Veteran.That is the word LSU football coach Les Miles used to describe his receiving corps.”They look veteran,” Miles said. “We’re really in good shape there with [senior Demetrius] Byrd and [junior Brandon] LaFell and [sophomore Terrance] Toliver and some of the newcomers that have emerged.”Offensive coordinator Gary Crowton shared the same sentiment, saying the quarterback duo of sophomore transfer Andrew Hatch and redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee are familiar with LSU’s returning wide outs.”Matt Flynn coming in … he had to get used to a new receiving group,” Crowton said. “Whereas Andrew and Jarrett Lee, they came in only knowing these guys that we have.”Even with the loss of Early Doucet to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, the Tigers return their leading receivers from 2007 in terms of yardage and touchdowns in LaFell and Byrd, respectively.LaFell amassed 656 yards, and Byrd hauled in seven touchdowns this past season.But LaFell said he knows the importance of filling the hole Doucet left behind.”We’re going to miss him because he was always that dude — when everything was going wrong, we could always lean on him or look his way for him to come over to play,” LaFell said. “We’ve just got to go out there and fill his role, which is just playing physical, going out there and giving it your all on every snap.”LaFell said it has been easy working with Crowton because he devises schemes that “fit” the players.”With [former offensive coordinator] Jimbo [Fisher], it was either his way or the highway,” LaFell said. “With coach Crowton, he adapts more routes to your playing style, and he’s real creative when it comes to making plays.”Crowton and wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy are both in their second years at LSU. Crowton came from Oregon, while McCarthy spent 2006 at UCLA.”Working with Coach Crowton is like working with a genius on the offense,” Byrd said. “Coach McCarthy is a real cool coach, man. He’s going to show you love and everything. It’s just an honor to work with them.”LaFell said McCarthy brings a laid-back attitude to practice.”He’s a real good coach, but he’s a better friend,” LaFell said. “He always jokes with us, but he knows when to be serious.”Many of the veteran receivers expect the younger wide-outs to see the field in 2008.Some of the receivers LaFell mentioned included redshirt freshman John Williams and sophomore Ricky Dixon, who LaFell said had “the best spring out of all the receivers.”Junior Jared Mitchell said he expects a “countless” number of receivers to see significant playing time this season.”There’s so much competition because we’ve got so many guys that are out here that can play,” Mitchell said. “The biggest thing for the young guys is just learning the playbook, because they’ve all got great talent — enough talent to play on this team.”LSU also returns its top tight end in junior Richard Dickson, who caught 32 passes for 375 yards in 2007. Both numbers were fourth-best on the team.The only other returning tight end with game experience is senior Caleb Angelle, who has only played on special teams.”Behind [Dickson], they’re battling,” Crowton said. “You’ve got about three or four guys battling for that spot. Everybody that you read on the depth chart, they’re battling for those spots — from the freshmen in [Matt] Branch to Caleb who’s a senior to [redshirt freshmen] Mitch [Joseph] and Alex [Russian] — they’re all battling.”- – – -Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]