For the second time in as many weeks, the LSU football program had two members opt out of playing the 2020 season.
Monday, senior defensive back Kary Vincent Jr. announced he would be opting out of playing this year, but does not plan on returning to the LSU football program. Vincent will instead focus on the NFL Draft, where The Athletic has him graded as a potential third to fifth round pick.
Thank You¡ pic.twitter.com/423fFdyJ3C
— Kary Vincent Jr. (@__KCINCO) August 17, 2020
Vincent was LSU’s starting nickelback last year. He was second on the team in interceptions with four and started eight games last year. In 2019, Vincent had 44 tackles, two tackles for loss and defended 13 passes. He also ran track for LSU and helped the team win the SEC championship in the 4x100 meter relay in 2018. Vincent also ran a 10.07 100 meter dash, finishing 11th in the nation in 2019.
While losing a player with as much talent and experience like Vincent hurts, LSU has plenty of talent in the secondary. Vincent’s departure probably forces Coach O to put sophomore defensive back Cordale Flott inside while true freshman Elias Ricks starts on the outside opposite of Derek Stingley Jr. As far as safety is concerned, the Tigers still have JaCoby Stevens as the safety/linebacker hybrid, while Mo Hampton Jr. and Todd Harris look to handle the deep coverage responsibilities. The staff is also high on true freshman safety Jordan Toles.
Last week senior defensive linemen Neil Farrell announced he too would not be playing this season because of health concerns with coronavirus. Farrell posted on Twitter that his grandmother is in the hospital battling coronavirus. Farrell did say that he intends to return to the program and play in 2021. He will retain his eligibility and stay on scholarship.
— Neil Farrell (@realspillneil) August 8, 2020
Farrell had a productive 2019 racking up 46 tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks all tops among Tiger defensive linemen. Farrell started at defensive end under Dave Aranda’s 3-4 defense and was expected to be a starter in Bo Pelini’s new 4-3 alignment, but looked to move inside and play defensive tackle alongside Tyler Shelvin. In addition to Shelvin, LSU brings back senior Glen Logan and sophomore Apu Ika and also signed three top-30 defensive tackles to its 2020 recruiting class: Jaquelin Roy, Jacobian Guillory and Eric Taylor.