No. 25 Ole Miss Enters No. 17 LSU Game with Injury Questions and Potential Loss of LB Denzel Nkemdiche
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
Ole Miss (7-3, 4-2) and LSU (7-2, 4-2) are both entering a critical two-game stretch of their respective seasons seeking to finish the 2015 campaign strong and parlay on the field results into verbal commitments on the recruiting trail. Two weeks ago LSU was ranked as high as No. 2 but has suffered back-to-back losses against then- No. 4 Alabama (30-16) and against unranked Arkansas (31-14).
After 10 consecutive weeks of play, the Rebels are coming off a much needed bye after also suffering a loss to Arkansas (53-52) their last time on the field. Ole Miss is gearing up to stop Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette and LSU’s potent rushing attack but may be without a few key people come Saturday, but none bigger than linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche.
Not known to the general public, Nkemdiche went missing over the weekend and did not show up for the Rebel’s practice on Monday. In a scary turn of events for the Nkemdiche family, Denzel was found on Monday at Baptist Memorial Hospital in the intensive care unit. Reports have not indicated why the star linebacker has been hospitalized with head coach Hugh Freeze only stating, “He’s dealing with a personal matter that he and his family are kind of going through. We’re going to walk through it with him. It’s kind of day by day on that, so I don’t know that I have the answer exactly on that also.”
If the senior linebacker who leads the team in tackles with 53 while posting 6.5 tackles for a loss cannot take the field against LSU, Freeze is expected to replace Nkemdiche with Demarquis Gates, 48 tackles, on the weak-side. Tayler Polk, Ray-Ray Smith, and Temario Strong are options to fill in as needed.
Rover/safety Tony Connor returned to play in his first action since Week 3 against the Hogs but was held out of practice on Wednesday as a precaution. Another needed run stopper who is questionable against the Tigers is defensive end Fadol Brown. The junior end has 32 stops on the season with 4.5 tackles for a loss. The potential combination loss of Nkemdiche and Brown would take two of the Rebels top six tacklers off the field against the nation’s leading rusher.
Brown reportedly has a fracture in his foot that will require offseason surgery. Freeze commented on Brown’s injury adding, “(The doctors) feel like he’s at no additional risk of trying to make through the year. (His) playing time just depends on how he feels come game time.”
The Rebels close the regular season out with Mississippi State while LSU welcomes Texas A&M.
Ole Miss welcomes LSU to Oxford with a kickoff time of 3:30 p.m. ET.
Photo credit: yahoosports.com; No. 4 Dezel Nkemdiche gets a tackle against Georgia.