BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU senior linebacker Michael Divinity Jr. has left LSU's team for 'personal reasons,' LSU head coach Ed Orgeron confirmed Monday at his weekly press conference.
The announcement on Monday of Divinity's departure comes just six days before the No. 1 Tigers travel to second-ranked Alabama on Saturday in a clash of unbeaten teams with College Football Playoff implications.
While Divinity tied for the team lead in sacks in 2018, he has played a reduced role this season because of the return of top edge pass rusher K'Lavon Chaisson and the emergence of Jacob Phillips and Patrick Queen at inside linebacker spots. Divinity also has missed three games.
Divinity had three sacks and a forced fumble in the five games he has played this season.
Orgeron says LSU "should be fine" because Chaisson takes the majority of snaps at the position Divinity also plays, and the coach expressed confidence in backups Andre Anthony and Ray Thornton.
Divinity shared a photo on Instagram with a message saying that he is taking time off "to focus on a personal matter."
"I am sorry I can't be on the field for you guys," Divinity wrote. "My goal is to get myself back to 100% in time to graduate in December and be back on the field fighting with my brothers soon."
Orgeron also says he won't "close the door" on the possibility of Divinity returning this season.
Saturday's game is the first time in college football history that two teams ranked No. 1 in both the AP poll and Coaches poll meet during the regular season. It is the fourth time both teams are undefeated going into the matchup, the latest was 2011.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.