By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green dazzled during the Tigers’ 38-17 win at Auburn on Saturday in his first game since injuring his knee at Ole Miss on Sept. 19.
He caught five passes for 50 yards through 50 snaps, but four of those catches for 40 yards with a 15-yard touchdown came in the first half. He he was not at 100 percent, and he did not play a lot in the second half, partly because it was a blowout. And partly because he was concerned with how Auburn players were trying to tackle him, LSU coach Lane Kiffin said on Sunday.
“He played well. He’s not 100 percent as you could see,” Kiffin said during his weekly teleconference. “He’s still kind of limping, and pushing through. Fortunately, he didn’t get hurt worse when they were trying to hip-drop tackle him.”
“This was what the whole thing was supposed to look like when it was put together.” … Lane Kiffin post Auburn
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 25, 2026
Hip-drop tackling involves defenders maneuvering their hips so as to drop their body weight onto the offensive players lower legs and ankles to stop their movement and go down. It can be effective, but there has been a tendency for offensive players to suffer anterior cruciate ligament tears in the knee and high ankle sprains from the maneuver. The NFL banned hip-drop tackling in 2024. It is still legal in college as the NCAA Rules Committee has said such a rule would be difficult to enforce consistently as it can be difficult to notice that type of tackle in real time.
Green spent time on the stationary bike on the sidelines in the third quarter, but he did catch a 10-yard pass in the period.
“So, that was unfortunate, and he was really concerned about that,” Kiffin said of the hip-drop tackle attempts. “And so we actually took him out.”
Green will have two weeks to get closer to 100 percent before the Tigers’ next game, which will be against Alabama on Nov. 7 at Tiger Stadium. LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC), which moved from No. 18 to No. 15 in the Associated Press poll on Sunday, has an open weekend this week. No. 10 Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC) is also open this weekend. A kickoff time for LSU and Alabama has not been set yet.
“It just feels so good,” Kiffin said about having Green back. “Whether that’s warm-ups, locker room, before you even get to the plane with him. You got confidence. Like, ‘Hey, we’re going to catch some today.’ You know?”
Green has 19 catches in four games on the season for 272 yards and a touchdown.
STARTING DEFENDERS ASKED TO GO BACK IN
LSU’s defensive starters returned to the game late in the fourth quarter with a 38-10 lead Saturday when Auburn began driving deep into LSU territory. And Auburn, which trailed 31-10 at the half, ended up scoring with 24 seconds left against some starters for the 38-17 final.
“I probably shouldn’t have,” Kiffin said when asked Sunday why he put the defensive starters back in the game, considering injuries. LSU is down two starters at the moment on defense. Star position player Dashawn Spears was lost for the season with a knee injury at Ole Miss, and linebacker Whit Weeks broke his fibula against Texas A&M on Sept. 26 and has not returned. He has a chance to be back for Alabama, or later in the season.
“There were a couple right behind me that were getting pissed at our backups letting them go down the field,” Kiffin said. “So they asked me. They really wanted to have a second half shutout, and so I let them go back in, knowing that we had a bye next week. Maybe I shouldn’t have. But I like the mentality of the guys. That’s how we try to build a highly competitive program that has guys who want to think that way. They want get back in there. They want to play. They want to preserve good defensive days like that.”
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