From the moment Trey’Dez Green traded his pads for sweatpants, Lane Kiffin had a problem to solve.

The star LSU tight end is out with a knee injury, an ailment that has kept him off the field since the Week 3 loss at Ole Miss. His absence meant that Kiffin needed a new primary weapon for quarterback Sam Leavitt, someone who could step into Green’s place.

Enter Jackson Harris.

Harris has caught six passes in three of the four games since Green’s injury. He’s scored all five of his touchdowns during this stretch and accumulated 339 of his 456 yards receiving since Green went down. Green is on track to return for Saturday’s matchup at Auburn (11 a.m., ABC), but the Tigers will still need Harris to produce once Green is back.

Harris became Leavitt’s go-to target while Green was out, and he now leads the Tigers in receiving yards. Despite leaving early Saturday with an ankle injury, he caught six passes for 85 yards against Mississippi State. He told reporters Tuesday that he’ll be ready to go for this weekend.

“I feel like if the game went differently, I could have went back out there and played,” Harris said. “So we’ll be all good for this week.”

Harris, a redshirt junior who transferred to LSU from Hawaii, thoroughly impressed Kiffin and the LSU coaching staff on tape in January. At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, he’s a long and physical receiver, a bigger body who can win against man coverage on the outside.

He was a star in his only season in Honolulu, snatching 49 passes for 963 yards and 12 touchdowns after earning limited playing time in two years at Stanford.

“We need to actually throw the ball to him more,” Kiffin said after LSU’s loss to Kentucky. “Wins against press (coverage); he’s really fast out there. I really like his progression.”

For an offense missing the frame of the 6-7 Green, Harris and 6-5 Roman Mothershed have been big targets for Leavitt. Mothershed even has been a target for Harris, who threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to the Troy transfer against Kentucky.

Harris never has been a quarterback, but he made it known to offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. that he could chuck it. During practices, he’s joined the quarterbacks for some throwing drills.

“He throws the ball really well, as you saw,” Kiffin said. “We actually called the play earlier in the game, and they were in a different defense. So we checked out and came back to it later, and he made a great throw.”

Harris hasn’t been the only receiver stepping up in Green’s absence. LSU is deep at wide receiver, even as Mothershed has shifted to tight end with Green out of the lineup.

Winston Watkins, who followed Kiffin from Ole Miss, has more than 400 yards receiving and has been Leavitt’s top option in the slot. Freshman Corey Barber and Old Dominion transfer Tre Brown have earned more playing time lately.

Even Zach Grace, who had zero career catches until his 22-yard touchdown grab at Kentucky, has been targeted more often despite primarily being a blocking tight end. At running back, Dilin Jones has become Leavitt’s go-to option on check-downs in the flat.

Filling the chasm left by Green has been a team effort. Even without their star tight end, the Tigers’ passing game improved while he was out. Leavitt’s improved accuracy has played a big role, but LSU also has found weapons ready to step up in Green’s absence.

No receiver has made that leap more than Harris. With Green likely back, he and Harris together should only help take LSU’s passing attack to the next level.

“A lot of those plays (to Harris) were a kind of similar type of play-action, Trey’Dez type of plays,” Kiffin said after the Texas A&M win. “It was really good.”