Brian Kelly: Kyren Lacy 'wants to be that next great wide receiver at LSU'

LSU has a long tradition of having elite receivers before moving on to the NFL. Brian Kelly was able to produce two this past cycle — Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas. But there are no questions about who will step up to become the next guy for the Tigers. Everyone expects Kyren Lacy to become a star in Baton Rouge.

For Kelly, he has seen guys primed to take a step forward stay content with the position they were currently in. Not Lacy, who has embraced potentially becoming a superstar according to his head coach. A standard has certainly been set over the years and Lacy’s goal is to live up to it.

“Most of his growth has been by virtue of being ‘the guy’ now,” Kelly said. “(Malik) Nabers is gone. Brian Thomas is gone. He is the veteran player. So, sometimes that happens with attrition with guys moving on. I would say that he has embraced that. Some guys don’t embrace it, they just continue to be who they are.

“He’s embraced that and wants to be that next great wide receiver at LSU. We have such a great tradition, he wants to live up to that standard.”

Lacy is entering his third season as an LSU Tiger, having a nice 2023 campaign. As the third wide receiver, he caught 30 passes for 558 yards (averaging 18.6 yards per reception) and seven touchdowns. Incredible numbers for somebody sitting behind two 1,000-yard receivers.

With an expanded role comes with some improvement, though. Kelly has seen the growth from Lacy from the moment the 2023 season ended. The process came to fruition on Thursday when LSU opened fall camp.

“I’ve seen a great deal of growth since our winter workouts began and then spring ball and then the last seven weeks with summer workouts and then today,” Kelly said. “It’s been fun to watch that maturation.”

A new quarterback will be throwing Lacy balls. Working with Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels for two seasons helped out Lacy but now, it’s his turn to help a transition. Garrett Nussmeier is taking over as the LSU starting quarterback after waiting his turn for a few seasons.

If there is going to be success for the Tigers, the Nussmeier-Lacy partnership is going to have to be a good one. Lacy has seemingly put in the work and Kelly is confident he can fully breakout.