Brian Kelly discusses importance of building walk-on program at LSU

Believe it or not, walk-on players are an important part of college basketball and football programs. Although they’re not on scholarship and very rarely get to see any action in games, they’re able to practice with the team and prove themselves. With that said, some of the ones who showcase hard work and determination end up being put on scholarship.

Walk-on players are certainly important to LSU head football coach Brian Kelly, who recently shared that they’re needed to make any program successful. With that said, the former Notre Dame leader added that he has been working to build the Tigers’ walk-on program since he’s arrived in Baton Rouge.

“So, I don’t know if you know, but we had a number of walk-ons that were already a part of the program,” Kelly said. “We evaluated the walk-ons in the program, we made some decisions as to who we felt that were benefitting the program and those that we felt like, quite frankly, were not. We made some decisions to keep them and others that we did not, and we had our own walk-on tryouts. Quite frankly, we found some guys that we felt like, again, that could help the program.

“Everywhere I’ve been, the walk-on program has been – I believe – instrumental to our success. So, when we talk about instrumental, it’s not only in terms of the ability to add depth, but scholarships, too. I believe that walk-ons should have a chance to earn a scholarship.”

While Kelly explained why walk-ons have always been important to his programs and noted that LSU has made some moves in that regard, he also provided an update on where the Tigers’ program currently stands heading into the summer.

“So, where are we now? I think we’ve strengthened our walk-on program, but it needs to continue to get better,” Kelly said. “And I think that part of developing, systematically, a great program is to have a great walk-on program.”