Brian Kelly addresses BJ Ojulari injury, adds new insight

After LSU defensive end BJ Ojulari made his return from injury in Week 3, he was once again held out on Saturday against New Mexico. The Tigers got the job done without Ojulari as they went on to shut out the Lobos 38-0, but his absence led to some questions about his health going forward.

Coach Brian Kelly provided the answer postgame, clarifying the type of injury that Ojulari is dealing with.

“It’s the patella,” Kelly said. “We work out on Saturdays, and when we went through our workouts it was just cranky. There was no sense — especially in the position he had. He was not gonna get a ton of work where he had him in the Jack position. He had QB and as you saw, the ball was going out on the perimeter over there to run a dive. So we just thought it was best that we rest him and get him 100%.”

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BJ Ojulari suffered the injury in the season opener against Florida State, and went on to sit out the following week. He returned against Mississippi State on Sept. 17, finishing with five tackles (2.5 for loss) and 1.5 sacks.

Based on what Kelly said, it appears that Ojulari not playing this week was only precautionary. His next chance to see the field will come at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday as LSU takes on Auburn.

Injury update on LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels after New Mexico win

While the Tigers were only up 17-0 at half, they began to pour it on in the second half, despite injuries to a few of their star players, like quarterback Jayden Daniels. In the third quarter, at the end of a 16-yard run, Daniels was violently dragged down by two Lobos defenders. At the end of the play, he slammed his head on the turf. Following the game, BengalTiger’s Shea Dixon provided more clarity on details of the injury for Daniels.

Daniels suffered a strain in his lower back, but was cleared by team doctors to return to the game, according to Dixon. LSU head coach Brian Kelly held him out of the game from that point on, since the game was well in hand. Many observers were worried that it was a possible concussion for Daniels because of the way that he slammed his head on the ground. However, that appears to not have been the case.

Before exiting with his injury in the third quarter, the dynamic dual-threat quarterback racked up 300 all-purpose yards. Daniels completed 24 of 29 passing attempts on Saturday, while throwing for 279 rushing yards. He also added 37 rushing yards on the ground on just nine carries.

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.