John Battle will face discipline for punching Texas A&M staffer Cole Fisher in the face during a postgame altercation last month, LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Tuesday, but the senior safety will not be suspended for the Fiesta Bowl.
Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey said recently that the league would not be imposing any punishment for the postgame scuffle in College Station, choosing instead to leave those decisions up to the schools themselves.
It’ll likely be handled internally, as has been Orgeron’s policy as head coach, but nothing has been decided as of yet.
“He will be reprimanded,” Orgeron said. “We haven’t come up with a final decision yet. He’s going to play, but we don’t know exactly what the punishment is going to be. We’re still discussing that.”
Battle missed the final three games of the regular games of the regular season after suffering an ankle injury against Alabama. He’s totaled 37 tackles and three interceptions in nine games this season. Sophomores Todd Harris and JaCoby Stevens have seen increased playing time during his absence.
Getting Battle back in the mix would be a nice boost for a secondary that will be quite shorthanded going into the Fiesta Bowl.
Starting cornerbacks Greedy Williams (NFL Draft) and Kristian Fulton (ankle surgery) won’t be available. That leaves Kary Vincent, Kelvin Joseph, Terrence Alexander and Mannie Netherly as the only cornerbacks on the roster.
Joseph dealt with a hamstring injury of his own late in the season, but Orgeron said the freshman “should be healthy” enough to play against UCF.
“We have work to do there,” Orgeron said of his secondary. “Kelvin should be healthy. He’s been running and I think he’s healthy. We’ll see how he progresses this week, but Terrence and Kary are going to have to step up. They’re going to be challenged.”
LSU will begin its allotted bowl practices on Tuesday afternoon and practice regularly until Dec. 22. The team will depart for Arizona on Dec. 27.
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