Whit Weeks injury update: Brian Kelly reveals diagnosis for LSU linebacker

LSU closed out the 2024 season in style with a convincing 44-31 win over Baylor in the Texas Bowl on Tuesday in Houston’s NRG Stadium. Of course, it didn’t come without cost as sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks suffered a dislocated right ankle that will require surgery to correct, according to Tigers head coach Brian Kelly.

“The early indication is a dislocation of the ankle, probably will have surgery here quickly,” Kelly said Tuesday evening in his postgame press conference. “I don’t want to give an exact timeline, but should have him ready to go sometime around Spring ball. Obviously we feel for him and certainly he’s a tough kid that will handle this the right way. But we’ll act quickly on it.

“His family was with him. But I think our team responded appropriately because he’s such an important part of what we do.”

Weeks was carted off the field with an air cast around his right leg with 1:41 to play in the second quarter after getting caught up at the bottom of the pile on a one-yard touchdown run by Baylor’s Dawson Pendergrass that cut LSU’s lead in half, 28-14.

Weeks stayed down, grabbing his right leg as Tigers trainers attended to him on the field. LSU’s entire team came off their sideline to surround Weeks and offer support as he was carted to the locker room for further evaluation.

Brian Kelly calls Whit Weeks as ‘the heartbeat of your team’

Kelly credited the LSU team’s reaction to Weeks’ standing as “the heartbeat” of the Tigers defense.

“There’s been times when the heartbeat of your team, and particularly the defense, I don’t think they knew the nature of the injury so they were very guarded about what it might have been,” Kelly continued. “I actually told the team before we went back out (in the second half) what the nature of the injury was just so we didn’t have any lingering effects going into the second half so that they could play and get back to what was most important, and that was finishing off the game.”

Weeks is in the midst of a breakout sophomore season at LSU. He entered Tuesday’s bowl game with 119 tackles, including an SEC-leading 58 solo stops, along with 10 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Prior to his injury, he had a team-high six tackles.

Weeks arrived on campus last year as a freshman out of Watkinsville (Ga.) Oconee County, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 149 overall player from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

LSU had an up-and-down go through Kelly’s third season in Baton Rouge, finishing with an 8-4 record en route to a Texas Bowl berth. As the Tigers prepared for the game, though, they were doing big-time work in the transfer portal – and Weeks plays an important role in recruiting.

“This response is a testament to the role that he plays on this team,” ESPN’s Taylor Davis said on the broadcast after the players surrounded Weeks. “An unbelievable player, but the undisputed leader. He was one of my player interviews this week … and he told me how much this place means to him – so much so, that Brian Kelly has turned to him and Garrett Nussmeier to handle some of the transfer portal situations. They’ve been to every dinner, hosting every guy, explaining why [they] should come to LSU. He bleeds purple and gold. Can’t say enough good things about the type of man he is.”

Nick Schultz contributed to this report.