Brian Kelly opens up on the importance of this year's senior class

He might not have recruited them or spent a ton of time coaching them, but Brian Kelly and this year’s senior class at LSU will forever be bonded by one thing: they were SEC West champions.

And while Kelly is certainly pleased with the results on the field and the seniors that do their part, he raved about the buy in and work in the offseason and between games. It’s there that the seniors made a choice to go out as a champions at LSU, according to Kelly.

“And watching them become SEC West champions is so gratifying because they made that choice,” Kelly said. “They could been average, they could’ve been poor. They could’ve just been good. They’ve chosen to be champions by the way they’ve gone to work every day both in the classroom and on the football field. And that, to me, is this senior day — the choices these guys have made have been outstanding.”

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The Tigers host UAB for a 9 p.m. EST kick, and one senior Kelly will be particularly proud to send out from Tiger Stadium is linebacker Micah Baskerville.

Baskerville, Kelly said, epitomizes more than any other senior the type of choices that led to this season for LSU.

“What stands out are the stories like Micah Baskerville who, when I got here, everybody was like ‘Well, you know, he doesn’t go to class. He doesn’t do this, he doesn’t do that'” Kelly said, “And he’s been amazing. He’s gotten his degree, he’s been a great leader. He’s been inspirational in everything he’s done. I love that story. To watch him grow and do the right things in the classroom, to overcome all the things that were in his past. That, to me, is this senior class.”

Kelly, pressed further about Baskerville’s turnaround, didn’t think it was too complicated. He always knew Baskerville had it in him to get on the straight-and-narrow. It was just a matter of upholding a standard.

“Well I think it was the standards of the program were set and he was going to meet and exceed the standards that were set. And then, along the way, he started to feel really good about his academics and getting his degree, and it was important to him,” Kelly said, “And knew that he could be successful both in the classroom and on the football field.”