If being on LSU's offensive line is like a marriage, then Tigers had a honeymoon in Auburn

BATON ROUGE — For better or worse, in sickness (injuries) and in health, LSU's offensive line is surviving a marriage, says left guard Garrett Brumfield.

And at the moment, it is on a honeymoon that started in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 2 and has continued through Auburn, Alabama, over the weekend. The various spouses all hope it continues on Saturday night when No. 6 LSU (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) hosts Louisiana Tech (2-0) at 6 p.m. in Tiger Stadium on ESPNU. 

"Being on an offensive line is like being in a marriage," said Brumfield, a senior from University High in Baton Rouge who is not married, but does have a girlfriend. "You know, you've got to work on it sometimes."

Brumfield started laughing as he got some odd looks from a group of reporters.

"I know that sounds kind of weird," he said. "But we're five guys, and we're married together. And you learn more about each other the longer you're married. You go on vacations and all that other stuff, and you have a great marriage. That's how we are."

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LSU's offensive line "marriage" has withstood an indefinite suspension of one of its best members — sophomore starting right guard Ed Ingram, who has been replaced well by junior transfer Damien Lewis.

Then junior starting right tackle Adrian Magee injured his leg in the season opener against No. 8 Miami in Arlington and has not returned. His replacement, junior transfer Badara Traore, did not perform well in game two and was replaced by sophomore Austin Deculus for game three.

Starting left tackle Saahdiq Charles was suspended for the Southeastern Louisiana game in week two with Deculus replacing him.

Then on Saturday at Auburn, Brumfield went down in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. He was replaced by true freshman Chasen Hines, who only moved to offense from the defensive line in August for depth purposes with the loss of Ingram. Brumfield was able to return in the third quarter and finished the game.

And now Charles is "very questionable" with an undisclosed injury, LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Thursday night after practice. If Charles can't go, Traore will replace him at left tackle for the fourth different offensive linemen combination at LSU in four games.

But through it all, LSU's offensive line has built chemistry through the ups and downs of their marriage.

"You feel things together a certain way," Brumfield said. "Whether it's a double team or an outside zone play, you know what he other is supposed to do. Just from time spent working together, things click and start to come together."

Considering the competition, LSU's offensive line had its best game of the season at Auburn, which has one of the best defensive fronts in the Southeastern Conference.

"I thought our line played outstanding and only gave up one sack against possibly one of the best defensive lines in the country," Orgeron said. "Those guys were really on target. We sprinted around and we switched our protections around. Austin did fine. He had two penalties, but besides that, I thought he did very well. He has some things that he can get better at."

Orgeron particularly liked how Hines held his own on such short notice.

"I thought Chasen did excellent to have to come in like he did. He didn't know he was going to play that much," he said. "We are very pleased with him. We think he's going to be an excellent player for us."

Orgeron was impressed with Brumfield returning to the game as well.

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"He went through a rough spell, but we have one of the best trainers in the world in Jack (Marucci)," Orgeron said. "Jack did some work on him and gave him some confidence that he can go back in. Garrett is an experienced player. He's a vet. He knows when he can and can't go back in."

LSU's offensive line has also meshed quickly with a new quarterback — junior transfer Joe Burrow. That is not always easy.

"I wanted to finish the marriage analogy really cool," Brumfield said. "I didn't want to call him a marriage counselor, but yeah, man, Joe fits right into the puzzle as part of our wedding. He's the wedding planner. There you go. Joe's the wedding or marriage planner, and we just want to keep him involved. That way we can have a great wedding and marriage every week for the rest of the year."