Who steps up in place of Breiden Fehoko?
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Breiden Fehoko has been a versatile chess piece on LSU’s defensive front this season, playing everywhere from nose tackle to defensive end depending on personnel and game situations.
His season officially came to an end on Monday when coach Ed Orgeron announced that the Texas Tech transfer would not play for the team again this season.
Fehoko opened the 2018 campaign at nose tackle while incumbent Ed Alexander nursed an offseason knee injury. Upon Alexander’s return, Fehoko shifted out to left defensive end. That move allowed Glen Logan -- who started the year at end -- to give the team some much-needed depth in the defensive line rotation.
With Fehoko sidelined for the for the rest of the year, the onus is on LSU’s second line of big men to fill the void. That group includes Alexander, who has been wildly effective as he works his way to full strength, as well as some younger options such as Tyler Shelvin, who has
“We’ve been going at since we got here,” center Lloyd Cushenberry III joked of Alexander, more affectionately known as Rougaroo. “I knew once he got that chance he was going to take off with it. He’s a great player, a strong, solid guy.
“The young guys, Tyler, all those guys have been stepping up. He’s (Shelvin) a great player and he can move for a big guy. He’s going to be pretty good … All those guys have been stepping up. (Davin) Cotton is a guy who plays hard every down. I feel like that’s a group that’s going to be special in a few years.”
Shelvin, in particular, has been a popular topic of conversation over the course of the season.
After the season opener against Miami, which the former Rivals 5-star tackle did not see the field, social media posts led to questions about his future as a Tiger. Shelvin did not travel with the team to Florida and was deemed unavailable for the Georgia game at home. The redshirt freshman missed multiple practices for several weeks and did not see the field between Sept. 15 and Oct. 13.
Shelvin cracked the defensive line rotation again against Mississippi State and has become a regular contributor in three of LSU’s last four contests, including a season-high 25 snaps last Saturday against Rice.
Fehoko, of course, was sidelined for that game and will continue to be a spectator moving forward, opening the door for Shelvin to carve out an even larger role in the team’s next two contests.
“Tyler Shelvin has really been showing up in practice. He’s really kind of made his presence known the past couple of weeks, starting with the bye weeks,” quarterback Joe Burrow noticed. “I don’t notice defensive linemen too much, but he has been someone who has shown up.”
Shelvin, Cotton and fellow freshmen Dominic Livingston, Nelson Jenkins and Jarell Cherry all saw snaps in LSU’s 42-10 stomping of Rice, and while all but Shelvin seem destined for redshirt campaigns, there’s still an opportunity for an increased role up front in the remaining two games.
Orgeron and his staff will evaluate who can replace Fehoko in the defensive line rotation, and they have the Rice film to glance over. The odds-on favorite, of course, is Shelvin, one of the brighter spots on defense over the second half of the season.
“Tyler Shelvin has come along. He's making some improvement. He's becoming a nose tackle that we all thought he could,” Orgeron said. “Dominic Livingston went behind him, did a good job. Once he loses his weight, he's going to be a really good player. I was really pleased with Nelson Jenkins. He made a big play, busted up a double team, was very physical. Davin Cotton was running around. Davin has a lot of energy. He's going to be a good football player for us. Jarell Cherry got in made a couple of plays, I wish I could have played him more. Jarell's gained like 30 pounds this offseason. He's long and he's lean, and he's going to be a really good rusher.”