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LSU Tigers Star Transfers Exceeding Expectations Through Bye Week
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- LSU Tigers Star Transfers Exceeding Expectations Through Bye Week
(Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)
The LSU Tigers reconstructed pretty much their entire offensive roster, and then added some finishing touches to the defense. They have a lot of newcomers on both sides of the ball, which has created some competition for snaps.
Now that the season has gotten to the bye week , the standouts have started to separate themselves. Here are the new players who have exceeded expectations so far this year:
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WR Jackson Harris
Harris had a slower start to the season, but broke out after Trey'Dez Green went down and those targets needed to go to someone else. Now with Green back, his role has remained and the offense has sky-high potential. He has averaged six catches for 103 yards and 1.4 touchdowns per game since Week 4.
The redshirt junior is on pace 54 catches for 954 yards 11 touchdowns over a 12-game season, and that is including the slower pace he had over the first couple of weeks.
RB Dilin Jones
Many Tigers fans expected the running back room to feature Harlem Berry and Caden Durham at the top, given their reputations and the fact that LSU made such a big deal about bringing both of them back. Jones took hold of that job in camp and hasn't let go.
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After not doing much over the first two years of his career with the Wisconsin Badgers, Jones has had a fantastic season through eight games. He has 149 carries for 667 yards and six touchdowns. Sneakily, he also has 30 catches for 217 yards.
DE Princewill Umanmielen/DE Jordan Ross
It was too hard to pick one of the pass rushers, so here they go together. Both have been among the best at their position in the country.
Umanmielen has gotten most of the praise, which has been earned. He is tied for second in the country with nine sacks. He is closing in on the school record of 12 sacks in a season, which is currently held by Arden Key.
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Ross is probably the bigger surprise, though he was a former five-star back in high school. His college career, up to this point, had not lived up to that rating. That is no longer true, as he has been great in this defensive system. He doesn't have the sack production of Umanmielen, but he has also been one of the country's more disruptive defenders.
Both are in the top 10 for pressures across college football, and they are tied for the most pressures in the SEC, per PFF .
