Breaking down Garrett Nussmeier’s wide receiver room for 2024 season

Nobody in college football had the wide receiver duo LSU had in 2023. Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas shredded SEC defenses, combining for 2,746 yards and 31 touchdowns before both being selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Some major holes for Brian Kelly to fill in Baton Rouge this offseason.

LSU will have a new quarterback taking over the offense too, with Garrett Nussmeier replacing Jayden Daniels. Exactly who he will be throwing to is unknown at the moment but plenty of big-time candidates are there. None more so than Kyren Lacy, the Tigers’ third guy from a season ago behind Nabers and Thomas.

“You got Kyren Lacy coming back, he’s talented,” Billy Embody from On3’s The Bengal Tiger said on Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “He was the third option last year. Can he be a true, elite No. 1? We’ll have to find that out. He’s got tools to be consistent and a good option for (Nussmeier).”

Lacy finished well behind the two ahead of him from a statistical standpoint. But he did average more yards per reception, ranking second in the SEC at 18.6 last season. More volume is likely coming his way and whether or not similar production can be replicated is the question.

LSU did dip into the NCAA transfer portal for other options with prior experience. CJ Daniels was wanted by many coming out of Liberty, being a top-100 player out of the portal this cycle. And Zavion Thomas is returning to the Boot after spending two seasons in Starkville.

“CJ Daniels is going to have to make that step up in competition from Liberty,” Embody said. “It’s not an easy one but he’s productive, he looked good in the spring. You look at Zavion Thomas in a bad Mississippi State offense — was able to be productive on top of what he can do in the return game.”

Embody mentions Chris Hilton and Aaron Anderson as returning players who factor in. Three receivers were signed during the 2024 recruiting cycle as well, with Kylan Billiot being the highest ranked at No. 100 overall per the On3 Industry Rankings.

Plenty of names surround Nussmeier but how Kelly and new OC Joe Sloan line things up remains to be seen.

“They’ve got some depth, they’ve got some pieces,” Embody said. “It’s probably going to require a little bit of feeling out when the lights come on in the games. But that’s also why they’ve got to lean heavily on a Maason Taylor at tight end to step up as well.”