On3 Roundtable: Reacting to All-SEC talent Brian Kelly has developed

When you look at the preseason All-SEC teams, you see LSU players littered throughout. Especially on the first team, where the Tigers have six selections — three on each side. That’s not something anyone would have guessed Brian Kelly would be able to do given the roster he inherited in 2022.

Fortunately for those in Baton Rouge, Kelly has been able to add talent over the past two offseasons. Not just through recruiting but also via the NCAA transfer portal.

“Look, six is a huge number including three on each side of the ball,” Shea Dixon of On3’s The Bengal Tiger said when joining the On3 Roundtable. “They had a lot of guys scattered throughout the second and third-team. So, it speaks to the talent… Just on the first team alone, you see Brian Kelly has had a big hand in either playing true freshman or going and getting transfers who end up having a big impact on the team.”

Sure, Malik Nabers and Maason Smith were part of the program when Kelly arrived. Nabers wound up being LSU’s leading receiver while Smith suffered an injury against Florida State in the season opener. Both were brought in by Ed Orgeron and expected to be huge contributors.

But four other first-team members have been developed into stars by the head coach. None better than two guys heading into their sophomore season after getting onto the field early as freshmen and making an impact.

“When you look at the first team alone, a lot of it has Brian Kelly’s fingerprints on it,” Dixon said. “Will Campbell, who they put as the starting left tackle as a true freshman. Harold Perkins was a true freshman breakout player. Guys like that were really brought along by Brian Kelly and this staff in Year One.”

How Kelly really has LSU moving though is through the portal. Not only was he able to acquire talent to help in 2022 but they return for another season. When you have guys potentially skipping out on the NFL, only to come back and be named preseason All-SEC first-team, it’s a great recruiting effort.

“Then you look at some of the headliners,” Dixon began. “Jayden Daniels, the quarterback. He was a transfer that they went and got. Mekhi Wingo as one of the top defensive lineman in the SEC. He was a transfer that they went and got.”

Even before looking at the results and last year’s SEC West title, Kelly has done a great job turning the roster around. It’s easy to forget where it sat after the 2021 season.

“It speaks to the pulse of the roster, where he has it at, where they needed to fill holes,” Dixon said. “And now we see LSU’s roster continue to get better and better. Remember, it wasn’t long ago they had 38 scholarship players on roster.”