LSU Football: Tigers Who Must Step Up If Travin Dural Sits out with Injury

Travin Dural's fast start to the 2014 season took an unfortunate detour Wednesday afternoon, when it was reported that he had suffered minor head injuries in a car accident and is being held out of practice.

Update: Thursday, Sept. 11 – 10:55 a.m. ET

According to Ross Dellenger of The Advocate, head coach Les Miles gave an encouraging update on Dural's injury Wednesday night.

"He had a little accident," Miles said. "Sustained very minor soft tissue injury. He’ll be fine, and he’ll play in this game."

Consider this crisis averted.

--END OF UPDATE--

Original Text

Ross Dellenger and Ryan Broussard of The Advocate spoke to sources who described the details of the accident:

"

Dural needed stitches to his forehead. He has not been practicing with the team this week because he’s unable to wear a helmet with the stitches, another source confirmed. He is 'day to day.'

Dural was the driver of the vehicle. He was heading north on Nicholson Drive and made a left turn onto Bob Pettit Blvd. without having a green arrow, Baton Rouge Police spokesman Cpl. Don Coppola said. A Chevy Avalanche collided with Dural’s vehicle. No citations were issued.

Paramedics responded to the corner of Nicholson and Bob Pettit Blvd. at 3:16 a.m. Sunday, EMS spokesman Mike Schustz said. LSU beat Sam Houston State 56-0 on Saturday, a game that ended at about 10 p.m. Dural was transported to Baton Rouge General Medical Center-Mid City for the injury, a source said.

"

According to the report, an LSU team spokesman declined to make a comment. Head coach Les Miles is scheduled to speak with the media after Wednesday's practice—as he does every week—and will likely provide an update on Dural's status at that time.

It doesn't appear like Dural will miss an extended period of time, but even a short to medium amount of time could be troubling. The Louisiana-Monroe game this week and the New Mexico State game in three weeks should both easy wins for the Tigers regardless, but the Mississippi State game in two weeks and the Auburn game in four weeks would both be difficult without Dural, LSU's leading receiver and the current FBS leader in yards per reception (48.5).

Here are three guys that would have to step up in his absence.

WR Malachi Dupre

Credit: 247Sports

Malachi Dupre has not made the quick impact most folks expected, sitting out the Wisconsin game with an injury before playing in the fourth quarter of Week 2's win against Sam Houston State.

When he got into the game against the Bearkats, though, he quickly made a reassuring impact, catching two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown on his first drive. The touchdown was slightly overthrown to the corner of the end zone, and Dupre had to use his long arms to reach out and haul it in.

If Dural is forced to miss time, Dupre is his most logical replacement, which would mean an extended trial with the first-team offense. Or at least that's what Dellenger predicts will happen:

Dupre was the No. 17 overall player and No. 2 wide receiver in the 2014 recruiting class, and unlike LSU's other star freshman, Trey Quinn, he projects best as an outside threat. Quinn is capable of getting down the field as well, but he does his best work as a run-blocker (something that has earned him early playing time) and catching passes in the middle third.

Assuming Dural does not miss the Mississippi State game, his minor bang-up might actually be a blessing in disguise.

Dupre is LSU's future No. 1 receiver, and he could use the early reps.

QB Anthony Jennings

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

Losing Dural would be a stiff—but potentially illuminating—test for quarterback Anthony Jennings, who has established an obvious rapport with Dural in the first two games of the season.

Throwing a wrench into that comfort zone puts Jennings in a difficult position: If he doesn't play as well against UL-Monroe as he did against Sam Houston State, the obvious deduction will be that Dural was making him look good (instead of vice versa). 

Jennings has a QB rating over 200 after two games this season, but those numbers are a little inflated from the Sam Houston State game, and there is still a vociferous faction of the LSU fanbase that wants freshman Brandon Harris to see more first-team reps.

Losing Dural would give Jennings a chance to prove he can overcome adversity—but also a chance to prove he cannot.

The Warhawks, for what it's worth, held Wake Forest under 100 total passing yards in their season opener and have three interceptions through two games. They're a team LSU should, in theory, carve up, but they are just talented enough to provide a good litmus test.

WR Trey Quinn

Bob Levey/Getty Images

Quinn was intentionally saved for the bottom of this list, mentioned after Dupre—whom he's been playing over—for a reason.

That reason is not because Dupre is better than him, necessarily. It's because Dupre has more to prove. Quinn has already been running with the first-team offense, so he's a slightly more well-known commodity.

However, as mentioned above, Quinn has been used in a mostly dulled-out role through two games, making his biggest contributions as a blocker. That will always be something he excels that, and the coaching staff will always give him playing time because of it, but it's time to see what Quinn can do with the ball out in space.

Quinn caught a two-point conversion against Wisconsin and a third-down pass against Sam Houston State, but with Dural potentially out, he will have to emerge as a weapon on standard downs. That's especially true if Dural can't play against Mississippi State—a team with a great front seven but questions in the secondary—LSU will need one of their three freshman receivers (Dupre, Quinn and John Diarse) to play well beyond his years and get down the field.

According to Dellenger, Miles said Quinn is playing "almost every set in the offense," which puts him ahead of Dupre and Diarse in terms of knowledge. He can run Cam Cameron's plays with the highest degree of confidence, which is what Jennings and/or Harris need.

They need the guy they know they can count on.