LSU Fans and alumni are undoubtedly tired of seeing the same old schtick on Twitter and their favorite media platforms – Brian Kelly is a tired old man who left behind his better days at Notre Dame. His antics, from cringe dancing with visiting recruits to faking a southern accent, have not impacted his ability to recruit nor overcome difficult game situations.
Hidden among the chaos of the 2022 college football season is that LSU is currently 5-2 headed into their matchup this weekend with Ole Miss. They’ve sustained losses to Florida State and Tennessee and beaten a couple of tough teams in Mississippi State and Florida. So why is the national media creating controversy at LSU?
It’s fair to acknowledge that the quarterback situation and the offense that Kelly has elected to run have been less than ideal. Under quarterback Jayden Daniels, the transfer from Arizona State, the once potent passing attack has been reduced to a one-read system that allows Daniels to use his legs. The cost has been the lack of use of arguably a top-five receiving unit in the nation.
Instead, the Tigers have leaned on their defense this season, which before the last two games against Tennessee and Florida, allowed 15 points per game. That’s an important factor for a team, and it’s taken a lot of pressure off their offense.
How Brian Kelly used the transfer portal this offseason to bolster LSU
Kelly’s plan this past offseason was to utilize the transfer portal, which he has done very successfully. We saw last year with Josh Heupel at Tennessee. This school lost thirty-five players to the transfer portal following the controversial exit of Jeremy Pruitt, and the transfer portal is an excellent source to help stop the bleeding of team needs.
He secured a starting quarterback from Arizona State in Daniels, a starting nickel back in Greg Brooks Jr from Arkansas, and a starting cornerback from Oklahoma State in Jarrick Bernard-Converse. That’s not to mention the other help he’s received that appears ready to be future secondary starters in Major Burns, Mekhi Garner, and Sevyn Banks.
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Kelly’s work in the transfer portal has been the critical installment of building the defense into the formidable opponent it has been this season.
The Class of 2023 is currently ranked 5th in the nation
Brian Kelly has brought his recruiting talents to LSU, which have not diminished. LSU currently has the fifth-best recruiting class in the country, according to On3’s system, and third-best in the SEC behind Alabama and Georgia.
Fifteen of his twenty-two currently committed recruits are ranked in the On3 Consensus top 300, and they might not be done yet, either. Currently, two more top 300 players in On3’s Consensus top 300 are expected to end up at LSU.
- S Javien Toviano (39th overall player) is projected as having a 90% chance of committing to LSU.
- G DJ Chester (144th overall player) is projected as having a 91% chance of committing to LSU.
If those two players pull through and commit to LSU, the Tigers will be sitting pretty with seventeen top 300 recruits this year – and have a chance at landing the first overall recruiting class in the country.
Brian Kelly understands how an SEC team must be built
While there isn’t a set formula for how a program must be built in the SEC, there are specific tendencies that the entire conference is beginning to adopt from each other. Kelly clearly understands all of these and their importance in this league. I can say this with confidence simply by observing how he is building this recruiting class.
Every top-tier program in the SEC currently utilizes a deep defensive line rotation. This keeps pass rushers fresh on the field and constantly creates pressure after the quarterback. Currently, LSU has four defensive linemen committed from the top 200, including three edge rushers in the top 150. Dashawn Womack, one of those edge rushers committed, is widely considered the best prospect in Maryland. Jaxson Howard, another one of those committed edge rushers, is widely considered the best prospect in Minnesota.
Because defensive lines rotate so frequently in the SEC, the next most important group is the offensive line. He’s targeted offensive linemen, too, currently holding the commitments of two top 200 overall prospects who play offensive tackle. He very well could gain a third top-200 prospect on the interior line as well.
Lastly, he is retooling his offensive weapons. They hold the commitments of two top 100 prospects at wide receiver, as well as four-star quarterback Rickie Collins from Baton Rouge. Mac Markway, a four-star tight end, is pledged to continue to build depth in that group, and two four-star running backs are also committed.
There shouldn’t be a rush with the LSU project
LSU was a project and anyone who argues that failed to watch the last couple of seasons of LSU football. Brian Kelly has this team shaped to play competitively in the SEC West, the toughest division in college football, and could very well finish the season at 7-5 or even 8-4. That is well ahead of schedule, remember, as many pundits projected LSU to finish in the bottom of the West (a position that Auburn is currently holding down nicely).
Kelly’s gift to the LSU program has been the recruiting range he has across the country – having built relationships at top-end schools across the country while recruiting the national brand of Notre Dame. Those relationships have helped him secure top state recruits in areas that the SEC typically can’t compete – Maryland, Minnesota, and Indiana.
We haven’t even seen what kind of work he will do through the transfer portal this off-season, either. Knowing Kelly and the hard work he’s poured into this program so far, it’s clear to see that they are very well set for the future.
