Making the Case for the LSU Tigers at SEC Media Days

LSU is the first team on the center stage. 2022 is the first year without Coach O on the sideline since 2014. I’m going to miss his accent and passion for the Tigers. But anyway, hello from Atlanta. I’ll be here all week thanks to our good friends at Morgan & Morgan. For over thirty years, Morgan & Morgan has helped hundreds of thousands of deserving clients recover over 13 billion dollars. Wow. That’s a lot of money. With over 800 attorneys in offices in Kentucky, Florida, New York, and across America, Morgan & Morgan’s army of lawyers are ready to fight for you to get you the compensation you deserve. Morgan & Morgan will fight for you and best of all, hiring them is 100% free unless they win. For a free consultation, call DIAL POUND (#) LAW – That’s POUND L-A-W or 5-2-9 on your cell phone — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Ok, here’s how I will be previewing eight pre-selected teams at SEC Media Days. I will make the following arguments for each team.

• Case For: Why the team will be good and highlight their strengths
• Case Against: Team weaknesses and projected struggles
• Verdict: Summary and season projection:
• What Does This Mean for Kentucky? How the Cats matchup against them
• Head Coach’s Best Quote: Self-explanatory.

Hope you enjoy and I sincerely appreciate you following along. Now, Let’s get this party started with the LSU Tigers. 

Gone is Ed Orgeron. I loved Coach O’s passion for the Tigers and imaginative interviews. He was always the highlight of Media Days for me. Enter Brian Kelly and his 10-year, 95-million-dollar contract. The three-time National Coach of the Year’s laughable Louisiana accent and cringe-worthy recruiting videos were newsworthy in his first days on the job. I actually enjoyed both. Say what you want about him, he hit the floor running and is one of the best coaches in all of college football. The Tigers are a traditional conference power but have not lived up to the billing after steamrolling the league and nation in 2019. Let’s take a look at the 2022 Bayou Bengals. 

Case For

Brian Kelly takes over in Baton Rouge and has made impressive hires. He’s also been extremely active in the Portal and recruiting front. New is good at times. Orgeron’s ending was filled with conjecture and peculiarity. As unusual as this sounds, Kelly brings excitement back to LSU after being a consistent winner at Notre Dame and Cincinnati. Excitement and Kelly aren’t frequently mentioned in the same sentence. Ticket sales are not often in question at Death Valley. But, there’s a new sense of swagger back to the once powerful Tigers. 

Former Kentucky defensive coordinator Matt House left the Kansas City Chiefs to become Kelly’s play caller. House is a proven entity and will have talent to work with in Baton Rouge. The defensive play caller will have a couple of elite pass rushers at his disposal in BJ Ojulari (7 sacks and 11.5 TFL) and Ali Gaye. Add in Maason Smith, and the Tiger’s defensive front is the obvious team strength. 

Kayshon Boutte suffered a season-ending injury against Kentucky a year ago. He’s back and is a scoreboard changing talent. The preseason All-American and All-SEC receiver is the next special pass catcher in a program that has produced a multitude of pro’s. Also returning is TE/WR Jack Bech. His 43 receptions as a freshman in 2021 ranked third on the team. He accompanied Kelly to Media Days which says great deal about the true sophomore. 

Case Against

Projecting the 2022 Tigers is a difficult proposition due to high personnel and coaching turnover from a year ago. The Portal has given and taken away from a collection of talent that possessed numerous NFL prospects. This especially applies to the secondary. LSU is one of a few programs that self-identify as “DBU.” The Tigers return just two players that contributed last season and will rely upon the Portal to complete its depth chart. To add injury to insult, cornerback Eli Ricks transferred to LSU’s arch rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide. 

The starting quarterback remains to be unknown. That’s not a good feeling to have in July. Sixth year-senior Myles Brennan hasn’t played since 2020. Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels brings promise and production to the position after throwing for 2,380 yards and 10 scores last season.  Daniels will need to cut down on the turnovers to win the spot. Redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier has turned some heads and true freshman Walker Howard will also be in the mix. A source tells KSR that Nussmeier could win the job during preseason camp or during the season. 

Verdict 

LSU returns 5 starters. Five. With so much personnel turnover, it’s not easy projecting this team. The offensive line is a question mark and that’s a concern given the quarterback situation. The Tiger faithful won’t enjoy this statement, but 2022 could a rebuilding year for Kelly. Patience is not a shared virtue in Baton Rouge. 

LSU won’t be as good or as bad as the Pro Js predict here in Atlanta. The Tigers play in the SEC West. Scheduling is always going to be problematic. LSU has a six-game stretch that features games against Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Arkansas. Ouch. 

Too bad Kentucky got Ole Miss instead of LSU this season. I’d feel confident in the Cats going to Death Valley and coming out victorious. The absolute ceiling for the 2022 Tigers is 8-4, but 6-6 or maybe 7-5 feels more accurate. I’m confident that Kelly will return LSU to its proper place in the Southeastern Conference. But, year-one roster construction will be an ongoing process. It will take some time for his team to mesh. 

Will the Tiger faithful need to be patient with Kelly in year-one? We’ll see. Will one of the four quarterbacks separate from the pack to lead this team to wins in their plethora of tossup matchups? We’ll see. Again, lots of questions, very few definitive answers. 

What Does All This Mean for Kentucky?

Nothing. Not on the schedule and LSU has no chance to win the West. 

Head Coach’s Best Quote

How does Brian Kelly fit into the SEC?

“I’ve gotten to love where I’m at in Baton Rouge. I love the people. They love football. They love family. They love food. That fits me really well. I guess I should have been in the South all along.” 

Remember, for a free consultation from Morgan & Morgan, call DIAL POUND (#) LAW – That’s POUND L-A-W or 5-2-9 on your cell phone — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.