LSU has spent the last few weeks adjusting without Trey’Dez Green, and the ripple effect has reached every corner of the passing game.
Green’s knee injury, suffered in the fourth quarter of the 32-24 loss at Ole Miss on Sept. 19, has kept the 6-foot-7, 237-pound tight end out for several weeks. Even so, he remains third on the team in receiving yards with 222 on 14 catches and a touchdown. But LSU coach Lane Kiffin said Thursday night on his weekly radio show that Green’s absence has changed how quarterback Sam Leavitt sees the field.
“With Trey’Dez being out, obviously that was bad in a lot of ways,” Kiffin said. “Sam was so focused on Trey’Dez, because he’s such a big target and was catching everything and making so many first downs,” Kiffin said as he prepares his No.
10 Tigers (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) to play at No. 25 Kentucky (4-1, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN).
“With the injury, Sam has to play with everybody else and not just focus as much as he was on Trey’Dez,” Kiffin said. “So, that’s helped in other areas. I always say there are good parts to bad things at times.”
That shift has opened the door for other receivers to step up. Redshirt junior transfer Jackson Harris, who came from Hawaii, has caught 10 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in LSU’s two games without Green - against Texas A&M and McNeese State.
He now sits second on the team with 317 receiving yards on 15 catches and owns the Tigers’ best average at 21.1 yards per reception. Against Texas A&M, Harris delivered a huge night with six catches for 163 yards and touchdowns of 57 and 16 yards in a 35-6 win on Sept.
Sophomore Ole Miss transfer Winnie Watkins Jr. has been LSU’s most productive pass catcher overall, leading the team with 23 receptions and 354 yards while adding two touchdowns and a 15.4-yard average. He had five catches for 107 yards against Texas A&M. When Watkins dropped two passes against McNeese State last week, true freshman Corey Barber took advantage, hauling in seven passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
“Corey did a great job,” Kiffin said. “The receivers are playing with a lot of confidence.
That wasn’t the case necessarily earlier in the season. So, I feel a lot more confident in our passing game.”
Leavitt’s own health has also nudged LSU’s offense in a different direction. A minor hamstring tweak against Texas A&M kept him in the pocket more and cut down on his scrambling, which in turn gave his receivers more chances.
“With the Sam injury and him staying the pocket more, one of the things that happens is receivers get more targets,” Kiffin said. “That allows them to play in more rhythm.”
Leavitt is LSU’s second-leading rusher with 220 yards on 45 carries, but he has not scrambled or had a designed run since early in the Texas A&M game. Kiffin pointed out the tradeoff bluntly: “If you scramble a lot, that’s less pass attempts.”
Now Leavitt says he’s close to full strength and expects to mix his legs back into the offense at Kentucky. That could be a problem for a Wildcats defense that ranks 104th nationally and 13th among 16 SEC teams against the pass, giving up 232 yards per game.
“Now, I’ve got to play quarterback first and (running) playmaker second,” Leavitt said. “Use my legs when it has to happen, rather than forcing it.
And that’s when I think it can be even more lethal. I view it as one complete aspect of the game.”
In Other News...
LSU Enters Kentucky With One Big Edge And A Real Concern
LSU got a clean bill of health change-wise on its final injury report for the Kentucky game, while the Wildcats are dealing with a more damaging list on the other side. Kentucky will be without defensive lineman Kalen Edwards, and that matters in a matchup where trench play already shapes how both teams want to control the game. For the Tigers, the headline is not a new setback, but the chance to lean on an edge that has been there since the report first came out.
Still, LSU is not exactly walking into this one untouched. The Tigers will be missing five players, including linebackers Whit Weeks and Charles Ross II, safety Dashawn Spears, wide receiver Phillip Wright III and tight end Trey'Dez Green, which leaves the roster thinner in a few key spots. Even so, the most intriguing part of the matchup may be how LSU's running game holds up against a Kentucky defense trying to absorb its own injury losses and keep the Tigers from dictating the pace. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Freshman WR Is Forcing A Rethink Before Kentucky
LSU has spent plenty of effort rebuilding its wide receiver room through the transfer portal under coach Lane Kiffin, adding nine newcomers and creating one of the rosters most watched battles for snaps. But after the McNeese game, true freshman Corey Barber Jr. made a real case to be part of the conversation, giving the Tigers another young option to consider as they sort out who belongs on the field.
The timing matters because Kentucky is next, and the competition is not just about depth anymore. Kansas State transfer Jayce Brown is still in the mix, but Barbers breakout has forced LSU to at least rethink how the rotation should look going forward, with both players expected to keep fighting for playing time this week. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fans Know This Kentucky Series Has Never Felt Normal
LSU and Kentucky spent a stretch meeting every season from 1952 to 2002, and even with LSU holding the upper hand in the series, the matchup never settled into anything routine. There were old Kentucky wins from the Bear Bryant era, and there was the kind of back-and-forth history that makes this SEC pairing feel a little off-kilter compared with more familiar league rivalries.
More recently, the game has kept finding ways to look strange, including LSUs dramatic finish in 2002 and Kentuckys latest victory over the Tigers in 2021, a 42-21 result in Lexington. For LSU fans, the memory bank on this series is full of odd turns and uncomfortable surprises, which is part of why Kentucky week has never quite felt normal. [Read more 🡒]