By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
No. 16 LSU will not be at full strength for its Southeastern Conference opener Saturday morning at South Carolina, but the left side of its offensive line will be.
Senior left guard Garrett Dellinger will be back in the lineup next to junior left tackle Will Campbell after Dellinger missed the Nicholls State game last week with a concussion. The Tigers (1-1) and Gamecocks (2-0) kick off at 11 a.m. central on ABC. LSU is a touchdown favorite.
“Here’s all I can tell you about Dellinger,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said Thursday night on his radio show. “He took every rep with the first group on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So, whatever that means.”
Dellinger had been listed as probable on Wednesday in the SEC-mandated injury report from Kelly.
Kelly upgraded freshman wide receiver Kyle Parker (elbow) from questionable to probable. Parker missed the Nichollls State game after injuring his elbow in the USC game in which he started ahead of regular starter Chris Hilton Jr.
“He (Parker) has made the kind of progress that we can change him Friday,” Kelly said.
Hilton has not played this season because of an ankle injury and remains questionable for Saturday, but the returning junior made significant progress on Thursday.
“It was the first time that he got up to a speed with our strength staff that kind of gave us an, ‘Uh-huh, OK. We’re getting there,'” Kelly said. “So we’re going to keep working him right up until we leave (on Friday).”
Backup senior linebacker West Weeks is questionable with a lower leg injury, but he is improving.
“Weeks, we’re going to continue to work him right up until kickoff,” Kelly said. “He’s getting better every day. He would be one of those guys that each day looks better and better. But that would be a game-time decision.”
Starting sophomore safety Jordan Allen (turf toe) is questionable as is sophomore backup defensive end Da’Shawn Womack (undisclossed).
Expected to replace senior defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory in the lineup is senior defensive end Paris Shand, who played tackle at Arizona State from 2020-22. Guillory was lost for the season after tearing his Achilles tendon early in the Nicholls State game.
Also expected to play in Guillory’s spot are sophomore junior college transfer Shone Washington, true freshman Ahmad Breaux and senior Jalen Lee.
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