LSU head coach Ed Orgeron met with the media on Monday and talked about some of the starting position battles that will continue to play out this week in practice.

The team's officially depth chart for Georgia Southern, which was released on Monday, identified some of those battles at left guard and middle linebacker:

quote:
LG - Adrian Magee -OR- Chasen Hines

MLB - Jacob Phillips -OR- Patrick Queen

Sophomore defensive lineman Tyler Shelvin is listed as a starter at nose tackle ahead of freshman Siaki Ika, however, Orgeron said he sees both players as co-starters.

Orgeron also said that same about tight ends Thaddeus Moss and Stephen Sullivan even though Moss is listed ahead of Sullivan on the depth chart. Here's what he had to say.

quote:
Q. Can you give a rundown of the offensive line, who you expect to start at each position?
ED ORGERON: Well, Saahdiq (Charles) is going to start at left tackle. Left guard is going to be between Chasen Hines and Adrian Magee. Our center is going to be Lloyd (Cushenberry). Right guard is going to be D-Lew (Damien Lewis). Right tackle is going to be Austin (Deculus). Badara (Traore) is a guy that can play at guard, he can play tackle. Those guys will be interchangeable.

Q. The linebacker you mentioned some of the battles there with Jacob Phillips and those guys. What is it looking like? Could come down to game day.
ED ORGERON: They are battling, man. It's very close between him and Patrick. That's going to be a game time decision. Again, Damone Clark has had an excellent camp, you're going to see him a lot. He's going to play a lot. I expect him to be an excellent LSU linebacker.

Q. The nose tackle battle is going to be pretty fluid. Has Tyler Shelvin officially taken that spot?
ED ORGERON: He and Siaki (Ika) are listed right there. They are starters for me.

Q. A lot of the off-season talk at tight end has been about Stephen Sullivan. How has Thaddeus Moss taken to the new offense and performed in it so far?
ED ORGERON: Thaddeus has had a great camp. I do believe he and Stephen are considered starters now. Thaddeus can block. He's big and physical. Catches the ball well, is very mature. He and Joe have a tremendous combination. He's made some tremendous catches. He has great hands. That's why I recruited him, because of his catching ability.

Stephen is a difference maker. Obviously he's not the big blocker like Thaddeus would be. Can stretch the field. We can flex him out, do a lot of things with him. Stephen has proven to us he can make big plays in big games.