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LSU's Neil Farrell Jr. opts out after COVID-19 hits family hard as season prospects dim

Glenn Guilbeau
Lafayette Daily Advertiser

BATON ROUGE - LSU has its first football player to opt out of the 2020 season due to family concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neil Farrell Jr., a starting defensive end from Mobile, Alabama, who was entering his senior year, will not play this season, according to a report by Sports Illustrated later confirmed by USA TODAY Network.

"His family was hit hard by COVID-19," Sports Illustrated writer Ross Dellenger, who formerly covered LSU, tweeted Saturday afternoon. "He plans to return to the team next season."

Per NCAA rules, Farrell will remain on scholarship and could be a senior in 2021 as he has not been red-shirted. Or the NCAA could grant him a waiver to have two seasons left.

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LSU defensive end Neil Farrell Jr. (92) tackles Clemson running back Travis Etienne (9) during the College Football Playoff national championship game

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Farrell played in all 15 games and started three for LSU in the 2019 season as a junior as the Tigers won the national championship with a 15-0 record. He made 46 tackles on the season, including 15 solo stops, with three sacks and seven for losses while hurrying the quarterback four times and forcing a fumble.

He was ranked as the No. 1 defensive tackle in the state of Alabama in 2017 out of Murphy High School in Mobile.

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