Notebook: Ed Ingram return, Stephen Sullivan moving to receiver and Orgeron talks having multiple bye weeks

Ingram to push for starting job upon reinstatement

LSU coach Ed Orgeron met with the media Tuesday afternoon and painted a clearer picture on what the next few weeks will be like as his team rests up before arriving at the meat of its SEC schedule.

Because of a myriad of injuries, Orgeron said this week will be a lighter week of practice, focused mainly on fundamentals.

Ed Ingram back at practice, pushing for starting role on o-line

With sophomore lineman Ed Ingram now back in the fold, the depth within the offensive line unit seems as strong as ever. Ingram's versatility will allow him to play either the guard or tackle spot, though guard seems most likely.

Senior Adrian Magee has earned the starting spot at left guard this season and has shown improvement in his game, including this pancake of a Vanderbilt defender that spread like wildfire on social media.

ADRIAN MAGEE OUT HERE SERVING PANCAKES 💪🥞 pic.twitter.com/xKmXfAvkwZ

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 21, 2019

Orgeron said the team will see how the battle up front ensues over the next few weeks but said Ingram will have to earn any role that's ultimately given to him.

"He has to beat him out," Orgeron said. "Right now Magee has earned our starting spot. We can use Adrian as a utility guy but the more he plays at that left guard spot, the better he gets. Obviously consistency has always been something we're looking at from Adrian and he's giving it to us."

Orgeron also went on to say he expects Ingram to be ready when the team takes on Utah State on Oct. 5.

"I think he looks fantastic, he's lost some weight and gave our team a little pep in their step today at practice," Orgeron said. "He gives us a sense of confidence up front and give us some more depth."

Stephen Sullivan back at receiver

With the injury bug creeping up on the receiver unit this past week, the coaching staff made the decision to move senior tight end Stephen Sullivan back to his first position at receiver. 

Sullivan played receiver his first three years with the team and figures to step in and take a role left behind by Terrace Marshall, who if all goes right, won't be back until the end of the year.

"It will be good for Stephen, good for our team," Orgeron said. "Our tight ends have played well and I think Stephen will step in at receiver and play a big role and we should be fine."

Orgeron said the things Sullivan does real well is catch cross routes and has a large catch radius, much like Marshall does, which should help the offense rebound from losing the sophomore.

"He's been in big games and is hard to cover one-on-one," Orgeron said. "He runs good routes. I'd say it's his time and I think he's going to play well."

Orgeron talks having two bye weeks

Orgeron was asked about the benefits about having a bye week this early in the season and said he likes it, especially this year, as it allows his team a little bit of rest before really digging in to the heart of their schedule.

"We get to rest and our guys are beat up a little bit," Orgeron said. "I'm going to back off the length of time we're practicing this week so that we can be fresh. I think it came at a great time."

In total the team had two bye weeks, although the first one came right at the beginning of the year as only a few teams played during "Week Zero" of college football. Orgeron said he likes having the extra bye week because it allows a few extra days during the calendar year for the Tigers to devote to recruiting.

"It helps us go out on the road for recruiting," Orgeron said. "We don't go out on the road for recruiting when we're playing games so our guys are out on the road Monday, Thursday and Friday. It gives us a jump on recruiting and keeps our team fresh so I don't mind it at all."