By Hunt Palmer
When Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas walked across the NFL Draft stage in April, it was time to turn the page for Cortez Hankton and the LSU wide receivers.
Thomas and Nabers accounted for 55 percent of LSU’s catches, 62 percent of the receiving yards and 70 percent of the receiving touchdowns in a storybook 2023 run. Their talent and production were unlikely to be replaced by just two players, but the group Hankton had assembled looked up to the task collectively.
After seven weeks, injuries are starting to catch up, though.
Senior Chris Hilton was injured late in fall camp and has not played. Redshirt freshman Kyle Parker is out for the season with a triceps injury. Senior CJ Daniels missed last week with a meniscus issue. And for a moment Saturday night, everyone assembled in purple and gold held their collective breath as Kyren Lacy lay motionless on the Tiger Stadium turf.
Lacy would only miss two plays and ended up making the game-winning reception.
As another tough SEC contest approaches, LSU head coach Brian Kelly feels like the receiving depth should find some reinforcements.
“I hope to get a couple of receivers back, at least,” Kelly said. “Daniels has got a really good chance of being back. Chris is a day-to-day situation for us, but I’m pretty sure that we’ll augment the wide receiver position this week. I think that’s what we’re looking forward to the most is getting some bodies back at that position.”
Hilton’s speed appears to be a missing aspect of the Tiger passing game. LSU has only hit one passing play of better than 50 yards thus far. That ranks 13th in the SEC with Kentucky and Oklahoma. Only South Carolina has zero. Those are three of the four worst passing offenses in the SEC, and LSU ranks second.
It’s not that the Tigers can’t throw the ball. They just haven’t hit the big plays.
In addition to Daniels and Hilton potentially returning, the position group will add a body in true freshman tight end Trey’dez Green.
“Quite frankly, I think that‘s what we have to do,” Kelly said of the transition. “All of the complexities of playing the tight end position can be eliminated by getting him into more of a wide receiver role, and I think we’re getting to the point where we’ve made that decision that has to happen.”
Green excelled as a prep wide receiver, using his 6-foot-7 frame and elite athleticism to catch 53 passes for 960 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior. He also averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds per game on the basketball court as a junior.
The On3 composite ranked Green as the No. 1 tight end prospect in the country because of his pass catching ability.
“You saw him on the touchdown, how easy it is for him to flash his hands and catch the football,” Kely said of Green’s 12-yard touchdown catch versus Ole Miss. “He just gives us more versatility, so yeah, I think you’re going to see that moving forward.”
Green’s move will thin out the tight end position even further for LSU. Junior Mason Taylor and redshirt freshman Ka’Morreun Pimpton become the only scholarship players left in the room. Mac Markway left the program in August and transferred to Nebraska.
Taylor played all 79 offensive snaps against Ole Miss. He’s only missed six snaps all season. Because of Taylor’s dependability, Kelly and Hankton feel comfortable moving Green.
For a wide out unit struggling to create separation consistently, Green’s size and speed could help create some mismatches in coverage for quarterback Nussmeier to exploit for some easier catches.
Arkansas ranks 11th in the SEC in passing defense having given up 326 yards to Oklahoma State and 285 to Auburn.
LSU’s first injury update of the week is generally provided on Wednesday.
