Brian Kelly reveals how Colby Richardson has upped his game heading into 2022

The LSU Tigers brought in a multitude of defensive backs from the transfer portal including Sevyn Banks, Greg Brooks Jr., and Jarrick Bernard-Converse. All of those players come from known, power five programs, but McNeese State transfer Colby Richardson has caught the attention of head coach Brian Kelly in the secondary, especially after his physical transformation this offseason.

“Well there’s a couple things, one I think I mentioned this about Colby Richardson, physically he came in and put on about 20 pounds and I think that really has allowed him to compete at a high level. He was somewhere in the 170 range, 168 – 172, and he’s over 190 pounds, so I think coming in and really taking advantage of the nutrition and in the weight training and the conditioning. He’s obviously a very gifted athlete, but then putting on the strength and taking our nutrition program to a new level for him, one that he probably never had before,” Kelly said.

Richardson, a Louisiana native, was a two year starter at McNeese State where he had 22 tackles, two interceptions, three passes break ups and one forced fumble. He already brought speed and smarts to the table according to Kelley, that combined with his new frame and good attitude could have him seeing some action in the secondary for the Tigers this season.

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“And he’s got elite speed, he’s a veteran player and all those things have come together. He’s extremely committed, the players really enjoy him. He’s a really good teammate and it’s good to see him have some great success,” Kelly said.

Brian Kelly addresses need to be demanding, not demeaning as coach

LSU head coach Brian Kelly is in the thick of fall camp, as he preps his team for their week one matchup versus Florida State just a few weeks away. Kelly and his staff have been coaching with a lot of intensity throughout Tigers camp, and Kelly addressed why that is, explaining his coaching philosophy. 

“Well we’re demanding, we’re never demeaning. You can hear it by the way we talk to our guys, there’s no cursing, we’re never going to be demeaning to our players but we’re demanding. This is about graduating all our players and winning a National Championship, and you can’t do that if you’re just sitting on your hands out there so we’re going to challenge our players, that’s why they’re here at LSU, they wanna win a championship too,” Kelly said.

The effectiveness of Kelly’s coaching style is hard to argue, as he’s made a winner out of essentially every team he’s been the head coach of. From Notre Dame, to Cincinnati, to Central Michigan, even in his Division II coaching days at Grand Valley State, at all his stops Kelly has turned his teams into conference champions or double-digit win teams.

“So we’re going to be demanding, do it the right way and do it within the right positive coaching environment and make sure they know we still love them, but we’re gonna push them to be their very best,” Kelly said.

Hopefully for the Tigers, Kelly’s demand from his players combined with their hunger to win a title is a recipe for success, as they look to fulfill their championship aspirations that they achieved as a program just a few years ago in 2019.