LSU wide receiver Jackson Harris had watched enough of running back Dilin Jones through the first six weeks of the season to get an idea of the toughness he brought to the team’s offense.
When Harris motioned across the formation with the Tigers on Mississippi State’s 27-yard line, he summoned his inner Jones on a 27-yard touchdown pass that extended his team’s lead to 14-0 with 3:27 remaining in the first quarter of Saturday’s game.
Harris, who already had a four-yard catch on the drive, drove off the line on second-and-eight to make himself available for quarterback Sam Leavitt who delivered the ball.
The rest was all up to Harris who slipped a tackle at MSU’s 25-yard line, juked another defender and was stood up near goal line with a total of three defensive players trying to deny his forward progress.
Roman Mothershed was one teammate that came to the aid of Harris, along with Eugene Wilson III, to enable the redshirt junior complete get across the goal line.
Just before Harris fought off a defender from trying to strip him of the ball, Jordan Seaton and Stacy Gage also showed up for support, but officials signaled touchdown which was upheld by video replay.
“We put in a lot of work in the offseason,” Harris said. “It truly is a mindset. Dilin’s always fighting for those extra yards. I just kind of made a decision to get in the end zone. My teammates came pushed me in. That’s just effort from the whole team.”
The combination of Leavitt-to-Harris worked again for another touchdown with Harris gaining separation from a defender near the goal line for a 17-yard score that accounted for a 21-0 halftime lead en route to a 31-0 shutout victory over the Bulldogs.
Jones finished as LSU’s top receiver with eight catches in nine targets for 58 yards followed by Harris with six receptions in six targets for a team-high 85 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’re all brand-new in this offense,” Harris said. “It just takes time. It takes all of us to come together and holding each other accountable. Watching film together, building that chemistry and that’s what we need. We’ve all started to lean on each other more on offense, and that’s what we’re going to need going into this final stretch of the season.”
The only question concerning Harris on Saturday afternoon was his health. He left the field with an ankle injury in the second half, didn’t return to action and was spotted after the game in a walking boot.
Harris said had the game been in doubt in the second half, he would have come back to play.
“We’ll be all good for this week,” he said.
Big batch of receivers
No. 18 LSU (5-2, 2-2 in SEC) travels to Auburn (4-2, 2-2) in Southeastern Conference action at 11 a.m. Saturday. The game will be televised by ABC.
Harris was among a large number LSU signed from the NCAA transfer portal. The Berkley, Calif. native spent the first two years at Stanford before transferring for one season to the University of Hawaii.
He earned first team All-Mountain West Conference honors with 49 catches for 963 yards and 12 TDs in 2025. His touchdown total lead the league along with his yards per catch (19.65) and was second in receiving yards and yards per catch game (87.5).
Harris joined head coach Lane Kiffin’s first team at LSU with a group of signees that included Jayce Brown of Kansas State, Wilson of Florida, Tre Brown of Old Dominion, Winston Watkins of Ole Miss and Malik Elzy of Illinois.
Harris had 59 career catches for 1,049 yards and 13 TDs when he arrived at LSU.
Leavitt missed spring practice because of foot surgery to fix a Lisfranc injury. The Arizona State transfer wasn’t cleared for competition until the start of fall camp and had to wait until then to begin developing the chemistry and timing they sought.
Trying to fill a void
“All I have to do is my job and he’s going to do his job,” Harris said of Leavitt said. “The trust comes naturally like that. The more passes he throws me, the more plays I make, the more he’s going to trust me to make that play on critical downs when we need plays.”
LSU lost its top target after the loss to Ole Miss with All-America tight end candidate Trey’Dez Green lost for the foreseeable future with a knee injury.
That’s opened a window for any of the receivers and tight ends to further develop a rapport with Leavitt and try and fill the hole left by Green.
Watkins has emerged as the Tigers’ leading receiver with 33 catches for 447 yards and two TDs with Harris making the climb to No. 2.
Harris exploded for six catches for a career-high 163 yards and two TDs in a 35-6 home victory over Texas A&M. He’s maintained that level of efficiency during that stretch four catches for 37 yards and McNeese, six receptions for 54 yards and a TD against Kentucky.
He even displayed his arm talent in the 35-34 loss to the Wildcats, taking a pass from Leavitt and delivering a well-thrown ball for a 41-yard TD to Mothershed that gave the Tigers a 27-24 lead with 9:42 left to be played.
“I wanted to make it known to (offensive coordinator) coach (Charlie) Weis that I could throw the ball early on,” Harris said. “(Director of Performance Innovation) Jack (Marucci) definitely helped me put in the work for the double pass. I’m just happy he trusts me to throw that pass in a crucial situation.”
Harris caught two of Leavitt’s three first-half touchdowns in the Mississippi State game and enjoyed a productive third quarter with three catches for 37 yards until he left the field after injuring his ankle.
“The SEC’s a little more physically demanding,” Harris said. “The competition’s very high. It takes a lot of detail. You need to be able to go out there and execute really fast with no hesitation. I feel like I’ve adapted to that more each game. It takes time to get used to it. Once you hit your stride it feels good.”
