Coach O announces WR Ja’Marr Chase will wear No. 7

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - LSU head coach Ed Orgeron has announced junior wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase will wear the coveted No. 7 this season.

Chase was the 2019 Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation’s top receiver. He set the SEC record for 20 touchdowns and 1,780 receiving yards. Chase finished the season with a total of 84 catches. He was also named a unanimous All-American.

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“Ja’Marr is a tremendous football player from the great state of Louisiana that represents our football program with great character and integrity,” said Orgeron. “(His parents) Jimmy and Toleah have done a great job of raising him and he has worked extremely hard on and off the field to develop as a player, while also becoming an outstanding leader for our team. He’s very deserving of having the opportunity to be the next LSU player to wear number 7. I know he will do a great job of representing that number and all of those who have worn the number 7 before him.”

Chase will be wearing the new number when the Tigers hit the field for spring practice starting Saturday.

“This was a tough decision for me,” Chase said. “I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of weeks. I look at No. 7 as a competitive number. I think the No. 7 at LSU is a challenge. There’s a lot of things that go on in the year when you have 7 on, a lot of critics, a lot of people, a lot of expectations from 7, and I want to have that challenge upon me.”

Chase has a total of 107 catches for 2,093 yards and 23 touchdowns. He was the first sophomore in LSU history with 2,000 receiving yards in his first two seasons as a Tiger.

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