Brian Kelly updates injury status, Week 1 availability for LSU receiver Chris Hilton vs. USC

LSU wideout Chris Hilton’s status for the Sunday evening season-opener against USC is still in flux as the redshirt junior works through a bone bruise. He is, however, set to make a step forward in his recovery on Wednesday, head coach Brian Kelly said.

Speaking on the SEC coaches teleconference, Kelly shared that Hilton was moving around with trainers during prior practices. On Wednesday when LSU straps up the pads, Hilton will finally put them on too, as the Tigers coaching staff assesses just how close to game-ready he is.

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“He was moving around yesterday,” Kelly said. “We had a short, bout an hour practice. He was running with our trainers, working getting in and out of routes. Kind of precision work. So we’ll accelerate that today to the next phase which is he’ll put the pads on and we’ll see where he is. So he’s in that progression where you take somebody that is questionable and you continue to work him through the week to see if he can move from questionable to probable.”

Hilton is apparently dealing with a bone bruise, an injury unlikely to cost him significant time but that could be aided by getting an additional week of rest to start the season. On Monday, Kelly said Hilton was likely one of two players who would be on the Week 1 injury report.

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“From an injury standpoint, we have one guy that is questionable and that’s Chris Hilton. He has a bone bruise, he is working through that process, but today he’ll be listed in that category,” Kelly said on Monday. “Probable would be [Miles] Frazier our offensive guard. Those are the two right now that would show up on our injury report relative to this week.”

Hilton is expected to be a major contributor in the LSU passing game this season following the departure of the team’s top two, dominant wide receivers last season. With the duo of Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. both selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft after combining for 2,746 yards and 32 touchdowns last season.

Either way, there’s still a critical few days ahead for Hilton and the LSU training staff to see how well he progresses before kickoff on Sunday night.

“And that’s going to happen through the work he does with our training staff and they’ll let me know at practice how he feels and I know he wants to play. I know he’s working towards playing on Sunday, and we’ll just see how the week goes,” Kelly said.