Lane Kiffin Breaks Down Key Position Battle During LSU Fall Camp

If there is one position LSU head coach Lane Kiffin knows, besides the obvious quarterback, it is wide receiver. Despite being often unfairly termed a pass-happy coach, Kiffin knows his scheme and which players fit his system.

Much like his offense’s pace of play, he wants receivers who can be explosive, whether that be via taking the top off a defense or with yards after the catch in the short to intermediate passing game.

That archetype saw Kiffin immediately take a proverbial sledgehammer to the receiver room when he arrived. LSU brought in nine new targets from the transfer portal, all of whom are now battling in fall camp to earn snaps.

"No one had a head start on anybody - so they're all basically new,” Kiffin said of his receivers on Monday. “We retooled that room almost from top to bottom. It's been very competitive. It's really one of the better rooms from the bottom of it.”

Wide Open Competition

That retool netted proven players like Kansas State’s Jayce Brown, Hawaii’s Jackson Harris, and Florida’s Eugene Wilson. This doesn’t include some of the less proven but high-potential players like Winston Watkins Jr., who followed Kiffin from Ole Miss, or Malik Elzy and Tre Brown.

Phillip Wright III, the redshirt freshman, is the lone returning wide-out from last season’s team to record a reception. However, outside of Wright, it is all newcomers, meaning an equal playing field as they all learn the offense and try to build a rapport with quarterback Sam Leavitt.

"The competition down there and the quality of it, which is important because not just do those guys play, but even below them, that's what makes your practices better because they serve the team that you're going against,” Kiffin said. “So we try to really make every slot on the roster better every chance that we have."

That every roster spot challenge has seen some of the lesser-known names stand out early in camp. As LSU Tigers on SI reported following Day 3 of camp, Troy transfer Roman Mothershed continued a strong offseason by gaining reps with the second-team offense.

At 6-foot-5 and 208 pounds, Mothershed brings a unique body type to the receiver room compared to Brown, Harris, and Wilson, all of whom are 6-foot-2 or less.

That competition could continue to bode well as camp progresses for LSU. Kiffin showed at Ole Miss, he’ll ultilize as many different receivers as possible if he has the depth. This early competition will go a long way in creating that depth.

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