Link Gumbo 8/29/2017- Pregame Player Interviews, Basketball Releases Schedule

Ed Orgeron’s decision to make Danny Etling the starter vs. BYU has continued to garner a lot of media attention throughout last week, with the overall reaction being a positive one.

Though the large amount of hype surrounding freshman quarterback Myles Brennan is real, the LSU offense is a complex one to grasp. Ultimately it was best to hand the reigns to a fifth year senior like Etling - and several analysts agree.

Two particular SEC Network analysts in former Auburn Tigers head coach Gene Chiznik and former Vanderbilt quarterback particularly liked what they saw in Etling, saying the move was one that didn’t “catch anyone by surprise.”

Etling, a Purdue transfer, knows all too well about competition and nothing being guarunteed. “Something I’ve done is always compete for jobs and it’s something I understand I have to do because nothing is handed to you,” he said in a report by WWL’s Michelle Southern.

If anything, he embraces competition.

He doted on all of his fellow quarterbacks in an article the The Times - Picayune’s Ron Higgins, of course inferring Brennan was the farthest along.

But that’s enough about quarterbacks.

In preparation for the opener, defensive lineman Christian LaCouture hosted his own special kind of “watch” party. He sat down in front of the TV with his fellow linemen - pen and paper in hand - to break down the BYU offense they’ll be taking on Sept. 2.

While meeting with the media on Monday, OT Toby Weathersby told the media about how his grandparents are in trouble in Houston and how he almost took off on Sunday night to go help them.

More videos from LSU and BYU’s player availability are at the bottom of this post.

The LSU gymnastics program named seven freshman additions to the team on Thursday, with Reagan Campbell, Bridget Dean, Christina Desiderio, Sami Durante, Sarah Edwards, Olivia Gunter and Gracen Standley joining for the 2018 season.

The group is both a promising and diverse one, with each student-athlete coming from a different state. Only Gunter hails from Louisiana, having attended Mandeville High School in Mandeville, La.

Things are also coming together for Will Wade’s basketball team, which fans can only hope will be an improvement upon last year’s. The SEC revealed its 126-game schedule on Thursday, with the LSU opener set for Wednesday, Jan. 3, when the Tigers host Kentucky.

LSU and BYU Player Interviews

QB Danny Etling

WR DJ Chark

BYU TE Matt Bushman

BYU LB Fred Warner

BYU S Tanner Jacbson

BYU WR Talon Shumway