LSU linebacker enters transfer portal

On Thursday, LSU Tigers reserve linebacker Navonteque Strong entered the transfer portal according to On3’s Matt Zentiz.

Strong, a junior college transfer, has played in five games (with two starts) and recorded 17 tackles and a sack this season.

Ed Orgeron on LSU Tigers motivation moving forward

The once-mighty LSU Tigers have fallen from grace since their 15-0, national championship-winning 2019 campaign, as Ed Orgeron has led the program to a disappointing 5-5 finish in 2020, followed by another disappointing performance in the form of a 4-4 record so far in 2021.

There seems to be very little to look forward to at LSU — the Tigers are off to a poor start to the 2021 season and have surrendered any chance of playing in a semi-meaningful bowl game. One of the few highlights this season, a 49-42 upset victory over the then-No. 20 Florida Gators, was followed up by another ground-shaking development: Orgeron would not return after the 2021 season, as LSU decided to let him go after this year.

To some, it may seem like there’s not much left to play for. But Orgeron sees things differently. He believes the LSU Tigers still have plenty of motivation left in the tank.

“I feel like they’re still well-motivated. There was a lot of ‘want to’ before that game and still throughout the game,” Orgeron said. “As far as ‘want to,’ I have seen that from this team. I do believe a week off is going to help. I do believe us playing Alabama next week — not much has to be said because of the type of team Alabama is, we’re going on the road to play them. I think our guys are going to finish out.”

Orgeron boasts a 46-18 record in six seasons at the helm of LSU, but he’s gone a meager .500 since the perfect 2019 campaign. Negotiations between Orgeron and LSU began weeks ago, before the Tigers lost to Ole Miss and before they pulled off an unexpected 49-42 upset over No. 20 Florida.

As Orgeron noted, the LSU Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa to play at No. 5 Alabama this week. They will need every bit of motivation if they hope to hang with the mighty Crimson Tide.

“There’s a lot of guys that are in their last year and want to finish out and want to play great, and some young guys that want to prove themselves, so I think there’s a lot of motivation with that,” Orgeron continued. “I know there’s a lot of motivation left, there’s a lot of motivation in our staff, our practices have been energized, nothing is going down in our practice as far as energy and the volume our players are putting out. So, I believe it’s going to be a strong finish.”

LSU will continue to prepare during its bye week before facing the Crimson Tide on Nov. 6.