The LSU Tigers are now at the bye week, and this team is finally hitting its stride. But the evolution of this team so far has been centered around the consistent progression of several players in each position group. Let's take a minute to acknowledge several impact players who have shown up and carried this team since Week 1.
Offensive Lineman of the Midseason: Jordan Seaton
Seaton will be, and should be, the number one OT selected in the draft this spring, and deservedly so. This LSU offense has had its moments of feeling stuck in the mud, but that was not a result of Seaton's play. Without Jordan Seaton on this line, the offense would be a lot worse than it has been, and Sam Leavitt would be feeling like the L in LSU was still an A for Arizona State because he would be getting pressured at a much more alarming rate. Not to mention, the running game would be taking several steps back and would look as if it never made the adjustments it needed to make from a season ago.
Offensive Surprise: Jackson Harris
The thought was that the offense was going to be centered around Trey'Dez Green, but the receiver room had a lot of questions that needed to be answered. The most important was: Who was going to be the guy?
It took three weeks, but on the night of 9/26 against Texas A&M, a flash came on fourth down, and coincidentally, he wears number 4. Harris made an announcement to everyone in Death Valley that he was getting comfortable in the offense. And his production has just kept getting better.
Right now, Harris has 36 receptions for 634 yards and 7 TDs, averaging 17.6 yards per catch. Most of his production has taken place over the past five weeks. His elevation has helped get this offense out of some stagnant stages and has elevated the play of Sam Leavitt.
Honorable Mention: Dilin Jones
Jones is not the overall winner here, and it's only because he has been living up to the expectations I personally had for him. When he announced his commitment in the offseason, I knew he would be the back who would rise for Lane Kiffin and this offense because of his size, ball-carrying ability, and pass-blocking skills.
The surprise for Jones is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. That is rounding out his game and making him a complete back.
Overall Offensive MVP: Sam Leavitt
Without Leavitt, none of this works.
Leavitt currently leads the SEC in passing yards with 2,173, is third in completion percentage at 70.3%, fifth in average yards per completion at 8.5, and also leads in TDs with 17. The most surprising stat of all is that Leavitt is in the bottom third of the SEC in sacks, with only 11.
Leavitt has turned a corner since the loss to Ole Miss. He came to LSU as the number one-rated QB in the transfer portal, but the expectations for Leavitt were sky-high to start the season, even though he spent the majority of the offseason recovering from a Lisfranc injury that had kept him from competing since 10/25/25.
Leavitt being in the system with Charlie Weis Jr. and Lane Kiffin is a dominant combination, and the progression he has shown throughout the season demonstrates that, as he gets healthier and more comfortable playing in the system, he's truly just scratching the surface of how good and how dangerous a QB he can actually be.
The better Leavitt plays, the better this team becomes, especially with how great the defense has been all year.
Tomorrow, we will go over our midseason defensive acknowledgments.
Who are some offensive players you thought needed to be mentioned? Share your thoughts in the comments!
