Orgeron hoping no other players will opt out this season

With the departure of Biletnikoff Award winner Ja’Marr Chase, the LSU Tigers now have four players that have opted out of the 2020 football season due to COVID-19 concerns.
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron hopes they will be the only ones to do so.
“Maybe there’s one or two that I know are thinking about it,” Orgeron said. “Hopefully they don’t. But if they do, that’s what we’re living in. But we have depth. If they do opt out, we’re still going to have a great football team.”
Besides Chase, defensive linemen Tyler Shelvin and Neil Farrell, along with defensive back Kary Vincent, have also made the decision to opt out. That means the Tigers will only suit up five starters from last year’s National Championship team.
Earlier this summer, the Southeastern Conference gave players to opt out of the season and still keep their scholarships. Each of the individual players for LSU that have chosen the opt out path have done so for different reasons.
“Everybody’s situation is different,” Orgeron said. “Those guys obviously talked to their families and made a decision. Guys are going to opt out for different reasons. That’s the time we’re living in. We have guys that are going to step up. There’s some opportunities for new guys to come in and we have a good roster that can handle that.”
On Monday, Chase released a four paragraph statement on Twitter.
“The competitor in me badly wants to play the season and go to war with my brothers,” Chase wrote, “but during this time with so much going on, this is what’s best for my family.”
“I have been fighting the thoughts and concerns that have crept into my mind but I cannot ignore what I feel in my heart and this ultimately is the best decision for me,” Chase continued. “I’ll look forward to returning to the field in 2021.”
The departures of Chase, Shelvin, Farrell and Vincent will not only hurt the Tigers on the field of play, but also on the depth chart. However, Orgeron still feels he has enough players to fill out those positions.
“They’re (other players) going to have to play,” Orgeron said. “We have to get better as the season goes on.”
Meanwhile, the SEC has released additional COVID-19 guidelines for football game days, mostly directed at home teams.
Some of the guidelines include no performances or presentations on the field (including bands), limited personnel on the field, home teams must provide 500 tickets to visiting teams, home teams must disinfect both locker rooms, and limited seating in the press box.
As of now most SEC teams have agreed to allow 20 to 25 percent fan capacity in the stadiums.
LSU will open the season at home on September 26 against Mississippi State. That game is slated to be aired at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
The Tigers will appear on CBS two more times when they take on Auburn (2:30 p.m.) and Alabama (5 p.m.). ESPN or ESPN2 will carry the Florida game beginning at 2:30 p.m.
The SEC Network has LSU at Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m.