Along with the question of who will fill the void at running back in the upcoming 2018 season, there is also the question of who will replace senior wide receivers DJ Chark and Russell Gage.
Chark was LSU’s leading receiver last year, catching 40 passes for 874 yards, with three receiving TDs. Chark also ran for 68 yards on 12 attempts with one rushing TD.
Gage was heavily involved in both the passing game and rushing attack, catching 21 passes for 285 yards with three receiving TDs, and 28 rushes for 235 yards with one rushing TD.
The two receivers combined for eight total TDs and 1,462 total yards. They accounted for 43 percent of the total receiving yards for the 2017 season.
As for the returning receivers, only three had over 100 receiving yards. Sophomore Stephen Sullivan had the most receiving yards last year with 219, sophomore Drake Davis had the second-most with 134, and sophomore Derrick Dillon had the third-most with 125. The trio combined for three TDs, Davis with two and Sullivan with one.
A name some Tiger fans may be hearing frequently heading into the 2018 season is junior wide receiver Jonathan Giles. Giles transferred to LSU in 2017 after his sophomore season at Texas Tech, where he was their leading receiver with 69 catches for 1,158 receiving yards and 13 TDs.
Due to NCAA transfer rules, Giles had to sit out the 2017 season, but he is expected to be a heavy contributor in the receiving game next year. LSU coach Ed Oregeron quoted that the defense “couldn’t cover” Giles in training camp, according to an article by NOLA.com. Giles could even end up being the Tigers’ leading receiver.
Widely regarded as a top-20 overall prospect in the country, Terrace Marshall Jr. is a five-star prospect from Bossier City, LA, and LSU’s top recruit in the 2018 signing class. Marshall Jr. didn’t play his senior year due to injury, but in his junior and sophomore seasons, he had over 2,500 receiving yards and 30 TDs.
Marshall Jr. will have the opportunity to prove his ability during the spring, and should be a factor next season.
Of the returners, Sullivan had the most receiving yards and will need to step into the leadership role that Chark and Gage held as seniors. Sullivan is a big target at 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, and could see more red zone targets as the Tigers will be losing their top running backs: Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams.
As evidenced by his play in the 2017 season, Davis has the ability and speed to be a deep-ball threat, catching an 87-yard pass for a TD in LSU’s 35-26 win over Syracuse.
Davis is certainly one of the better athletes at receiver, but whether or not he can be more than a deep-ball threat remains to be seen. If Davis can improve his route-running, he should see more targets in 2018.
For LSU’s offense to succeed, they will need all of the names listed above to contribute in a big way, as there are no proven options at receiver other than Giles, albeit his stats come from a completely different offensive scheme. So for the 2018 receiving corps, they will have a lot to prove.
