Brian Kelly says these key LSU players will miss spring practice with injuries

Some key LSU players are going to miss spring practice as they recover from injuries, but they’re on track to participate in summer workouts and play in the 2023 season opener against Florida State.

Head coach Brian Kelly told The Advocate | Times-Picayune in an interview Tuesday that sophomore tight end Mason Taylor, junior running back Armoni Goodwin, redshirt senior center Charles Turner, junior defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo, Syracuse transfer cornerback Duce Chestnut, West Virginia transfer defensive lineman Jordan Jefferson and Alabama transfer receiver Aaron Anderson would not practice.

Kelly also confirmed redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Maason Smith and freshman edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack will be limited participants. Smith, who tore his ACL in the 2022 opener against the Seminoles, will “get cleared for everything but contact” soon. Womack will also be non-contact after undergoing shoulder surgery.

“Those guys are all trending to be back in late May, early June,” Kelly said. “They’re not going to miss any of our summer program. We needed to get these guys taken care of and we felt like getting it done now and not waiting.”

Taylor won’t practice because of shoulder surgery, Kelly said. His absence will give more reps to early enrollee tight ends Mac Markway and Jackson McGohan as LSU looks for backups to use in multiple-tight end sets.

Goodwin suffered a knee injury last season. And Kelly said Anderson had a procedure done that “cleaned up” his knee, as first reported by On3Sports. Anderson will also undergo a thumb procedure.

Not having Jefferson (shoulder), Wingo (shoulder/core muscle) and Smith limited leaves LSU depleted on the defensive line. The Tigers still have redshirt junior Jacobian Guillory, Florida transfer Jalen Lee and a few underclassmen. But the numbers issue limits what LSU can do in spring practice.

Similarly, LSU has low numbers on the offensive line. The Tigers already lacked depth because their signees won’t arrive until this summer. Turner having to miss spring practice further depleted the position.

“We’re down some key players on the defense and the offensive line in terms of numbers,” Kelly said. “That puts us in a situation where we have to be really careful in terms of how we articulate between the offense and defensive line.”