Brian Kelly addresses state of LSU quarterback room
Coming into the 2023 season, LSU has one of the most stable quarterback situations in the SEC. It’s a stark difference for head coach Brian Kelly, who entered last season with some major questions to manage at the position.
With starting quarterback Jayden Daniels in place and a talented backup in Garrett Nussmeier, Kelly wants to spend the rest of Fall Camp working to keep developing LSU’s quarterbacks.
“We really think that it’s important to develop all of our quarterbacks at all times,” Brian Kelly said. “I think that’s a given and sometimes you go to camp and you start to work on gameplan too quickly.”
Ahead of the 2022 season, Kelly brought Daniels into LSU as a transfer. He ultimately won the job and his improvement under quarterback coach Joe Sloan was obvious throughout the season.
“I think we’ve done a really good job with Daniels and Nussmeier and continued to work, and I think Joe’s done a really nice job of staying focused on their technical development and I like where they’ve gone in terms of that development at the quarterback position,” Kelly continued.
Interestingly, Brian Kelly also wants Rickie Collins, a freshman quarterback on the team, to show a lot of improvement as quickly as possible despite being the third quarterback on the roster.
“And Rickie’s got to continue to develop because kind of what you said, when you only have three quarterbacks on scholarship, that third quarterback is so crucial for you in its development,” he said. “So, I’d say that I’m really pleased with the development of Daniels and Nussmeier and Rickie is kind of — we’re really pushing him hard to continue his trajectory because when you have just three, he’s in the mix, right? I mean, so these next five days are going to be really big for him.”
Mike Denbrock on Jayden Daniels being comfortable
LSU Tigers offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has noticed Jayden Daniels becoming more comfortable within the offense. This comfort should create more opportunities for Daniels in the offense.
“Yeah, I just think, you know, year two allows him a comfort level from a knowledge standpoint — from a knowledge of, not only offense but knowledge of personnel, where he feels like he can let it rip a little bit more,” Denbrock said.
“And we continue to encourage him to do that more and more and more, and I think he’s taken it upon himself as much as anything to play that way and be aggressive and make sure that he’s given opportunities where they’re needed — and being smart with the football at the same time.”