LSU lost a mix of talent and experience in recent days as rising senior defensive back Eric Monroe left the program for Texas Tech as a graduate transfer and former five-star prospect and sophomore outside linebacker Marcel Brooks also made the decision to leave Ed Orgeron’s program via transfer.

In his three seasons on the field, Monroe registered a combined 22 tackles for the Tigers. Brooks, who only played one season after signing as a five-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle, appeared in 11 games in 2019 and had eight tackles and 1.5 sacks during his lone season in Baton Rouge.

If there’s a position on defense that LSU could stand to lose some depth, it’s in the defensive backfield where the Tigers return preseason All-SEC candidates Derek Stingley Jr. and Jacoby Stevens in addition to the return of players like Kary Vincent Jr., Cordale Flott and Jay Ward and the signing of Elias Ricks, arguably the nation’s highest-rated cornerback prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle.

During a recent appearance on 104.5 FM ESPN Baton Rouge radio show “Off The Bench,” Orgeron was asked to comment on the two recent transfers out of his program.

Here’s what Orgeron had to say about Marcel Brooks:

“Marcel is a great young man. I recruited him out of Texas. I think he wanted to go closer to home,” Orgeron said. “He went out on a good note, I wish him the very best.”

And on Eric Monroe:

“He graduated already, he helped us win a national championship. He came to work every day, was a great young man,” Orgeron noted. “He felt he would find a place where he could go start and show his talents. That’s not to mean he wouldn’t start here but he felt it was time for him to move on. We wish him the very best, too. Eric gave us everything he could, every day he was here at LSU.”