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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
LSU's WRs room is blessed with varying profiles of incendiary potential talent & take it to the limit Uber Alles, all fortified & molded over the past 2 years by Co-Offensive Coordinator / WRs Coach Cortez Hankton.
But what this unit lacks in 2024 is experience, proven on field production, consistent playmaking, and veteran poise under pressure, with only 3 receivers within the room holding over 500 career receiving yards, just 3 with multiple overall receiving touchdowns, and a mere 3 receivers who hauled in more than 22 career catches.
Red shirt junior Chris Hilton Jr is at 22 career grabs, red shirt sophomore Aaron Anderson at 13, and junior transfer from Miss State Zavion Thomas had 58 receptions last year for the Bulldogs suffering offense (61 in 2 seasons), then after those three, the pack is led by two possible 1a / 1b options for Hankton:
Both from 2020's recruiting class, Kyren Lacy enters his 3rd season as a Tiger following his transfer from ULL in 2022, and former Liberty star CJ Daniels, both aiming to top their 2023 career high campaigns with a monumental senior year.
Likely to lead the line for WRU alongside Hilton Jr or slot weapons Anderson & Thomas, let's compare Lacy & Daniels' near neck and neck numbers side by side:
After Lacy's 7 TDs, 30 catches, and 557 yards last fall (while contending for targets alongside 1st round picks & 1,000 yard receivers Malik Nabers & Brian Thomas Jr), his numbers took a sizeable boost.
Lacy was not perfect in 2023, yet he more than contributed through the air or with his nasty blocking to LSU's nation leading offensive juggernaut, responding beautifully after a poor 2022 showing full of critical down drops, 0 scores through 14 appearances, and a season high of just 57 yards vs Purdue.
Up a level at this point, The Pride of Thibodaux continued to raise his game this offseason, setting a tone early in Spring camp, taking over practices with his outrageous big play ability, steely mentality....and he is riding that wave still to this day....
Fall Camp will start in 48 hours, a prime chance to be the #1 WR at LSU is within reach....I would be stunned if Lacy, a Maxwell Award watch list candidate (likely to also land on the Biletnikoff watch list) ends up allowing this opportunity to pass through his fingers.
CJ Daniels answered his injury-plagued 2022 campaign with a monstrous 1,000+ yards & 10 TDs for Liberty last season.
You can see Daniels holds a slight edge over Lacy regarding catches (2 more), touchdowns (4 more), per catch average (4 more yards), but owns a sizeable advantage concerning yards (1,951 to 1,499), 5 more 100 yard games, 3 more multi-TD appearances, and 5 more performances with 5+ catches; As you can see, Lacy does maintain the lead in overall snaps & targets.
Daniels played against lesser competition for Liberty, Lacy spent more time in the SEC, fought for every pass his way next to the two best receivers in college football while operating within an offense featuring a dynamic running QB, and recorded two campaigns with 6 & 7 TDs, once at ULL and last season at LSU.
For LSU, Fall Camp will be intriguing to say the least.....as the puzzle pieces begin to fall in place....position battles & duels all over the roster taking shape. Regardless of whether Lacy or Daniels usurp the other for the #1 WR spot, Cortez Hankton's WRU room should be in a great place with these two setting the tone.
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2024 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
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