Brian Kelly on recruiting defensive line through transfer portal: 'We're not in the market of buying players'

Brian Kelly has been honest about his desires for the spring NCAA transfer portal window. LSU was looking to bring in defensive tackles that could make a difference on their 2024 roster. Thus far, no such luck as the Tigers have seen targets commit elsewhere in the past few weeks.

NIL does play a significant role in these recruitments, if not being the main factor for some players. Defensive tackle is a premier position in college football and collectives are willing to pony up money to acquire guys. On3’s Pete Nakos said the position “won” the spring portal window because of the market they created.

Kelly is not willing to play the game other head coaches are though, saying LSU is “not in the market of buying players.” Sure, NIL can be lucrative if you play for the Tigers but it’s not going to be the lone reason why Kelly and new defensive line coach Bo Davis win portal recruiting battles.

“We were in the market in recruiting in the transfer portal, looking for defensive linemen,” Kelly said via Jacques Doucet of WAFB. “It hasn’t fared very well, quite frankly. Because we’re selling something a little differently and that is — we want to recruit, we want to engage, build relationships, develop, retain, and have success.

“We’re not in the market of buying players. And unfortunately, right now, that’s what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought.”

Instead, the recruiting process out of the portal is about development for Kelly. He has a great example of turning Jayden Daniels into the Heisman Trophy winner in his second season in the program after leaving Arizona State.

Additionally, three LSU defensive tackles were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Something Kelly wishes was a better selling point than offering the most money.

“We will develop you and get you ready for the next step,” Kelly said. “As we did with Jayden Daniels, as we did with Malik Nabers, as we did with Brian Thomas. We developed three defensive linemen that all got drafted this year and we’ll do that again.

“But if you’re just looking to get paid, you’re looking in the wrong place. If you like all the things we do here in developing our players, bringing you into a championship program, playing in front of the best fanbase in America, playing for championships, and having an opportunity for NIL — you should be a Tiger. If you just want to get paid, this is not the place for you.”

LSU has gone after multiple guys this spring, most notably Simeon Barrow Jr., CJ West, and Damonic Williams. West is the only uncommitted of those three, while Barrow will play at Miami in 2024 and Williams with Oklahoma.

Gio Paez out of Wisconsin was a successful recruitment and could be Kelly’s only addition at defensive tackle this cycle. Not where he wanted to be as the opportunity to add players to the roster is nearly gone.