Destyn Hill injury update: Brian Kelly reveals surgery, recovery timeline

The LSU Tigers got a massive win in Week 1, going to Clemson and pulling off a tight win. However, head coach Brian Kelly did see his offense lose wide receiver Destyn Hill to a hand injury.

With the Tigers turning the page to Week 2, Kelly was able to share an update on Hill’s injury. It’s a fractured hand that will require surgery. Despite that, Kelly also shared that it’s going to be a relatively quick ramp up for his return to game action.

“He has a fractured left hand,” Brian Kelly said. “He had surgery yesterday. We put a plate in it to stabilize it. He’ll be out this week. We think that we can get him in a position where next week he can be in a limited capacity for us.”

Having a fractured hand seems like a major challenge for a wide receiver. However, Brian Kelly would explain that the plate allows for a special cast, which should make it so he can play receiver without the standard issues that injury would cause. Because of that, he’s looking at only missing a week or so.

“The plate stabilizes it to the point where we can put a cast on it that allows him to function as a wide receiver,” Kelly said. “Although disappointed that he won’t play this week, he’s pretty excited that he’ll get a chance to get back out on the field next week.”

Destyn Hill came to LSU as a transfer from Florida State in December of 2024. A New Orleans native who played his high school football at Edna Karr, he was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021. He had been the 109th-ranked player overall and 18th-ranked wide receiver in that recruiting cycle.

For his career, Destyn Hill has seen relatively limited playing time. That is, in no small part, due to injury issues he’s had. In 2024, he missed the entire season at Florida State with an injury. He’d play 10 career games at Florida State, making six receptions for 87 yards in that time.

Now, LSU will be without Destyn Hill for its Week 2 game against Louisiana Tech. As Brian Kelly explained, there is some good reason to hope that he’ll be able to return in some capacity the week after that. It’s a big week too, with the Florida Gators making the trip to Baton Rouge. Of course, there’s always room for setbacks when returning from injuries.