LSU’s Brian Kelly was the first coach to take the stage at 2023’s SEC media days. Much was made of Kelly’s fit at LSU this time last year. Shortly thereafter, the 2022 season answered those questions emphatically with an unexpected SEC West title. Kelly’s polish at the podium was evident. His years of experience and thoughtful nature combined to present an impressive display of speaking to his team through the media while artfully responding to some questions without truly answering them.
Kelly answered questions on controversial topics, like hazing at Northwestern and NCAA sanctions at Tennessee, with savvy. His answers gave the impression that he took those issues seriously while managing to avoid throwing fellow coaches under the bus. No knock on the previous regime, but he is a far cry from a coach who would physically challenge a random UCLA fan in a zesty blue shirt.
Several of Kelly’s comments said a lot about the potential of the 2023 team, as well as the standing of the program in relation to conference powers. Here’s a look at a few of the more meaningful quotes and how fans should interpret them.
Can the Transfer Portal Replenish the Secondary?
“Again, I think when we talk about areas within your program that you’re coming, but you’re not there yet when you have to dip into the transfer portal – and this is just my perspective – but when you have to dip into the transfer portal and bring in that many guys on defense, that’s an area of concern, because you really don’t know what you have until you play against Florida State…We’re a team that needs to get off the field on third down. We did not do a very good job of that last year.”
Kudos to Kelly for taking advantage of an opportunity to recruit early in the session. It’s apparent that he would rather not take that many players from the portal. The statement is true, but it’s also a recruiting pitch to high school prospects to come to LSU to build a secondary that doesn’t need transfers.
This statement is also a challenge to current players to be better than the 2022 version of the Tiger secondary, which quietly had four players that were drafted or signed as undrafted free agents to NFL teams.
What are the Expectations for Jayden Daniels?
“From what we saw in the first week, where a step up in the pocket meant to step up and run, or not making those tight-window throws – I think that’s what we saw during the year, was his natural progression of understanding the offense and being more confident.”
Kelly saw growth from his starting quarterback, Jayden Daniels, last year. He understands that it took time for Daniels to get comfortable with running the offense. It took time for the offensive line to mature and gel, and it also took time for Daniels to become confident enough in himself and his receivers to make throws that involved risk.
If Kelly’s hope is for that evolution to continue the odds are in his favor. With Daniels year of experience with mostly the same weapons, he’ll have in 2023.
Is LSU Closing the Gap with Georgia?
“I know that based upon how we’ve recruited and how we’ll continue to recruit that we’ll have a football roster that will be able to compete against Georgia. Is that right now? No, it’s not. But if we continue to do what we’re doing, we’re going to have a roster that can compete against Georgia, and then it’s just a matter of getting it done on the playing field so everybody then can assess they’ve closed the gap.”
Relax, Tiger fans. Coach Kelly is not saying that LSU can’t beat Georgia in a one-game scenario. He’s saying that his program isn’t where Georgia is right now, and he’s right.
Kelly is recruiting well at LSU, but not at the level of UGA and not for the same length of time as Kirby Smart. The acknowledgment that he expects to get there should be encouraging for the purple and gold faithful.
The Return of Maason Smith and His Impact on the Defense
“Yeah, so getting a guy like that back changes a lot of things because last year was a double-fan situation. You could slide the center-guard tackle to one side and really be three-on-two on one side to him. You could add a back to the other side because we really didn’t have an inside guy that could win every single one-on-one matchup. Maason will one those one-on-one matchups.”
Defensive tackle Maason Smith was projected to be an All-SEC caliber player last year but tore his ACL in the first series of the season. Kelly spoke on Smith’s abilities while offering a quick lesson in Football 101. Long story short, Smith will command double teams. This creates one-on-one matchups on the edge. Tragically, it also leads to some poor, opposing interior lineman trying to block Harold Perkins when Matt House inevitably sends Perkins on a blitz from an inside linebacker position.
It’s important to note Kelly’s restrained demeanor when describing Smith’s impact. His statement was not one of hype or promotion it was simply a matter of fact. Smith has the potential to make every other defensive position better.
