Brian Kelly details challenges of defending Johnny Wilson

Ahead of Sunday evening’s LSU vs. Florida State game, Tiger head coach Brian Kelly addressed what his team needs to do to limit Seminole star Johnny Wilson.

The towering wideout transferred in from Arizona State last season and immediately popped for 897 receiving yards in 2022 on 20.9 yards per catch along with five touchdowns. He added three catches for 60 yards in the LSU win a year ago. In ’23, expectations are that those numbers only go up.

Kelly knows the ‘Noles are going to Wilson early and often in the season-opening contest. He just hopes the Tiger defensive backs make him work to catch the ball.

“Certainly, you know, any ball that’s been thrown up there, you know, you’d like it to be 50-50,” Kelly said. “The thing with Wilson is that he turns it into 75-25. … We’ve got to make him 50-50.”

To render Wilson ineffective, Kelly says his group has to get physical with Wilson from the moment the ball is snapped on each play.

“You know, we’ve got to be on-body, we’ve got to be able to disrupt him off the line of scrimmage so the timing is a little bit off in terms of some of those throws,” explained the LSU coach. “If he gets clean releases down the field and they’re easy throws to him, he’s gonna make them.”

Brian Kelly also credited FSU QB Jordan Travis, who he knows will burn LSU if they leave Wilson open all night.

“And Jordan’s gonna get the ball to him,” Kelly said. “So you’ve got to make it harder in terms of disrupting timing. You’ve got to be on-body. You’ve got to compete for the catches every single time. You know, to try to get it even.”

With Wilson’s frame, winning the physicality battle is going to be tough.

“And that’s a task in itself. Because when you are 6’7 and you have the kind of talent he has, when he is targeted, it’s certainly a challenge,” Kelly added.

With the experience, talent and athleticism among the pass catchers, Florida State coach Mike Norvell is excited about the potential of the position group himself. He raved about them a couple weeks ago.

“I mean, you know, I think the experience that those guys bring, the play-making ability that they bring, the physicality that they bring. You can talk about guys catching the ball, but I mean, they’re just all big, strong, determined blockers, which does great things for the run game, you know.”

Physicality at wide receiver appears to be one of the strengths FSU will play to. Meanwhile, Brian Kelly merely hopes his defensive backs make life difficult on Jordan Travis and Johnny Wilson, even if they don’t stop the duo altogether.