As if dropping a painful 32-24 game on the road against the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels wasn’t already a tough pill to swallow this weekend, head coach Lane Kiffin and his squad were left holding their breath over two injury scares. By Sunday, those answers finally arrived. And they brought both bad news and a huge sigh of relief.
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According to Matt Zenitz of ESPN, junior defensive back DaShawn Spears will miss the rest of the 2026 season after an MRI confirmed that he suffered a torn ACL.
The injury happened early in the second quarter. With 14:24 left in the half, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy broke loose for a 22-yard run.
Spears, who was playing the STAR position near the line of scrimmage, quickly reacted to the play and moved toward Lacy. But before he could make the tackle, another LSU defender was knocked into his path by a blocker.
The defender fell into Spears’ lower left leg while his foot was planted in the ground. His knee bent awkwardly, and Spears immediately went down. He stayed on the field for around 30 seconds before medical staff helped him to the sideline. The 6-foot-3, 208-pound safety could barely put weight on the leg and spent the rest of the game on crutches.
Losing Spears is a catastrophic blow to defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s unit, as he was playing the role of Star position to its best capabilities.
In Baker’s scheme, the STAR acts as a hybrid safety-linebacker, forcing a player to match up man-to-man against dynamic slot receivers on one play and slide down to rush the quarterback from the line of scrimmage the next. Spears was putting together a breakout campaign in his first year as a full-time starter, entering the top-10 matchup with seven tackles (including 5 solo stops and one for a loss), a sack, a quarterback hurry, and a pass breakup across the Tigers’ dominant early victories against Clemson and Louisiana Tech.
He was finally getting his chance to shine after playing in 26 games with 4 starts over his first two seasons. Including a 29-tackle, 2-interception season in 2025 where he won SEC Defensive Player of the Week against Florida, making this sudden exit even tougher to swallow.
It’ll force Kiffin’s hands to lean on sophomore CJ Jimcoily and redshirt freshman Jhase Thomas moving forward.
However, just as the sky seemed to be falling in Baton Rouge, Kiffin and the Tigers caught a break on the offensive side of the ball.
Tight end Trey’Dez Green, who had to be carted off the field on Saturday with a frightening knee injury, completely avoided a catastrophic diagnosis.
Green’s mother, Laketrackey Green, shared an update on Facebook confirming that an MRI showed no torn ligaments and that he will not need surgery.
Green did suffer severe sprains and deep bone bruises, meaning he is expected to miss multiple games.
Still, avoiding a season-ending injury is a huge relief for an LSU offense that depends heavily on his production.
Before leaving the game, Green was one of the Tigers’ biggest weapons, leading the team with four catches for 60 yards. Some fans even believe the outcome could have been different if Green had remained on the field.
While LSU can breathe a little easier about Green, the Tigers are not completely out of the woods. Second-year wide receiver and primary kickoff returner Phillip Wright III is officially out for the rest of the season and is scheduled to undergo surgery for a separate injury.
With Green sidelined for the next few games and Wright gone for the year, LSU will have to turn to its depth at receiver. Players such as junior transfers Malachi Thomas and Zach Grace could be asked to take on bigger roles as the Tigers try to keep the passing game moving.
Reflecting on the difficult weekend, Lane Kiffin admitted that dealing with the injuries right now feels “more impactful than the loss” to Ole Miss itself.
Kiffin said it is extremely difficult to see important players walking around on crutches or being carted off the field. For him, keeping the young players healthy means much more than any single result on the schedule.
Now, the Tigers have to move on quickly. LSU dropped to No. 11 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll after the loss and has little time to dwell on what happened in Oxford.
The Tigers return to Death Valley this Saturday night, Sept. 26, where they will host the No. 23-ranked Texas A&M Aggies team. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT, giving LSU an immediate chance to respond after a painful weekend.