One of college football’s keys is lessening the learning curve.
Annually, new players have to be integrated into a new scheme. While Lane Kiffin is still learning LSU, he’s got plenty of experience forming an offense out of new pieces. This season will require that as Braelin Moore, Caden Durham, Harlem Berry, Weston Davis and Trey’Dez Green are the only impactful pieces remaining from last year’s anemic LSU offense.
Everyone is learning something new.
“That’s a big challenge but one that we’ve faced before,” Kiffin said. “A number of years since the portal has come around, we’ve rebuilt teams and offenses specifically where receivers came from all over and quarterbacks and had to come together. Just last year I think there were only four returning starters on a team that went to the final four. We have a lot of experience with that, still presents a lot of challenges.”
Quarterback Sam Leavitt was forced to watch from the sideline during the spring. Still, he’s had more time to learn Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.’s scheme than Trinidad Chambliss did a season ago. Chambliss didn’t arrive at Ole Miss until the summer.
He managed to pile up 297 yards per game of total offense which was second best in the SEC behind Deigo Pavia.
Jaxson Dart joined the Ole Miss program in 2023 and was one of only two SEC quarterbacks to throw for 2,900 yards and run for 600. The other was Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.
Tre Harris finished fifth in the SEC in receiving in 2023 and moved on to the NFL. The following year Jordan Watkins and Cayden Lee finished in the top 10 in the league. Last season it was Harrison Wallace that led the Rebels.
Kiffin has plenty of experience getting players up to speed quickly and replacing lost production. This season will be no exception.
LSU wide receiver room boasts a total of one catch for two yards in an LSU uniform. That’s Phillip Wright‘s returning production. While Berry and Durham return in the ground game, LSU finished 126th in rushing last year, so that’s a ground up rebuild as well.
It all starts in earnest next week.
