Brian Kelly explains why he likes using Sage Ryan at cornerback

The LSU Tigers list defensive back Sage Ryan as a safety on their online roster. However, head coach Brian Kelly also likes to get him playing time as a cornerback.

Kelly explained that Ryan has several traits that make him an excellent option for LSU on the edge of the defense.

“He has elite speed,” Brian Kelly said. “I mean, he’s a guy that can run in the high 21 range. So, he’s got the skill to have the kind of speed to play out there.”

Sage Ryan came to LSU in the Class of 2021, where he was a four-star recruit, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. As a freshman in 2021, he only played in three games to preserve his redshirt before playing in 14 games during Brian Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge.

“The second thing, experience, and you know at that cornerback position that’s one area where we’re calling for experience,” Kelly said. “And I think the third is he’s a pretty smart football player. So, he puts himself in a pretty good position.”

Beyond all of that, Sage Ryan is a safety by trade. Because of that, he has a stronger background as a tackler that when coupled with his speed makes him an excellent player to have on the outside.

“One thing that we really are concerned about is making sure that we tackle the football and having a great tackler out there. Sage has been a really steady tackler for us,” Kelly said. “So, he brings a lot of those traits to that position and gives us flexibility to put a guy that’s played a lot of football out there, that runs really well, and can tackle in a position to help us.”

Sage Ryan has been banged up. However, Brian Kelly isn’t concerned about that, pointing out that it was minor and he’s back at practice.

Brian Kelly says Maason Smith would have been questionable for opener if not for suspension

LSU will be without star defensive lineman Maason Smith against Florida State due to suspension. However, Brian Kelly says he’d be questionable for the game anyway.

“He probably would have been in that range, and we weren’t really sure. Probably one of the reasons why you didn’t hear from us because we weren’t really sure where he was. He’s still not practicing at the level that he needs to be practicing,” Kelly said.

“If I was in front of you today, he would probably be questionable for this weekend.”