Lane Kiffin emptied his bench on Saturday night.
The Tigers led by 28 at halftime, and the lead swelled to 38 by the end of the third quarter. That created an opportunity for some reserves to make a mark on the season opener.
LSU’s starters didn’t exactly leave the door to more playing time cracked open, but there were some standouts among the backups.
PHILLIP WRIGHT, WR
No position in the program was overhauled more than wide out in the offseason. A dozen new faces join Phillip Wright who was the only holdover from last season.
Wright caught all three of his targets, one from each quarterback, and turned the second into a 30-yard touchdown. That play was all wheels.
Wright made the catch with his back to the endzone and turned up the LSU sideline with an amazing jolt of speed that propelled him by multiple defensive backs and into the endzone.
That top end speed helped Wright earn kickoff return duties. It may mean more playing time at wide receiver.
STACY GAGE, RB
After Dilin Jones, Stacy Gage was clearly the second back for LSU on Saturday night. He averaged four yards per carry, and four of his carries resulted in first downs.
At 204 pounds, Gage is about 10 pounds heavier than Harlem Berry, and he’s a couple of inches taller than Caden Durham.
LSU’s ground game really got rolling on Saturday, and that will be a focus moving forward. If he runs like he did against Clemson, Gage will be in line for five to 10 carries per game.
DYLAN CARPENTER, DE
Carpenter was announced as a starter in the pregame, but Jordan Ross officially got the start.
The junior from St. Amant saw 16 of LSU’s 49 defensive snaps, and he made them count. He notched a sack and a tackle and a half for loss playing defensive end.
It was a huge fall camp for Carpenter who took advantage of the absence of Gabriel Reliford and Damien Shanklin.
Princewill Umanmielen and Ross both enjoyed excellent ballgames against Clemson, but Carpenter’s performance shows there is depth at the position.
