Brian Kelly opens up on LSU's approach to Transfer Portal

One year ago, LSU head coach Brian Kelly took more transfer portal players than high school prospects.

It was an effort to rebuild a roster that had been decimated on the scholarship front. Kelly and the Tigers signed 15 high school prospects, but welcomed in more than 20 transfers when combining scholarship and preferred walk-on additions.

This time around, the approach will be different.

On Monday, the NCAA Transfer Portal opened, which marks the start of a 45-day window that allows student-athletes regardless of classification to enter the portal and make contact with other programs.

The Tigers entered the month of December with 23 verbal commitments from high school prospects, and that number is expected to grow between the Early Signing Period this month and the traditional Signing Day on the first Wednesday in February.

That said, LSU will still be active in the portal – just not as active as when Kelly first took the job and needed to reshape the entire roster.

Brian Kelly doubles down on his approach

Kelly had already made it clear as to the vision he had for the transfer portal.

Traits. Fit. Louisiana connections. All would be considered a plus.

“They have got to be the right fit first,” Kelly said on Sunday. “They have to recognize the value of an education from LSU. They have to have the right traits. We are not just open for business. We’re not just putting a sign up saying, hey, we are going to take whoever. They have to be the right fit. I prefer that they are from the State of Louisiana if we can find them. And then we are going to address needs based upon how that freshman class marries into it by the particular needs by position class.

“So we are not going to overload a particular position group. In other words, if we have got three or four wide receivers that are freshmen coming in, you may not see a heavy influence in the portal in that position.”

Building the roster through development

When Kelly took over at LSU, he went heavy on portal additions to land both current starters and add to the depth at a number of positions.

Now, the focus turns to development, which begins by leaning heavily on the high school signees he’s brought into the program.

“We are going to develop based upon our freshman class, too” Kelly said. “So we are doing this at the same time, and also allowing our program to be younger, too. We want to bring both of these along. We don’t always want to be a turn-it-over program where we are bringing in transfers and turning the program over.

“So we need to grow and you’ve got to do that by recruiting freshmen and giving them the opportunity to step on the field and develop. And you can’t do that if you keep bringing in freshmen at one position and then bringing a portal guy who has got one year and putting it in front of him.”

There’s plenty on LSU’s plate … and not much time

How’s this for a juggling act.

Given LSU won the SEC West and played in the SEC Championship this past weekend, the Tigers weren’t able to get on the road to recruit or host official visitors.

That means the Tigers will have to squeeze both the aforementioned into a window that runs from December 5 to December 19.

With the transfer portal window running for the next 45 days, Kelly and the staff will have to balance both high school recruiting with the transfer portal – including both players departing and players being targeted.

“It’s a really tight calendar,” Kelly said. “The portal opens on Monday. Decisions have to be made here quickly relative to who is going in. You’re up against it with visits, the amount of visits that you have.

“So this is going to be a very interesting couple of weeks here. You know, you’re going to have to be very — very calculating. You’re going to have to make some really tough decisions on your roster, and they are going to be difficult ones. And I think that that’s what these next couple of weeks are going to really look like.”

Don’t forget Transfer Portal Window No. 2

While the first portal window runs for 45 days between the months of December and January, it won’t serve as the lone time this offseason that players are able to enter.

After spring practices conclude, a second portal window will run from May 1-15.

For Kelly, the latter window is a chance to put the final touches on the current roster before the Tigers turn to summer workouts.

“I think everybody has their own business plan,” Kelly said. “I think how we are using it is internally, the second window is much more about how our guys develop. We are giving them an opportunity to develop and do the right things. Making sure they are going to class. Making good choices. Making good decisions. Doing it the right way in the weight room. Developing in the manner that we expect them to.

“And if not, then that portal opens up in May.”