Lane Kiffin's LSU walked off the field with a 35-6 win over Texas A&M last Saturday, yet the final score hid a growing list of problems. Sam Leavitt played through a right hamstring injury that restricted him as a runner. The bigger offensive shift, though, started even earlier, when the quarterback lost the player he trusted most, and Kiffin knew there were a few problems despite the win.
Trey'Dez Green went down in the fourth quarter of LSU's 32-24 loss at Ole Miss on September 19. Scans later showed sprains and bruises, and he was ruled out for multiple games. Through the first three games, he had already given Leavitt a steady target. 14 catches for 222 yards and a touchdown. On third downs and broken plays, he was the one Leavitt found in rhythm.
Green's absence left a hole that other skill players had to fill. The 35-6 win over Texas A&M became the first full look at that adjustment. Winston "Winnie" Watkins Jr. kept making plays, and Jackson Harris produced some impressive numbers. Harris finished with six catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yard score. Meanwhile, Watkins added five catches for 107 yards.
"Well, I think in games, you've seen Winnie Watkins play really well and make some critical plays, and since TDZ (Trey'Dez Green) has gone down has stepped up too, and that's why it was so important for Jackson for someone to step up like that with TDZ out, because TDZ really was the quarterback's comfort zone," Kiffin said Thursday on The Lane Kiffin Show . "You know, if you think about big third downs and stuff, he was always looking for TDZ, throwing in rhythm to him. So, losing TDZ was a really big thing. And so, it's been really good for other guys to step up," he added.
Green was more than another option in the route tree. At 6-foot-7, he created a mismatch in the middle of the field and along the sideline. Losing a reliable option changed how the quarterback had to work through certain situations, and LSU needed someone else to absorb those looks right away.
Watkins has been part of that answer. The Ole Miss transfer followed Kiffin to LSU and already knew the offense. Through four games, he has 20 catches for 314 yards and two touchdowns. He had a score in the Ole Miss loss and stayed productive after Green left.
Harris delivered the bigger statistical jump. The Hawaii transfer had only five catches for 117 yards in the first three games. With Green unavailable against Texas A&M, his chances grew. He turned them into six receptions, 163 yards, and both of Leavitt's touchdown passes, one of them the 57-yard strike. The team and Quarterback himself have shown the offense could still find plays without its usual tight end.
Even with the hamstring bothering him, Leavitt completed 17 of 23 passes for 312 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Both scores went to Harris. It was his most efficient passing game of the season. The trusted tight end was gone, yet the completions still found open receivers.
The hamstring is now part of the same injury concerns for the team. Leavitt pulled it in the second quarter against Texas A&M on a scramble and stayed in anyway. After the game, Kiffin said he was ready to take him out and that the injury got worse, "and he said, 'No way was he coming out. He was going to play through it.'"
Backup Landen Clark entered once the result was decided and scored on short runs of 4 and 2 yards. On Monday, Kiffin said the staff would be "extremely" cautious with Leavitt because of the freak injuries already on the roster.
Safety Dashawn Spears tore his ACL against Ole Miss and is out for the season. Receiver Phillip Wright III is also done for the season. Linebacker Whit Weeks fractured his fibula against Texas A&M, had surgery, and is expected to miss several games. Another linebacker, Charles Ross II, tore his ACL in the same game and is out for the season.
LSU faces McNeese State on Saturday at Tiger Stadium. Kiffin has already said the staff will be careful, and the main test comes later in the weekend. A trip to Kentucky on October 10. Sitting the starter against McNeese remains a realistic option if the hamstring needs more time.
Green's reported hope is a return around the November 7 home game against Alabama, which would mean he misses the games in between.
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