Brian Kelly reveals interest in using transfer portal to fill holes after spring

LSU head coach Brian Kelly is expecting to get use out of the transfer portal this spring to fill gaps on the team’s roster.

This comes as the transfer portal is set to open on Saturday, April 15th.

“I still think that there’s a couple of needs on defense and I think that we’re still maybe interested on the offensive line,” Brian Kelly said. “You know, I think there’s still an interest to add to our offense.”

At the same time, Kelly cautioned that fans shouldn’t expect LSU to add big names in this transfer portal window. Instead, this will be about depth.

“But, I would say that we’re guarded at this period of time as to somebody that’s going to make a difference in an LSU football lineup. These are probably going to be guys that can add depth to what you’re doing. I don’t think you can go out there swinging for, you know, a starter that’s going to come in and change the trajectory of your starting lineup. These are guys that can contribute and be part of your depth, and I think that that’s kind of what we’re looking at.”

The transfer portal opens on April 15th and will remain open for players to enter for 15 days. That’s significantly shorter than the 45 day winter window. Still, plenty of players are expected to enter the portal after 1,285 players entered during the winter window.

Brian Kelly isn’t the only coach who is going to be looking into the transfer portal. Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman has already said that he has eight spots to fill. Meanwhile, Ryan Day and Ohio State are going to analyze their needs and fill holes that they have.

Why Brian Kelly never jumped to the NFL

For decades now, Brian Kelly has been an excellent college football coach. However, he never made the jump to the NFL. As Kelly explained, even with changes like the transfer portal, he likes the ability to control as much as possible.

“I think it was the decentralization of the pro game. I’ve been used to my whole life, like the old kind of Bill Parcell’s quote, ‘Shop for the groceries and cook the meal,’ you don’t do that in the NFL. Especially the time that I would’ve been going. I would’ve been not handling the roster. I would not have been the GM, I would’ve been simply the football coach,” Kelly said.

“I’ve been used to handling the scholarships, and making finals decisions on who’s getting the final say, relative to anything that’s happened in the program, and when you go to the NFL, you lose a lot of that control. Not that I’m a control-freak, as much as I just felt like I had all those things at Notre Dame, and I was going to give all that up, and I just wasn’t ready to do that.”