Tag: Brian Thomas Jr

Where do LSU’s passers stand in SEC quarterback rankings?

The duo of Jayden Daniels and Myles Brennan landed 10th in On3’s SEC quarterback rankings.

This LSU team has a lot to figure out this spring, but much of the discussion so far has centered around the quarterback battle.

There are two primary competitors to win the job: [autotag]Myles Brennan[/autotag], a redshirt senior whose career has been marred by injuries and was talked out of the transfer portal by coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag], and [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], the player Kelly added in the transfer portal.

Daniels comes from Arizona State, where he was a three-year starter and had productive seasons in 2019 and 2020 before struggling this past year. He’ll look for more success in Baton Rouge, and many consider him the favorite to win the job.

Regardless of which signal-caller gets the nod initially, On3’s Jesse Simonton ranked LSU’s quarterback position at 10th in the SEC.

Brian Kelly has the rest of the summer and fall to determine who will be his quarterback Week 1 against Florida State, but it wouldn’t surprise me if both Brennan and Daniels, a transfer from Arizona State, see action to start the season. Brennan shocked many when he took his name out of the transfer portal to return to LSU, but then Kelly went and recruited Daniels away from ASU. The Tigers have a shoddy offensive line and their once-vaunted run game has been absent in recent years, but they are loaded at receiver.

As Simonton notes, the quarterback certainly won’t be wanting for targets in the passing game. The Tigers return Kayshon Boutte, one of the top receivers in the nation, as well as other contributors like [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Bech[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag].

The big challenge for LSU will be up front, where it has to replace four of five starters from a year ago along the offensive line. That could prove to be the limiting factor this season, but given the fact that the Tigers have two veteran players with experience competing for the job, it’s hard to imagine the winner of the job can’t be in the top half of the league’s passers.

[pickup_prop id=”23271″]

[mm-video type=video id=01fyz6qy76cg2x59392h playlist_id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fyz6qy76cg2x59392h/01fyz6qy76cg2x59392h-c9224d55511459a1c8f48f7ebdf92f78.jpg]

[vertical-gallery id=50195]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Evaluating LSU’s wide receiver room in 2022 and beyond

We take a look at how LSU stacks up at wide receiver in 2022 and the years to come

When Brian Kelly first took the job at LSU, perhaps his most daunting task was to rebuild the roster.

That’s what this is, after all, a rebuild. Rebuilding takes time. When Kelly took this job, it was clear it would take some time to fill this roster.

In a short time, Kelly and the staff have done a good job at steering the ship in the right direction. LSU has been active in the portal and LSU has done what it can do on the recruiting trail.

With all the movement that has gone on, it was easy to miss some things. The roster looks wildly different now than it did in November.

There’s now some time to take a look at how the roster is positioned heading into 2022 and the future.

LSU looks good at some positions such as defensive line and quarterback. There are position groups that are trending up, such as linebackers and safety. Some question marks remain too, like cornerback and offensive line.

The pandemic combined with new transfer rules has presented challenges to managing a roster over the last couple of years. These are things coaches plan for years in advance. Recent turbulence in the sport has forced coaches to adjust.

Now that we’ve done quarterback and running back, today we will take a look at the wide receiver position.

Kayshon Boutte ranked among top three returning wide receivers

A big season coming for No. 1.

There are plenty of top wide receivers returning in college football for the 2022 season. This group could be a very strong wide receiver corp that is highly drafted in 2023.

LSU will be led by junior wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who returns for what could be his final season in Purple and Gold. The former Westgate standout burst onto the scene in his freshman year. Following the departures of tight end Arik Gilbert and wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr, it was time for No. 1 to step up to the plate. He didn’t disappoint in the final three games of 2020.

Heading into 2021, it was again time for Boutte to show what he was made of. He was the top touchdown producer in college football up until his foot injury that required season-ending surgery. With a new staff and the return of quarterback Myles Brennan, we hope to finally see a full year of Kayshon Boutte on display.

In two seasons, Boutte has hauled in 83 passes for 1,243 yards and 14 touchdowns. Most of that damage has come over the last nine games he appeared in. The final three games of 2020 and last season. In that stretch, he hauled in 65 receptions for 1,035 yards and 13 touchdowns. Much the reason why Pro Football Focus has him as the No. 3 returning wide receiver behind Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Pitt’s Jordan Addison.

What PFF Says…

AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

Boutte played in just six games in his 2021 true sophomore season before suffering a season-ending injury. If fully healthy next fall, the former five-star recruit will give Jaxon Smith-Njigba a run for his money for the Biletnikoff Award in 2022. His acceleration and toughness have helped him to a 77.1 receiving grade during his time in Baton Rouge. He’s unafraid to make plays over the middle of the field and is showing continuous growth with his releases and route-running.

Boutte has been tasked with a significant amount of press coverage when on the outside, and he’s mostly come out on top on such reps. His 2.49 yards per route run and 134.3 passer rating when targeted against press since 2020 ranks sixth and second, respectively, among Power Five wide receivers in that span.

Boutte will lead the group of wide receivers that include Jack Bech, Malik Nabers, and Brian Thomas Jr. They also will deploy newcomer wide receiver from UL-Lafayette, Kyren Lacy. Lacy led the Ragin Cajuns in receiving this past year.

[listicle id=35396]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Comment below where you think Boutte should be ranked

Early position outlook: How the LSU WRs breakdown

LSU is in pretty good shape at wide receiver

Looking ahead at the position battles as we move towards spring ball. The Tigers saw plenty of movement at the position. It starts with Jontre Kirklin, who moves on after starting the final game at quarterback.

NFL Draft

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Declared for the draft on Jan. 9, 2022

Thus far Kirklin is the only pass catcher that is leaving for the NFL draft. He joined the Tigers in the 2017 recruiting class. After five seasons in Baton Rouge, he moves on to try and make a roster at the NFL level.

Transfer Portal

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

A total of five receivers entered the transfer portal

  • Koy Moore (Oct. 19)
  • Deion Smith (Dec. 7)
  • Trey Palmer (Dec. 16)
  • Alex Adams (Jan. 10)
  • Devonta Lee (Jan. 14)

There is a slight chance that Smith could pull his name out of the portal, but that is not a given at this point. Even with six departures from the wide receiver position, LSU is still in a good spot with their group as a whole.

Instant Analysis: Five takeaways from LSU’s loss to Kansas State

Instant takeaways from the 42-20 loss in the Texas Bowl.

What was a ugly season for LSU came to an ugly end Tuesday night in the Texas Bowl.

Kansas State jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back. It was not a good night for LSU in any phase of the game.

But to be fair, with all the roster issues LSU is experiencing, nobody expected it would be. The offense never found any rhythm, the defense couldn’t get off the field, and even special teams gave up some big returns.

On the other side, Kansas State had it clicking. Quarterback Skylar Thompson had one of the best games of his career and running back Deuce Vaughn once again went over 100 yards. On defense, Kansas State was able to force some turnovers that set up a couple scores as well.

It wasn’t just LSU’s roster that was shorthanded, but their coaching staff was too. LSU had to rely on analysts and graduate assistants to have a full staff in Houston tonight.

In a lot of ways, this was an end of an era for LSU as they will now try and put a lot of the ugliness of the last two years behind them. Next time they take the field, they will be led by Brian Kelly.

For now, let’s take a look at some takeaway’s from tonight’s loss.

WATCH: LSU punter Avery Atkins’ jump shot fake punt, leads to touchdown

Ed Orgeron gambles early

After the LSU Tigers defense was able to tighten up against the Alabama Crimson Tide, they got the ball following the missed field goal. It was the first time since the Mercer game that the Tide didn’t score on their opening drive.

Facing a fourth down, head coach Ed Orgeron called a timeout. They came out in punt formation. Punter Avery Atkins ran the ball up towards the line of scrimmage before doing a jump shot pass to tight end Jack Mashburn. The conversion would lead to bigger things for the Tigers as they look to knock off the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Following the fake punt play, a holding penalty put the Bayou Bengals into the red zone. Quarterback Max Johnson was able to find freshman receiver Brian Thomas Jr for the catch and run into the end zone giving LSU the lead at 7-0.

The Tigers have forced another punt against Alabama and the offense driving again.

What Kayshon Boutte’s season-ending injury means for LSU Tigers

With no Kayshon Boutte, what is next for the offense?

On Monday afternoon, LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron confirmed a report that the team’s receiving threat — Kayshon Boutte — will be out for the rest of the year after exiting Saturday’s game with an ankle injury.

Boutte had eight receptions for 73 yards against the Wildcats when he exited the game with the Tigers trailing 35-14.

It will not be easy to replace Boutte’s skillset or his rapport with quarterback Max Johnson. Boutte is tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns in all of college football with nine touchdowns.

On the year, Boutte has 38 catches for 508 yards and nine touchdowns. After getting the nod for the starting lineup as a freshman in 2020, Boutte finished the season with 45 catches for 735 yards and five touchdowns. He also holds the SEC single-game record for receiving yards after hauling in 14 catches for 308 yards and three touchdowns.

Even through LSU’s struggles offensively at times this year, the Tigers always seemed to rely on and find a way to feature Boutte in the passing attack. How will his absence be felt and what does this mean for the Tigers moving forward?

Other pass-catchers will certainly have to step up. That list starts with Jack Bech and Brian Thomas Jr., the second and third-leading receivers on the LSU offense, both freshmen.

An interesting name to keep an eye out for is freshman Malik Nabers. Nabers has 106 receiving yards on the season but only seven receptions for an average of over 15 yards per catch. The young, downfield threat could potentially see more playing time and could give Johnson and the LSU offense a downfield threat in Boutte’s absence.

The Boutte injury also means the offense needs to prioritize fixing the run game that much more, not that the offensive staff needed any more motivation to do that. The Tigers ran well on Saturday against Kentucky.

Tyrion Davis-Price ran for 147 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns in LSU’s loss to Kentucky. Orgeron said Monday that he was pleased with the way his team ran the football and said the offensive staff tried out different formations to get the running game going. With no Boutte, an emphasis has to be put on the running backs.

LSU is sitting at 3-3 on the season and has six games remaining, including a matchup at home against Florida on Saturday. It’s the first of four games against Top 25 teams (Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas) who will then finish the season with home games against Louisiana-Monroe and Texas A&M.

Injuries continue to pile up for this year’s Tigers team. Boutte is the latest in a string of impact players to go down and an easy way to sum up how LSU will likely cover up their losses on each side of the ball is that they likely won’t. Especially with such a talented player like Boutte. Just when you think LSU’s season couldn’t weirder or worse, it somehow did today with the Boutte news.