LSU’s receiving corps has plenty of hype. From former top recruit Malachi Dupre to SEC breakout star Travin Dural, last year’s under-utilized group was brimming with talent. It was led by a redshirt sophomore in Dural and three touted freshmen, Dupre, Trey Quinn and John Diarse.

One name that didn’t make much noise from loaded ’14 recruiting class: D.J. Chark. In fact, the Alexandria, La. native was silent. The least-heralded receiver out of five in his recruiting class, Chark appeared in just six games and didn’t make any catches. That shouldn’t be a huge surprise as a true freshman on a team with the SEC’s worst passing offense a year ago.

Chark is changing that this spring. In LSU’s first two scrimmages, he’s lighting it up. Last week, he was on the receiving end of a beauty of a pass from Brandon Harris, highlighted in a practice video that made the rounds.

Then, in LSU’s second scrimmage on Saturday, Chark did it again.

Miles didn’t specify who delivered the touchdown strikes to Chark, but he raved about him to the media after practice.

“One thing about D.J. is that he has speed and ability,” Miles told the media. “He’s improving each time he steps on the field. He done a nice job of catching the football.”

Chark has a long way to climb on the depth chart before he can make an impact this fall, but he’s off to a good start in making his case for playing time. Having Chark challenge the incumbent contributors is a positive for LSU’s offense.

One of the issues (and there were several) that plagued LSU’s passing game last fall was a lack of cohesion between starting quarterback Anthony Jennings and his receivers. To see that Chark is developing a chemistry with his quarterbacks in spring is a good indicator that LSU’s passing game is ready to take a step up.

It’ll be hard for LSU to not improve on last year’s performance. All indications out of spring drills are that both Jennings and Harris are improving, and with even more top-flight talent coming it at receiver for the fall — Tyron Johnson, Jazz Ferguson, Derrick Dillon and Brandon Martin — whoever claims the starting job will have almost too much talent around him to struggle as badly as Jennings did last season.

Chark could well be a microcosm of a passing game on the rise. Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron know LSU simply has to improve through the air in ’15, and getting more receivers involved will have to be a part of that after only four true receivers caught passes in 2014.

It’s still early in the spring, but it could also be a hint of another breakout season coming from a Tigers receiver.