LSU Football: Three Tigers to Watch in Week 8 Against Army

LSU faces the Black Knights in Tiger Stadium, program to honor Army in a myriad of ways.

Jayden Daniels and the Tigers will host Army on Saturday with this program preparing for its final tune-up ahead of a difficult stretch to close out the season.

For LSU, the youngsters should have an opportunity to step in and make an impact against the Black Knights.

Here are three LSU players to monitor in Week 8:

Lance Heard: Offensive Tackle

Heard will be the starting right tackle on Saturday night while Emery Jones nurses an ankle sprain suffered in Week 7. The five-star freshman has seen limited action this season, but when thrown in the fire, he’s handled business.

Against Auburn, when Jones went down with injury, Heard entered the mix and got it done in the trenches. Now, facing an Army squad that has struggled inside this season, Heard has an opportunity to get in a rhythm.

He’s had a week to run with the first-team as he prepares to take significant reps this weekend against the Black Knights, and facing an inferior opponent, it makes the battle inside that much more intriguing. Heard will be one to keep tabs on this weekend.

Greg Penn III: Linebacker

Brian Kelly detailed how the second-level will be key against an Army offense that thrives in the triple option. Looking ahead, it’ll be veteran linebacker Greg Penn III that must step up in a big way for this program in order to shut down the rushing attack.

Penn has been the savvy leader this program has relied on at linebacker. While Oregon State transfer Omar Speights has been out at times, we’ve seen Penn be vocal for the Tigers. 

Now, facing an inferior opponent, Penn has an opportunity to put his game together and shake off an inconsistent season with a complete performance.

The linebackers as a whole will be key on Saturday, but big-time performances from Penn and true freshman Whit Weeks will give this program an opportunity to put Army out of reach early.

Maason Smith: Defensive Line

LSU will be without interior defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo on Saturday against Army, which will immediately put a larger workload on third-year Tiger Maason Smith. 

There have been challenges with Smith this season as he works back from a torn ACL (last season) and an ankle sprain (fall camp), but he’s slowly getting back in game shape.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Smith work back into a groove, and with Wingo out this weekend, it’s clear there will be more eyes on Smith as he prepares to hold down this unit against a unique offense.

Army favors the triple option on offense, and for Smith, he’ll have to be on his toes each snap in order to get a read on the play. Look for the dominant defensive lineman to make the most of his reps and dominate the trenches on Saturday night in Death Valley.