Better Know a Freshman: Landon Ibieta

One of LSU’s strongest position groups coming into the 2022 season is wide receiver. Kayshon Boutte, Jack Bech and Jaray Jenkins showed their talents last year and are expected to maintain form this year, with Boutte even earning the pressure of the coveted 7 jersey. In the modern era of football, there’s no such thing as too many receivers, especially when some guys can fill roles really well. Freshman wide receiver Landon Ibieta is one of those guys who could find his fit in a very specific spot.

The Story

247 Sports ranked the Mandeville High School wideout a 3-star recruit and the 67^th-best WR in the nation. Miami (FL) gave him an offer in January 2021, and he committed there in June. The Hurricanes then fired their head coach in December, and Ibieta began to reconsider his initial commitment. Within a week of LSU offering him, he decommitted and signed with LSU, who never offered him originally. Ibieta was a good route runner in high school, but his speed made him a weapon. He returned kicks, ran the wildcat, ran jet sweeps and outran defenders on deep routes. Just take a look at his film.

The Film

The Future

Ibieta is 5’11” and 192 lbs. His future looks to be as a speed guy, someone who can beat defensive backs deep and who can run sweeps when called. His experience with the wildcat will come in handy if that’s ever called because his film shows that he’s good at finding holes. He looks to have good ball skills and route running abilities, so there’s a good chance he makes appearances in his true freshman season before becoming a more stable part of the receiving core. One thing that remains to be seen is if he can overcome the height disadvantage he’ll have against SEC DBs who tend to be 2-3 inches taller than him.

High End: He quickly develops into a regular member of the receiving corps and becomes a deep threat that DBs have to cover even if he doesn’t get the ball very often. His ability to run the jet sweep becomes a weapon that forces DCs to anticipate it whenever he lines up outside.

Low End: He hits a wall when attempting to adjust from high school to college and rarely plays.

Realistic: He starts slow, plays in a couple games, maybe redshirts this year, then slowly finds his way into the offense. If he doesn’t transfer after his second season, he has the potential to be a solid option as an auxiliary receiver and running threat.

If Ibieta finds his rhythm, he’ll be a solid guy who can break off big plays when he’s in.