LSU Tight End Trey’Dez Green Could Not Be Stopped In Career Night

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

Although the scoreboard didn’t show it, the LSU offense moved the ball efficiently in the No. 11 Tigers’ 20-10 win over South Carolina Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.

A big reason for that – 6-foot-7 sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green.

Green erupted to make a career-high eight catches for a career-high 119 yards and a touchdown against man-to-man coverage for LSU (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference). The Tigers totaled 420 yards in all as quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed 20 of 33 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. LSU also ran the ball for 166 yards on 30 carries.

But Green was the key to the attack.

“Clearly, he’s a mismatch,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “You can throw fade balls to him. He can catch the ball in quick game. He’s just a unique talent, and we need to continue to feature him in our offense.”

With junior wide receiver Aaron Anderson out with several injuries, the Tigers needed someone to take over.

“I knew the ball was coming my way this week, and I knew I was going to be a key role in this offense,” Green said. “So, I just really had to step up to the plate.”

Green gave LSU a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter on a 6-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

“See ball, get ball,” Green said. “I feel like versus anybody in one-on-one coverage, I’m going to take myself every time.”

Green said his eyes lit up when South Carolina gave him one-on-one opportunities. It was like a forward in basketball going against a guard.

“I use some of my basketball traits on the football field,” said Green, who played briefly for the LSU basketball team last season. “I go get the ball like a rebound, and I box the defender out. That’s it.”

And Green did this while not being all the way back from a knee sprain suffered against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 6. He then missed the next two games against Florida and Southeastern. He played against Ole Miss two weeks ago before the open date, but did not catch a pass.

“I feel like I’m not all the way healthy,” he said. “I’d say I’m about 80 percent right now. I feel like I got a chance to be 100 percent for Vanderbilt. I came into this game, and I was kind of hesitant about my knee. But once I got that first catch, it was all go then.”

LSU plays at No. 20 Vanderbilt (5-1, 1-1 SEC) at 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC. The Commodores, who beat South Carolina 31-7 this season, were open on Saturday.