. At SEC Media Days, he made his stance clear about the standard he wants to help restore.
“I wanna bring back that nasty mentality to an LSU defense. I think we’ve lacked that in my first three years here," Weeks said during SEC Media Days.
"I truly do, and I take that personally on myself.”
For now, LSU is left waiting on more clarity, and Kiffin’s next update on Weeks will matter a lot.
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