What Brian Kelly said on Monday, what it means for LSU vs FSU

On Monday afternoon, LSU’s Brian Kelly took the podium with kickoff against Florida State just six days away. In the 30 minute press conference he faced questions about seemingly every aspect of his team and their preparation for Florida State.

Here are four quotes that stood out among the rest and what it means for the Tigers as they prepare for the Seminoles with kickoff on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

You can watch the full press conference here.

Facing Jared Verse…

“You have to gameplan for a player like [Jared Verse]. In your offensive structure, you’re thinking about where he’s lined up, are we sliding that way? Do we have to motion? There’s a lot more that goes into just calling a play. You have to be more specific. You’re going to lose five or six plays on average this year with the clock running after first downs and so you have to be more specific to find a Jared Verse so he doesn’t ruin a play, then that’s what we’re going to have to do. When we get into games where there are game wreckers, you’re going to have to slow things down.”

What it means…

Verse is one of the best defensive ends in the country and was a major thorn in LSU’s side last year. Fortunately the Tigers are in a much better position on the offensive line with five returning starters including Will Campbell and Emery Jones who started a majority of last season at tackle. There were signs that freshman Zalance Heard was pushing for a starting spot, so we’ll have to wait and see how the lineup and rotations shake out up front.

As for Verse, Kelly makes it clear that there’s a lot that goes into preparing for a player of his talent level. The offensive will have to fan his direction, as he continues to move from left to right and between gaps. 

Sage Ryan’s role

“He’s going to be versatile. He’s fine. It was a stinger but it cleared up and he was able to get back to practice the next day. We are going to use him both at the nickel and corner positions. He’s been cross trained. A lot of the technical work has been at corner because he knows the nickel position really well. He’s one of our fastest players. He can run, he’s smart and he can tackle in space. He’s going to play to the field and he gives us some great flexibility.”

What it means…

Kelly didn’t give great confidence that Ryan would be the starting cornerback opposite of Zy Alexander, instead saying he’s versatile. I assume that means Ryan and Duce Chestnut will both get reps at cornerback with Ryan rotating in at nickel as well with Greg Brooks as a player who bounces comfortably between nickel and safety. If you were looking for answers regarding LSU’s secondary heading into week one, I’m afraid you aren’t getting much this week. A big reason for the perceived ambiguity is because there just aren’t answers to give. You can look at that as a good or a bad thing, but LSU has six defensive backs they trust right now (Burns, Sam, Brooks, Alexander, Ryan, Chestnut), and most of those can move between positions and be used in different packages depending on the situation.

Jayden Daniels’ aggression

“With Jayden, what we’ve tried to do in that developmental process is in 7-on-7, every throw is fourth down, so you have one chance here and last year every throw was first and ten. It was checkdown, it was look for the easiest completion. Throw a back shoulder to the tight end even if he’s covered. Push the ball down vertically. Let’s go make a play down the field and I think that development in his mindset and the way he attacks things is where we’ve seen that growth.”

What it means…

I’m glad the season is almost here so we can stop speculating on what Daniels is going to look like and I’m sure Kelly is as well. This is another example of how they’ve tried to force Daniels into looking down field and throwing the ball deep and I love the approach from the staff. Kelly was about as animated as i’ve seen him at any point this season when discussing the topic and it’s clear he wants Daniels to be more dynamic with his arm this season.

Harold Perkins’ pass rushing

“We’re going to be in really good shape internally. Maason just gives you a dominating presence, but we feel good about the middle of our defense. Harold is going to be able to impact the game with everything we’re going to do with him. He’s going to be moving around. He’s not just going to be at inside linebacker. You’re going to have to find him and you’re going to have to account for him.”

What it means…

Perkins will move from inside to the edge throughout the game depending on the down and distance and overall situation within the game. Nothing new there. Kelly said he didn’t think losing Smith was a big loss despite calling him a “dominating presence”, which sounds contradictory, so we’ll have to see how much of an impact it makes. I maintain pass rush will have to be priority for LSU entering this game, so we’ll see how Perkins is used.