LSU Football: Dismissal of DT Trey Lealaimatafao Hurts LSU's Depth Up Front

What seemed like an inevitability became a reality Monday night. LSU defensive tackle Trey Lealaimatafao was dismissed from the program by head coach Les Miles.

The 6'0", 300-pound redshirt freshman was arrested this month for simple battery and simple robbery for allegedly hitting a woman after she tried to stop him from robbing her unconscious boyfriend, according to Ross Dellenger of the Advocate.

"Trey is no longer a member of our football team," Miles said in a statement emailed by LSU. "We have gathered information on this incident, and we feel it's best for us to part ways."

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While Lealaimatafao was an unknown commodity on the field, he was being counted on to provide quality depth for a Tigers defense in transition.

New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele comes from a 3-4 background but, for the most part, has 4-3 personnel up front in Baton Rouge, with Lealaimatafao being one of those guys who could have played significant rotational snaps behind tackles Davon Godchaux and Christian LaCouture.

He had one tackle playing with the White team defense in the spring game, according to stats released by LSU, and had the size to be a solid option for Steele as a space-eater in the middle of a Tigers defensive line that was inconsistent a year ago.

That problem is only exacerbated by the indefinite suspension of Maquedius Bain, a  6'4", 299-pound defensive lineman who was arrested with quarterback Anthony Jennings and cornerback Dwayne Thomas for unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling on the same day Lealaimatafao was arrested, according to David Ching of ESPN.com.

Bain, a natural defensive tackle, had been cross-training at defensive end and would likely have earned playing time at both, especially at end when LSU goes 3-4.

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Suddenly, LSU's defensive line—which already had to deal with the loss of starting defensive ends Jermauria Rasco and Danielle Hunter to the NFL—is losing players who, at the very least, could provide the quality depth in the trenches needed to be a contender.

As Ben Love of TigerSportsDigest.com notes, the dwindling defensive tackle depth has put a ton of pressure on redshirt senior Quentin Thomas. At 6'4" and 303 pounds, Thomas has battled injuries throughout his career in Baton Rouge and took a back seat last year after Godchaux emerged as a starter. 

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It also puts pressure on Travonte Valentine, a 6'4", 350-pound 4-star prospect in the Class of 2014 who sat out last season with lingering eligibility issues. According to Terrance Harris of NOLA.com, he's in line to be eligible this fall as long as he takes care of himself in the classroom, but that story has been repeated in Baton Rouge for going on 12 months now.

That's a lot of uncertainty in the middle of a defensive line that really doesn't need any more uncertainty.

Sure, players such as Frank Herron and Greg Gilmore can step in and provide that depth. At this point, though, they might have to step in and provide that depth via rotational snaps to give the starters a break. 

At the very least, the dismissal of Lealaimatafao, combined with Bain's indefinite suspension, chips away at the depth Miles desperately needed up front as the Tigers transition to the new regime of Steele and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron.

Don't be fooled by the lack of stats next to Lealaimatafao's name. His absence adds even more uncertainty to an already unstable defensive line.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.