Brumfield returns to LSU practice

BATON ROUGE, La. — There were no surprises as the Tigers returned to practice on Monday.

Garrett Brumfield, who has missed each of the last three games against Ole Miss, Florida and Georgia, was back working with the offensive line group, though he was not seen blocking the bags like his counterparts.

Brumfield has been issued the “very questionable” label heading into a tilt with Mississippi State, but coach Ed Orgeron does not expect the senior left guard to be able to give it a go.

“I don’t think Garrett Brumfield will be ready this week,” Orgeron said earlier on Monday. “He’s very questionable.”

In his stead, true freshman Chasen Hines saw the majority of reps. Lloyd Cushenberry, who has assumed a key leadership role with the offensive linemen with Brumfield sidelined, was seen working with Hines during drills.

Hines, who played all but one series in the win over Georgia, has seen action against Auburn, Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss. He is likely to get his first start on Saturday.

“You’re going to see a lot more of him this week,” Orgeron said on Monday.

Wide receiver Dee Anderson and Tyler Shelvin returned to practice, too. Anderson missed part of last week’s practices and did not play against Georgia. Shelvin has been out of practice consistently the past two weeks and did not travel to Gainesville, Fla., earlier this month. He and Anderson both missed last week’s game.

Safety Eric Monroe, tight end Thaddeus Moss and Ed Alexander were also absent from Monday’s session. Monroe has played sparingly this season and has not been dressed for the past two games.

Moss has yet to play a down for the Tigers this season due to a lingering injury that remains undisclosed. Reserve tight ends Zach Sheffer and Aaron Moffitt were also missing.

“I'm trying to figure it out myself,” Orgeron said. “Sometimes he practices, feels better. It's a lingering injury. When it comes to game time, doesn't feel like he's full speed, stuff like that. It's something that he's not completely healed. We want it to heal a lot faster, but it's not healing the way we want it. He wants to play. When he tries to play, he can't. It’s one of those things.”

Alexander missed practice, which was anticipated. He logged a season-high number of snaps in his first start of the year against the Bulldogs. This was a purposeful absence and the nose tackle is expected to be fine for the Mississippi State contest.

“I thought Ed Alexander, one of his best games,” Orgeron said. “Ed is still struggling with some problems with his lower extremities. He gets very sore. You can see he got off the field. (He’s) not going to practice today. I think he will be ready to play. We're going to need him against Mississippi State.”