If you’ve been following the COVID data from around the country, you know that Louisiana has been one of the hardest-hit states when it comes to testing positive for the virus.

Taking that into consideration, it’s no surprise to hear that the defending national champions have also been affected by the virus.

During his most recent media availability, Ed Orgeron noted that “most” of his LSU players have caught the virus this offseason. To be clear, Orgeron didn’t specify the number of cases LSU has seen and he didn’t specify where they contracted the virus, so many of the cases could have occurred away from Baton Rouge and even outside the state.

Here is what Orgeron had to say when asked about the challenge his team faces to adjust after a player tests for COVID.

“Yes, yes, and that’s why I told the team we need everybody,” Orgeron said on Tuesday. “There’s no telling what’s going to happen with the COVID. I think that we’ve got a good handle of it but once a kid gets it, the next man got to go up. Mickey comes to me, Jack comes tell me, this person tested positive, this person is going to be quarantined, they give me the number of days and we got to make adjustments.

“Look, two weeks ago, we had everybody on our offensive line except two or three guys were out. We couldn’t do any team (drills), we adjusted very well. And we’ve got to make adjustments, but I think most of, not all our players, but most of our players have caught it. Hopefully, they don’t catch it again and are out for games.”

When asked a follow-up question regarding just how many LSU players have caught the virus, Orgeron didn’t provide any number but did share that the program has different plans in place for players that have had the virus and for players that have not tested positive.

“I’m not going to say all our players. Some players have caught it, I don’t know what percentage but hopefully once you catch it, you don’t catch it again,” Orgeron added. “Now, I’m not a doctor, I think they have that 90-day window so most of the players that have caught it, we feel will be eligible for games.

“We look at the players that have caught it and say okay, this guy should be eligible for the game. We look at the players that haven’t caught it, we talk about being very, very careful so they are eligible for games. But we know the players that haven’t caught it, we have to have some backups in their position ready in case they catch it.”