LSU not a finished product, growing pains should be expected in 2023

Brian Kelly turned a lot of heads during Year 1 at LSU, but On3’s JD PicKell isn’t ready to believe all the hype just yet.

While many believe the Tigers could win the SEC West once again in 2023, PicKell doesn’t believe expectations should be set sky-high, expecting some growing pains from LSU this season, as he explained on this week’s episode of The Hard Count.

“Another misconception that’s floating out there right now is that LSU after Year 1 has already put the growing pains behind them, and that they are at a cruising altitude,” stated PicKell. “Meaning last year was kind of the get your feet wet year, right? We all talked about that. We all tried to temper expectations and say, ‘Hey, if you win eight games, that’s phenomenal, that’s progress, Brian Kelly’s the right guy.’ I want to have this out there because LSU, I believe when it comes to SEC Media Day, will probably be picked to win the SEC West.

“I’m not even here to tell you that shouldn’t be the case. But if LSU doesn’t win the SEC West, if they don’t win double-digit ball games this coming season, the sky is not falling in Baton Rouge.”

Continuing, PicKell isn’t calling Kelly’s first season with LSU a fluke, but he doesn’t think the program is 100% Kelly’s just yet, so there will certainly be some adjustments to be made in the coming seasons.

“Year 1 was not a fluke. Year 1 was not something to say where it’s like, ‘Oh, is that reliable? Should we trust what we saw in Year 1? Is that something that was kind of like a flash in the pan?’ No, of course not,” added PicKell. “To the same token though, I think LSU is still becoming Brian Kelly’s program. Brian Kelly doesn’t even have all his guys on this team just yet. He hasn’t recruited multiple classes just yet, that are going to make up a majority of this roster. Now he’s recruited really well so far, he’s done really well through the portal. Got Jayden Daniels through the portal, to be clear. But still, this isn’t necessarily a Brian Kelly football team. From a roster standpoint, or from a culture standpoint.

“Y’all that are Tigers fans that have tuned into this show for any length of time that have heard me talk about Brian Kelly and LSU, this is who how feel. We saw a product on the field for LSU a season ago that was semi-inconsistent. They look one way against Auburn, look one way against Tennessee. They look one way against Alabama. They look one way against Texas A&M. We weren’t sure which LSU team we were going to get week in and week out, and that’s a part of the process of maturing as a football team, and doing things Brian Kelly’s way. Being detail oriented. Sticking to the standard. All these things that Brian Kelly’s going to hold this team to in the future, that’s still permeating throughout this roster. That’s going to become a thing for LSU for years to come.”

Nevertheless, JD PicKell believes LSU is headed in the right direction. He’s just not ready to put them on a pedestal at the moment.

“What I’m trying to say is, it’s headed in the right direction,” PicKell said. “I’ve been on record here and I say I think LSU is going to win a national title before Brian Kelly is done at LSU. But if they don’t win ten games this year, it’s not like they’re in a bad position. I don’t think they’re just at cruising altitude quite yet.”