LSU’s lone senior defensive lineman confirmed reports from yesterday morning that he has, indeed, suffered a full tear of his anterior cruciate ligament.
I would like to thank everyone who has offered their support during this time. I really appreciate it. I tore my ACL during practice.
— Christian LaCouture (@lacouture91) August 10, 2016
I plan to attack this injury head on and I will help and support this team from the sideline and watch them achieve greatness #geauxtigers
— Christian LaCouture (@lacouture91) August 10, 2016
This, obviously, sucks for a number of reasons — LaCouture was a senior who decided to comeback for this season and bypass the NFL, and by this report from The Advocate, was in the best shape of his career and primed for a versatile role as a 4i/5-technique defensive end in Dave Aranda’s 3-4 defense. He’ll have a chance to take an injury redshirt and return for 2017 if he wants, and LaCouture could still add some value to this team as a sideline presence, a la offensive lineman Josh Dworaczyk in 2011.
On the field, this will likely cause some re-shuffling of the defensive line for LSU. The two-gap “fulcrum” position of the defensive line could move back to the nose-tackle spot, with Davon Godchaux sliding out to defensive end. That would move Greg Gilmore, the newly arrived Travonte Valentine and freshman Ed Alexander into increased roles.
We’ll stay on top of how that develops as the season approaches.