Quick Hitters: Brian Kelly's Monday press conference

LSU moved to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play with a win over Arkansas this past weekend.

Now, the Tigers head back on the road to take on Ole Miss on Saturday, Sep. 30. Kickoff time is set for 5 p.m. CT.

Following the three-point win over the Razorbacks, LSU head coach Brian Kelly met with the local media on Monday for his weekly press conference.

Here are some takeaways on how Kelly felt the Tigers fared against Arkansas, thoughts on defensive struggles, personnel adjustments and more.

*** Kelly said Arkansas was well-prepared with what they wanted to call on offense and defense. LSU settled in on offense and got it rolling, but the Arkansas defense certainly kept delivering blows to the LSU offense. He felt like after they gave up the fake FG, the defense buckling in and not giving up the TD was one of the critical moments he saw when reviewing the film. That forced Arkansas to use two timeouts and still only got 3 points. He felt that was a pivotal point for the defense, as was Major Burns bringing down Arkansas TE Luke Hasz at the one-yard line and it ultimately leading to an early FG, but added that there were tons of self-inflicted wounds that side of the ball that has to be cleaned up this week.

*** Kelly said there aren’t many other guys on defense that they feel like could make a big impact and haven’t been given a chance. He said it’s going to be more about tweaks to get guys in the right position. But the rotation of guys you’ve seen are who they like, and from there they are going to start playing some of the rotational guys more than they have been (I take that to mean Jefferson, Womack, Swinson, etc.)

*** He thinks the defense is tough and resilient, and the issues with Arkansas were similar to the FSU game where they started to worry about too many things other than their assignment, technique, etc.

*** They went down on FSU and didn’t get back into the game in the Week 1 blowout. Kelly said this past week, they got down double-digits and the guys buckled in and didn’t let up. That was important to him to see that the fight was there and they didn’t let the slow start derail them.

*** On clock management, Kelly said they were not planning to score a TD at the end. They thought about using a centering play to center up the FG, but they felt more comfortable with the shotgun snap because that’s what they are doing most of the time. He felt like the strategy with the timeouts and decision to toss it out of the end zone to kill a little more time was the right one and they were comfortable with it being only five or so seconds left on the clock.

*** Kelly liked seeing Jayden Daniels be able to center himself and get into a rhythm after a slow start. A year ago, he started slow in games like Auburn and Arkansas and it lasted four quarters. This time, Kelly said Daniels has the experience in those spots to know how to get back to basics, get himself in a rhythm and then build momentum from there. With a minute left before halftime, Daniels was 7-for-15 passing for under 100 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. By game’s end, he ends up winning the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. The ability to shake off any poor play is what Kelly said can make Daniels the elite QB he is.

*** He’s liked the combo blocks from the OL and feels like the RBs have run hard with intent. They are putting their pads down and getting 4-5-6 yards. Obviously Logan Diggs and Kaleb Jackson have both done that. Then he set the WRs are blocking well which can open other big runs for them.

*** Kelly said there’s not anyone on the injury report that is listed as anything but probable to play vs. Ole Miss this weekend. LB Omar Speights had been doubtful when he missed the Arkansas game this past weekend. Sounds like they have a chance to get everyone out there this weekend.

*** Greg Brooks is recovering at the hospital. The doctors like what they have seen so far, per Kelly. He said it’s a long road, but Brooks is on the right path. Kelly said he will be at the hospital to see Brooks later today.

*** Jordan Jefferson will play some nose tackle and get looks in three-down fronts, Kelly said. After seeing what he’s looked like so far, Kelly said he’s a guy that needs more reps because he’s making an impact.

*** The RB room has “showed itself the way I talked about”, Kelly said. That’s in reference to going with the guy who gets the hot hand. Logan Diggs has been that guy the past couple weeks. Kelly said there will still be a rotation, which is going to include Josh Williams and Kaleb Jackson. We also saw John Emery for a couple plays. Then they still have Noah Cain and Armoni Goodwin and Tre Bradford as veterans, so there are options.

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