Brian Kelly updates the special teams position battles including the front runner at kicker

The special teams are an often forgotten unit on a football team. Kickers and punters tend to do their own thing and are often kept at arm’s length from the rest of the team. At the same time, special teams can win or lose a game at any given moment. That’s why it’s important for LSU coach Brian Kelly to figure out his specialists ahead of the 2022 season.

While speaking to the media, Brian Kelly gave an update on those key special teams’ battles.

“I think, right now, [Damian] Ramos is probably in the lead at that position with [Jay] Bramblett,” Brian Kelly said of the kicker and positions. “Those are our two that I would say, right now, are a little bit out in front.”

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“Haven’t made a decision on kickoff, right now. That’s still a competitive situation. But, I wouldn’t say that that’s a–I would say that Bramblett has probably won the punting job, but I’d say we’re still in a competitive situation but Ramos is probably a little bit ahead right now in the kicking situation.”

LSU currently lists two punters and four placekickers on its roster, so Brian Kelly isn’t short on options. As a redshirt freshman, Damian Ramos is young and would have plenty of future ahead of him for LSU. However, if he struggles there are plenty of options to push him.

Meanwhile, as a senior, Jay Bramblett is the most experienced punter the Tigers have. He transferred from Notre Dame to LSU with Brian Kelly and special teams coordinator Brian Polian.

Brian Kelly also updated the timeline on deciding on a quarterback

Special teams aren’t the only unit with key position battles for LSU. Brian Kelly still needs to decide on a quarterback for Week 1 of the 2022 season. He did, however, lay out a timeline for naming one.

“We’re closing in on making the decision. The two of them are outstanding quarterbacks. You guys, probably, if you were voting as a group here, it might be split in this room; it’s pretty close,” said Brian Kelly. “I think you could probably understand why, for us, we’re not jumping out there giving you a quarterback. Because they’re both fine quarterbacks, and it’s that close. But we’re going to have to make a decision here in the next few days.”