Credit: LSU Football
By Hunt Palmer
In the portal era, every roster is very different.
Gone are the days of the program steeped in development. Older players are always added, and inevitably they depart more quickly. Because of that, the roster building process becomes based in traits and money allocation.
Lane Kiffin said after taking the LSU job that he’s more likely to spread money out among several good players as opposed to one cornerstone, especially at wide receiver.
“We kind of look at that room, and we try to balance the room more,” Kiffin said. “If you think of it as like here’s your cap number for a room. Instead of being really top heavy with one and two and then not having depth, I think when we’ve been our best because we’ve had four to five to six receivers that can all play really well.”
Winnie Watkins saw that as a freshman at Ole Miss last season and feels the same way about the group he’s joined at LSU, as well.
“Our receiver group is very diverse to an extent,” Watkins said. “(Phillip Wright), he’s super fast. Philly can make very explosive plays all the time out of nowhere like unexpectedly. Then we got Jackson Harris. He’s a big body; he can make plays down the field…it depends what you want. If you want a jump ball guy, you got Jackson. You got Malik (Elzy). You got Roman (Mothershed). You got so many big weapons, and then if you want an intermediate guy, you got Jayce (Brown). You got me…whatever you’re needing I feel like we got.”
Different wide receivers have flashed throughout spring football.
Brown and Harris worked with the first team more than any other duo early in camp. Wright and Watkins popped later on. Harris caught four touchdowns in a Tiger Stadium scrimmage. Tre Wilson has shown his quickness and burst.
Kiffin’s strategy of diversifying the investment in pass catchers looks to be working. And the wide receiver talk doesn’t include tight end Trey’Dez Green who might be LSU’s most advantageous matchup.
Watkins has seen Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. create magic with diverse skillsets.
“I would say the offense is very, very similar to Ole Miss,” Watkins said. “They do a really good job of going with their player personnel. Whatever player personnel they got, they find plays and make plays around that.”
Ole Miss led the SEC in passing yards per game in 2024 and 2025 with different quarterbacks and skill players. It’s a system.
Part of that system is a dynamic running game, too. The Rebels led the SEC in rushing touchdowns last season. Kiffin and Weis are attempting to revive an LSU ground game that was the worst in the league for two straight seasons.
That will only help. Watkins saw it a year ago.
“I feel like every part of the offense plays a very major part because each part opens up everything,” Watkins said. “The run game, it’s a very big part. Once we pass the ball, they’re like, ‘oh shoot, it’s a pass play.’ The passing game, it opens up the run as well. Everything just complements each other very, very well.”
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