BATON ROUGE – LSU soared from No. 24 to No. 15 in the Amway Coaches Poll, and middle linebacker Jacob Phillips was named a co-defensive player of the week by the Southeastern Conference as the Tigers basked in the afterglow of a dominating, 33-17 win over No. 8 Miami on Sunday night in Arlington, Texas.
But the news was not all good. The Tigers lost starting sophomore K'Lavon Chaisson for the season after he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee with six minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Chaisson, who started three games and played in 12 last season as a true freshman, made five tackles with a sack and a quarterback hurry Sunday night.
"Thanks for everyone who sent out thoughts and prayers," Chaisson tweeted Tuesday. "It's a tough thing to handle, but I'm surely not alone. I ask that you keep sending blessings and prayers my way as we trust in the Lord and his plan. See y'all next season!"
Chaisson had a chance to be one of the Tigers' best pass rushers in 2018. He had two sacks last season.
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"One of the bad things about he game was we've lost K'Lavon for the year," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Tuesday afternoon. "I just met with K'Lavon and talked to his grandmother. I feel bad for him. He's a great young man who had totally dedicated himself to this year. But he is going to get through this. This will pass for him, and he will have a great career. I know his teammates are very sad. But we've got to step up, and guys will step up at that position."
Sophomore Andre Anthony replaced Chaisson in the game, and Anthony will battle with sophomore Ray Thornton for the starting job Saturday when the Tigers (1-0) host Southeastern Louisiana (0-1).
Chaisson was the No. 6 weak side defensive end in the nation and No. 16 player in Texas by Rivals.com when he signed with LSU in February 2017.
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