LSU RB Josh Williams is back for the Tigers

With the SEC Championship game set for Saturday in Atlanta, there’s good news in for LSU’s offense.

Not only will quarterback Jayden Daniels play after suffering an ankle injury, but the team’s starting running back will be back for the first time in three games.

Josh Williams, who was injured at the end of the Arkansas game and missed both the win over UAB and the loss at Texas A&M, is set to return to the field on Saturday when the Tigers face off against Georgia.

“I was really pleased with Josh (at practice),” Kelly said. “I think he looked like himself, finally. You know, this is an injury that takes some time, because of the way he runs. He’s such a physical runner and he plays so hard. His physical exertion and effort is one where he’s not a guy that’s going to go at less than 100%.

“(Wednesday) was really the first time where I felt like, ‘OK, we’ve got Josh back to where he needs to be, to be confident and effective.’”

Williams has rushed for 481 yards and six touchdowns this season. With Armoni Goodwin out for the season with a knee injury, LSU turned to both John Emery and Noah Cain while Williams was sidelined.

Emery has rushed for 324 yards and five touchdowns on the year, while Cain has logged 340 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

Brian Kelly’s thoughts on facing 12-0 Georgia

LSU has already faced a handful of Top 10 teams this season, and the Tigers got wins over the likes of Alabama and Ole Miss while suffering a home loss to Tennessee.

Next up: 12-0 Georgia.

The Bulldogs won the National Championship a year ago, and now head coach Kirby Smart and UGA are marching towards a potential SEC Championship game win to keep the undefeated season alive.

On Thursday, Kelly shared some final thoughts after prepping this week for the nation’s No. 1 team.

“They’re tough-minded, they play physical, they play down hill, and they play three down, four down, which we’ve obviously seen a lot of it,” Kelly said. “You’ve got to make sure you minimize the negative plays against a defense like this.

“You could get into some bad plays and now you’re behind the chains, they get you in third down, now there’s a lot of things they can do. So first and second down and eliminating negative plays against this defense in particular is really big.”

Kirby Smart weighs in on Kelly, LSU’s season

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is facing Brian Kelly for the first time since he arrived in the SEC, but it won’t be the first meetup between the two.

“I’ve always had respect for Brian Kelly’s teams, going way back to when we played him at Notre Dame. They had very high quality preparation, coaching staff,” Smart said. “They do a great job in all areas. He’s very organized. He has a process. He knows how to run a program.”

As for LSU’s impressive run to the SEC Championship in Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge, Smart said he’s seen a team that leans heavily on true freshmen and transfers grow in a big way since the Week 1 loss to Florida State.

“They’ve gotten better throughout from the start of the season until now. I know their quarterback has gotten better. They do a tremendous job growing young players,” Smart said of Kelly’s roster. “I think everybody across the SEC? There’s youth everywhere. By this time of year, they’re no longer young. They have two tackles that are no longer freshmen. They’ve played in really big games. They’ve blocked the best of the best in our league. They’re not really freshmen anymore.

“So, LSU has gotten better consistently. That’s what you’re always trying to do to win an SEC Championship is ascend and get better as you go along. Sometimes that’s easier said than done. I feel like LSU’s done that.”