Billy Napier reveals what he respects in Brian Kelly

The LSU Tigers are travelling to Gainesville this week to play Florida, prompting Billy Napier to share high praise of Brian Kelly. The pair of coaches are both first-year coaches with their respective SEC programs, and both come in to Saturday’s matchup with a 4-2 record.

Billy Napier on following Brian Kelly’s career

Adding to how similar the trajectory of their seasons has been in the early season — both Napier and Kelly have lost one of their games to Tennessee this year. While speaking at a press conference on Wednesday Napier was asked how he felt about Kelly’s career, the identity of his teams and what he sees on film while preparing for the game.

“Brian’s won everywhere he’s been. He’s been [a] very consistent coach,” said Napier. “I think what I respect is the fundamentals that I see on the film. The soundness. And certainly he’s much like we are, halfway through the first year. I think as a young coach I’ve always kept up with Brian Kelly. His teams have always been fantastic, they’ve been a factor big picture-wise — playoff-wise. And certainly him having success at lots of different levels of football I think is probably what I respect the most.”

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Although the Tigers have undergone one of the more radical coaching changes in the SEC with Kelly leaving Notre Dame and taking over the program from Ed Orgeron — Florida’s transition from Dan Mullen to Napier has been just as big for the Gators. Napier is in his first year as a head coach at any program, while Kelly is working through his first year with the SEC.

Despite having identical records at this point of the year, Kelly and the Tigers are poised just slightly better in the SEC with a 2-1 record in conference play. The Gators suffered both of their losses this year to SEC opponents — pushing them to 1-2 to open against conference opponents.