Malik Nabers Adapting to Starting, Leadership Role With LSU Receiver Room
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As a true freshman receiver in 2021, Malik Nabers didn't want to overuse his voice. More times than not, as he was battling through injuries and learning the speed of the college game, he'd sit back, listen and most importantly, observe.
He'd listen to not only the leaders of the offense and in his own receiver room like Kayshon Boutte and Jaray Jenkins but also the overall team leaders. The one who made the biggest impression with his leading style was linebacker Damone Clark.
No matter the position, Nabers says Clark was always there to pick guys up when they were down and it's a trait that he wanted to emulate as he enters his second season as a primary option for this offense.
"I've been taking it day by day, giving this new coaching staff a little bit of who I am. Been focusing on a better player, better teammate and a better leader than I was last year," Nabers said. "The role that I have now is I have to be leader so that's what I've focused on."
At one point kind of a forgotten name early in the season within the loaded LSU receiver room, it wasn't until the Kentucky game where Tigers' fans were treated to just a little taste of what was to come. Nabers hauled in three passes for 66 yards and a touchdown, paving the way for a phenomenal finish to his freshman season that concluded with 28 receptions for 417 yards and four touchdowns.
His breakout performance against ULM, where he caught four passes for 143 yards and a touchdown was another example of his immense potential on the future of this position group. Nabers earned some reps on the outside last season out of necessity but as the Tigers returned for the spring, the slot has been a mainstay for the immensely talented pass catcher.
"My role right now is mainly in the slot but I've been asking to get some outside to make me more available," Nabers said. "In the slot they're looking for guys that are shifty. I was an outside guy in high school so when I came here I had to change the route from outside to inside. Looked at different film like Cooper Kupp and Jarvis Landry who I'm compared to so I look at a lot of his plays."
Nabers earned a perception of being one of the players on the roster who'd catch almost everything thrown in his vicinity. In Saturday's spring game, he once again showed why he's such an important piece to this receiver room, hauling in two catches for 41 yards and a touchdown working out of the slot.
With those comparisons to Landry really taking off last year, it's easy to see why he's so highly regarded by this new staff but the biggest emphasis for him is staying healthy.
A group that features Nabers, Kayshon Boutte, Jack Bech, Brian Thomas, Chris Hilton, Jaray Jenkins and Kyren Lacy is a scary deep group and there is only one ball to go around. It's why building the chemistry with all of the quarterbacks is so important and in the heat of a battle at that position, has been helpful to all of the receivers in the process.
"As a receiver group we get to work with all the QB's, not just one specific one just in case one of those guys gets hurt, we already have that chemistry with the quarterbacks," Nabers said.
Now that the Tigers have put the finishing touches on spring ball, more and more will start to trickle out about where these players stand heading into the summer. The work is far from done but if this spring is any indication, No. 8 will be on TV screens plenty come fall.
