LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly addressed a variety of topics during his press conference Monday on the first day of SEC Media Days in Nashville, Tenn.
Here is what he had to say on a few of those.
In his opening statement, Kelly discussed LSU’s success in his first year last season and building on that. The Tigers went 10-4 and won the SEC West, falling to Georgia 50-30 in the SEC Championship Game. They defeated Purdue 63-7 in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
“I’ve got a big opportunity on my hands, as well, to continue the success of what was a very good first year,” he said after mentioning LSU’s 2023 national championships in women’s basketball and baseball. “We have much to do. Progress needs to continue to be made in the best conference in all of college football. That will not be easy.
“We’re excited about what we’ve done in a very short period of time. The foundation of success is built in consistency. Alabama and Georgia continue to hold that mantle of consistency in terms of playing for championships, and that’s what we’ll be looking to be at LSU, is playing for championships consistently, year in and year out.”
Kelly said he spent his first year learning the league.
“I was learning how to go on the road and play in the kind of environments. I was learning our roster and our strengths and weaknesses,” he said.
“Going into year two, we have a lot of that knowledge and we understand a lot of those things necessary to be competitive and win games. Now it’s how do you do it week in and week out. For us, that’s what our team now has been focused on.”
On having to replace some of the secondary and doing so through the transfer portal …
“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 (in the season opener).
“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.
“There are going to be a number of new players back there. We do have some returning players that we’re excited about back there, (Greg) Brooks and (Major) Burns in particular are two veteran players that are going to help us a lot back there.
On the progression of quarterback Jayden Daniels …
“So what does development look like for him? I think it would be the natural progression from the last game in which he played where he was aggressive but he was under control. He ran the ball when he needed to but yet stepped up in the pocket and made the tight window throws.
“I think that was the progression.
“From what we saw in the first week where a step up in the pocket meant 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.
“We want to see that in year two. We want to see that confidence that we saw at the end of the year continue to show itself right through the first game against Florida State.”
On if Daniels is the starter going into fall camp …
“Jayden is our starter. He’ll start. But he’ll have to continue to improve and progress, because Garrett (Nussmeier) is getting better every single day, as well.
“You want to talk about great competition? It’s about as good as a head coach could hope for at the quarterback position.
“Jayden is the starter, but he’s got to have a great camp. He’s got to continue to progress. “He’s got to continue to work. He’s got to continue to move forward, because the guy right there, as well, he wants to take his job, in the right way. They’ve got a great relationship, but he wants his job, too.
“I think that that’s a really positive situation.”
On closing the gap with two-time defending national champion 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.”
On running back Landon Diggs, a transfer from Notre Dame …
“We like his versatility. He played really well at Notre Dame when he was given the opportunity. He was a little bit, I think, limited with a hamstring last year. We saw how he played against South Carolina with the big run.
“But he’s a very talented player in all areas. Very smart, will be kind of what I talked about with Josh. He can play on all three downs. He’s tough. He’s physical. He’s a big back with speed, vision.”