Everything Brian Kelly said on the SEC teleconference before facing Florida

Each week the SEC holds a teleconference for all 16 head coaches in the league. Brian Kelly took his turn Wednesday to address LSU’s win over Louisiana Tech, the Tigers’ conference opener against Florida and more.

Here’s everything Kelly said on the SEC Teleconference.

Brian Kelly’s opening statement

BRIAN KELLY: “Certainly, playing at Tiger Stadium against an SEC opponent gives us the opportunity to really showcase our team – and I know our guys are excited about it. They didn’t feel like they played to their standards last week, but still dominated the game in every fashion. So now it’s an opportunity for them to be the elite performers that we believe they are. They get that opportunity now to prove it in Tiger Stadium Saturday night against a team that’s going to be extremely hungry. This is a great rivalry that goes way back. Both teams play this game with a passion that is unlike others, and so it will be exciting in Tiger Stadium on Saturday. Our guys know there’s a great challenge in front of them, and their want and desire is to go 1-and-0. That means this week their preparation has to be on point, focused and recognizing the opponent and the challenge in front of us.”

On the offense’s lack of efficiency through two games:

BRIAN KELLY: “I don’t have an answer to your question, because I don’t know that. This a situation that requires a whole lot of thinking about. We lost some offensive linemen. We’re certainly building a relationship with our receivers. This is what it looks like as you build continuity within your offensive structure. So we’re not pressing any alarm bells. It’s early in the season. Will we get better? Do we need to get better? Absolutely. But this is a process that we were committed to and knew that there was going to be some development that would need to take place. Again, we went on the road and beat the No. 5 team in the country by handling the football, taking great care of it. I know the splash is 50, 60 points a game. But to me, at the end of the day, is winning football games, and we’re 2-0 and we know we need to play better offensively. But we all knew that this was going to be a process for us.”

On the advantage of playing a night game at Tiger Stadium:

BRIAN KELLY: “Not to, be thinking about this too much, but in my tenure, we’re 20-2. The expectation is to play great football, at home in particular. That’s the standard. And so our guys love playing at Tiger Stadium. We’re going to have to against the team that’s going to come in poised and ready to play.”

On there only being one portal window:

BRIAN KELLY: “We’re in support of the new portal window to a man in the SEC and I’ve talked to many that believe across the country, this is the progress that we need to make. I want to get my roster set. Now, I know there’s probably 12 or 16 teams that might be in the playoffs at that time. I’m sorry, there’s no crying on the yacht. I mean, we got to get this thing set, and it’s best positioned at this time to allow us to set our rosters moving forward.”

On Sydir Mitchell being removed from the roster:

BRIAN KELLY: “Look, there are standards, right? I mean, I can confirm that he is no longer on the roster, but we have standards that need to be met, and those standards weren’t met. Like any business or organization, you have workplace standards, and so those standards weren’t met. And really, that’s all I’m going to talk about, relative to Sydir, because he’s no longer with us.”

On injured center Braelin Moore:

BRIAN KELLY: “I think we have him listed as probable. If not, I’ll double check. Maybe he’s questionable, but he did practice yesterday, and we expect him to practice today.”

On TE Trey’Dez Green possibly being out and how that impacts red zone offense:

BRIAN KELLY: “I think you have to have plans, right, for him and not having him. But you know, each week is a different look in the red zone. Defenses change dramatically as you get into the shorter field. So Florida plays a little bit different than than Louisiana Tech played, and actually different than Clemson. So you carry a package that is specific to the high percentages of what you’re going to see down there. So each and every week, you have to be flexible. There are some weeks that Trey’Dez going to get a lot of targets down there, and there’s some that he may not get any because he’s bracketed. So I think going in, when you’re examining your red zone, as much as you’d just like to throw a fade out there, sometimes you don’t get those opportunities.”

On the injury status of OL Solomon Thomas:

BRIAN KELLY: “He’s making good progress. He’s he’s out of the boot, he’s moving around. I think he’s probably, you know, a few weeks from, you know, being in a position where he can take reps, but, but I think that’s still down the road a bit. Again, I think you know he’s been good in terms of making sure that he’s doing everything necessary to to get himself physically ready to compete.”

On WR Zavion Thomas’ willingness to play multiple spots:

BRIAN KELLY: “I think you can probably put it in the perspective of who were the game captains, and he was one of our game captains, and it was because of his selflessness in doing whatever we asked him to do. And that’s the kind of player he’s been. He has brought that kind of mindset and attitude to everything we’ve asked him to do. He’s been a great teammate.”