Brian Kelly rules Chris Hilton out for Saturday's game against Auburn
The LSU Tigers are coming off a big win against the Missouri Tigers last weekend. This week, they’ll face off against their rivals, the Auburn Tigers. On Thursday evening, LSU head coach Brian Kelly ruled wide receiver Chris Hilton, Jr. out for Saturday’s matchup against Auburn, according to Koki Riley. He’s been dealing with a high ankle sprain. Everybody else from Monday’s injury report is available to play on Saturday.
So far this season, Hilton has hauled in five catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. His best game came against Grambling, when he hauled in two catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. Hilton has seen action in three games so far in the 2023 season. In 2022, he hauled in 109 receiving yards on seven catches.
Coming out of high school, Hilton was a dynamic two-sport star at Zachary High School (Zachary, La.), shining in football and track and field. In track and field, he competed in both sprints and the high jump, becoming one of the best high jumpers in the state of Louisiana. As a senior on the indoor track, he won the 5A state championship in both the 400-meters and the high jump. Hilton also won the state championship in high jump as a sophomore and as a freshman.
In the 2018 cycle, Hilton was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 80 overall recruit in the country, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.
Brian Kelly shared another update on Duce Chestnut
LSU head coach Brian Kelly offered an update on the status of cornerback Darian “Duce” Chestnut after the transfer has been away from the team. Kelly didn’t have any definitive answers, though.
According to Jacques Doucet, Kelly will be meeting with Chestnut on Friday morning. There is a chance Kelly will have an update with more substance on Chestnut come next week.
LSU hosts Auburn on Saturday with kickoff set for 7 p.m. EST, and Chestnut is not expected to play.
Chestnut transferred to LSU from Syracuse ahead of the 2023 season.
The LSU head coach also updated his status last week
“Duce is not with our team right now and we’ll make a decision on his status in the next few weeks,” Kelly said last Thursday.
Chestnut did not travel with the team to Ole Miss or to Missouri. In the 55-49 loss to the Rebels, the Tigers gave up 389 passing yards. In two appearances this season, Chestnut recorded six tackles and one interception.
Chestnut played with the Orange for two seasons, and landed on the On3 Freshman All-America Team following the 2021 campaign. He also began his debut season on the On3 Preseason All-America Team. As a freshman, Chestnut started in every game for the Orange, finishing the year with three interceptions and eight pass breakups.
After the 2022 season concluded, Chestnut put his name into the transfer portal.
In two seasons with the Orange, Chestnut started in all 24 games he appeared in, tallying 83 tackles, including 59 solo stops, five tackles for loss and four interceptions.
Chestnut left high school in New Jersey ranked as the No. 459 overall recruit in the 2021 cycle, according to On3 Industry Ratings. He joined Syracuse as a three-star and the No. 39 cornerback prospect in the class.
“I always told everybody I was trying to go to LSU,” Chestnut said. “It didn’t work out coming out of high school, but God’s plan is different than what you might want it to be. Just growing up and wanting to be part of DBU. That’s always been a thing for me.
“I almost broke into tears,” Chestnut said. “Just hearing that LSU wanted me, that I had a chance to come and start for DBU, and be one of the next guys, was like a dream come true for me.”
That dream will have to wait. With Chestnut away from the team, Kelly is moving forward with four cornerbacks.
On3’s Andrew Graham also contributed to this article.