BATON ROUGE — C.J. Daniels has spent the majority of his football career understanding his team's offense's whole concept.

Not just the one specific wide receiver position he may be playing, he would learn all of them.

When the former Liberty receiver showed up on campus for LSU football back before spring practice began, Daniels didn't have much time to dive into his work. He performed well enough during spring practice for the Tigers, but he knew his work was just beginning.

"I struggled in the spring. That turn between spring and fall camp each and every day, I was meeting with coaches and doing all things to get things down," Daniels said. "For me, it was easier for me to learn the offense as a concept instead of learning a specific spot. Now I'm able to move to different places, be in certain place to make myself available."

Daniels hit the playbook this offseason, studying and meeting with receivers coach Cortez Hankton and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan to gain a quicker understanding of what LSU wants to do. That extra time has paid dividends for the 6-2, 205-pound pass catcher as he's poised to land a starting role for the Tigers as they head into the 2024 season opener at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1 against USC in Las Vegas. The game will be televised on ABC.

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"C.J. has played a lot of football," Sloan said. "When we've put him position to make plays, you've seen him rise to the occasion. I'm proud of how hard he's worked. But his work didn't start a few day ago, it started long ago.

"The consistency, the understanding, the knowledge of the game and all the different things he's able to do as a receiver, it's a fun group of receivers."

"Knowing each position," Daniels added. "In the pass game, that's big for me. You never know where you're going to end up on the field. If you're not in the certain position that you haven't played, you should know come game time."

Daniels played the last four seasons at Liberty, out of Conference USA, and was a major part of the Flames' historic run to the Fiesta Bowl, a New Year's Six Bowl, last season. He caught 55 balls for 1,067 yards with 10 touchdowns, shining as Liberty's top wide receiver target in its fast-paced offense.

While having five, 100-yard receiving games for the Flames last year and helping lead the team to historic heights, Daniels wanted to experience more. He dreamed of playing football at the highest level.

Initially, LSU wasn't among his favorite schools immediately after hitting the transfer portal. Florida, Texas and Arizona stood out first. Then Sloan called.

Sloan laid out a plan for Daniels on how his offense could benefit both Daniels and LSU with him in it as well as what Daniels could attain off the field as well.

So far, LSU has delivers for Daniels.

"Where can I go as a person? Where can I grow as a player? I wanted to be somewhere where I'm going to compete and grow every day," he said.

"Playing at this stage, being a high-intensity offense, a very explosive offense. There's nothing better than to be here. LSU is called Wide Receiver U, a lot of receivers have came in and I've seen the work they've done. Coach Hankton being their coach, I wanted to be a part of that."

And how has Daniels delivers on his end? By coming in and gaining the amount of understanding required to put himself in position to be a starter and an immediate impact player for the Tigers in 2024.

"(He's) another weapon out there," LSU receiver Chris Hilton said of Daniels. "You got me, Kyren, now add him. You got three weapons out there.

"It's pick your poison, really."

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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz atbdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: What wide receiver C.J. Daniels brings to LSU football's offense