Everything LSU coach Brian Kelly said in his Monday press conference of Ole Miss week

LSU head coach Brian Kelly spoke with the media on Monday at his weekly press conference ahead of the Ole Miss matchup. Here’s everything the coach of the Tigers had to say.

“I was really pleased with the preparation of our football team going into a week where you’re off from the SEC. The things that are really important are how you prepare and playing to a standard. I thought, outside the first three and out, our offense was what it should be, and that was extremely efficient. I think we had five consecutive touchdowns leading into the second half. Our defense gave up, I think, 31 yards. So, what you’re looking for is a dominating performance in the first half, and we certainly got that. So, really pleased with the way our guys handled the game, the way they prepared, and then their performance certainly showed that.

“Now, we’re into the SEC. We know the opposition each week will certainly test us. But now you lean on your foundational principles. You lean on what your process is and how you go to work every day, your habits, the way you prepare. And at times you’re going to have to be leaning on guys that haven’t started. This tests your depth within your program; all those things will come into play as we move into the next couple of months.

“Ole Miss is certainly a rivalry game playing for the Magnolia Bowl Trophy. I think everybody knows this is a game that goes way back, and certainly the last couple of years, it was decided on the last plays of the game. Ole Miss is an outstanding football team. Coach Lane does a great job, and they have an established winning culture, certainly an offense that has put up incredible numbers offensively.

“Harrison, an outstanding wide receiver; they’ve got some veteran offensive linemen, and obviously efficient at what they do and how they do it. This is what they do, and it’s very similar week in and week out, the balance that they have in running and throwing the football. Defensively, Dottery at linebacker and Perkins at the edge. They’ve got an inside presence. They’ve got an outside presence, and they certainly have it at the linebacker who makes things happen for him. So, again, a great challenge for us, one that we’re looking forward to. We got to go on the road; anytime you go on the road in the SEC, it’s a great challenge.”

LSU Injury updates… “West Weeks ran yesterday; I think we got him at 90%, so I would say that he is probable for this game. Trey’Dez [Green] will play. He was pretty good in pregame, and then we felt like we could hold him back for another week. Caden Durham will be a day-to-day situation. He was better than we had first thought; doesn’t show these signs of a high ankle. He’s anxious to give it a shot and play, but we’ll monitor him throughout the week.

“Gabe Reliford has a subluxation of his shoulder, so he is out this week, and then we will determine whether surgery is necessary or he can play with it. We certainly want to respect the fact that with a defensive lineman, you want to make sure he’s healthy to pass rush, and if he can’t compete at the level he needs to, then we’ll look at the options that are in front of us, and surgery could be an option.”

On how much better he feels about his defense than the last time they went to Oxford… “You feel better about those games because you’re taking a defense that can stand up against the environment going on the road and all those things, and we’re a much more cohesive group. The roster’s better. The players are better. Those were good, tough kids that played hard for us, but we were a little short in some areas. I don’t know about all the points, but we got to score like we talked about last week. We can’t be scoring a touchdown or ten points. That’s not going to cut it in the SEC. So, continue to play at the level that we have defensively and then bring your offense up to the level that it needs to be to win games in the SEC.”

On who takes over for LSU OL DJ Chester with his first-half suspension for targeting… “It’s one that we have to adjust to this week. Braden Augustus went in there and did a solid job for us as the backup center. He’ll be called on to do that again. Carius Curne now steps into that rotating tackle position for us. We have enough depth inside with Paul and Cohen Echols, and then Ory Williams got a lot of play and did some really good things, so we just have to switch it up in the first half if we, in fact, have to go to a No. 2.”

On preparing for two quarterbacks… In some instances, it’d be like Texas A& M last year. Those are two different quarterbacks; one was a pro-style quarterback and one was certainly a dual threat that could run zone reads, do things of that nature, and it changes you dramatically. This week, both these quarterbacks are similar. Now they have different skill sets, but they can run the same offense with both of these players. So I’m not saying it’s easier. It’s hard. You’ve got two really good players, but it’s not as if one is a pro-style quarterback and is not going to run, and the other one is simply a dual threat. They’re both very similar.”

On how effective Ole Miss is with running tempo… “Their tempo is the best in the league, so you have to get lined up, and in some instances, it keeps you from doing too much. You got to get your cleats in the ground. You’ve got to be fundamentally sound.”

On Lane Kiffin as a play-caller… “Lane does a great job adapting to what’s going on in the game itself. I think, more than anything else, you can plan for things to happen, but then you have to be able to prepare for what’s the next step, and he’s obviously very experienced at what he does. During the game, he can adjust as he sees that he needs to.”

On DJ Chester starting the second half at right tackle and if there’s a competition between he and Weston Davis… “That position’s not up for grabs. Weston Davis has done a really good job. He needed a break. We needed to get him back to where he needs to be as one of the five guys working together. So it was a good learning experience for him, but more importantly, we wanted to get DJ some more tackle reps. As you know, he’s gotten plenty of center reps. He started 13 games for us last year. So this was more of an opportunity to get him in the game and get some more tackle reps because, as referenced earlier, he’s our first guy in at any one of those five positions.”

On LSU running back room and Ju’Juan Johnson stepping up if Durham can’t play… “I think he did a great job. I think Caden will be in the mix, provided he’s healthy, and early indications are that he’s going to be able to play. We’ll see how it goes during the week. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but we got a good report on him yesterday. And then this morning, when we moved them around, it was positive. So you’ll have both those guys, and I thought Kaleb Jackson probably had his best game of the year in terms of seeing things, hitting them, playing physical, catching the ball out of the backfield. He was outstanding on the times that we had some two-back runs in there, leading as well. So I still think we have those three, and then we keep bringing Harlem along as he continues to grow within the offense. So, I don’t think we go into the game shorthanded in any respect.”

On Blake Baker and Lane Kiffin facing off… “I think we’re at that point that we know each other very well. I mean, this is the fourth time we’ve played against each other. Blake’s done it when he was at Missouri too. So, there’s no tricks really. It’s not like, oh, I never saw that coming.

“When you get down to it, it’s the team that really is executing at the highest level and doing the little things the right way. They’re going to get theirs. There’s no question that’s that’s a great offense. But I think that’s played a little bit too much, cause they know each other so well and they know what to expect. And both of them, on offense and defense, know how to make the appropriate adjustments.”

On LSU offense playing free… “It’s kind of going back to what I said earlier is that I want our teams not to be so scripted. I thought we got a little scripted offensively to the point where it was so planned out and then the game starts and then you got to adapt and adjust. So I think as you talk about the offensive structure, I think it’s continually find ways to run the ball and have a running game, and then let Garrett Nussmeier do what he does, and he loves to throw the football down the field.

“I think being a little bit more aggressive on fourth down, we had the three fourth down situations; from my perspective, and talking to our players, they just felt better about how we attack things, and we’ll have to continue to do that moving forward.”

On LSU DE Patrick Payton affecting the game more than the stat sheet shows… “We were just talking about his unselfishness. He’s not out there looking for sacks. He’s out there playing the defense, and that’s gonna serve him well down the line when NFL teams start to really look at his effectiveness. He’s been really effective as being one eleventh of that defense. We’ve been really good because those guys, not just him, but Jack and certainly Jamari, who had a really good game Saturday, they have done their jobs and not gone outside the lines to try to get individual statistics. I’m really proud of all of them.

“I think you recruit somebody, and you see him on film and you see the things that you really like about him. I’m not surprised, after getting the chance to know him since he’s been here, that he’s a guy that’s gonna do the things for your team first. And you don’t know that until you get a chance to know him. But I thought we did a really good job of vetting the players that we brought in.”

On LSU DE Dylan Carpenter playing more against Southeastern and other guys too… “Here’s a guy that has waited for his opportunity. We went into the portal and took some guys, and he just kept working hard every day. It’s great to see those kinds of stories with a kid from the state that had some success on Saturday, and he played well. I think he’s built trust with our defensive staff and everybody, including myself, that we can put him in the game, and he’s gonna be a good, solid player for us.

“I think if you look across the board, you have a number of guys that have had to be selfless. The first guy that comes to mind is Chris Hilton. He goes out there and plays his tail off. He’s blocking; he’s doing all the things. He could easily say, ‘What about mine? Why am I not getting mine?’ And certainly he wants the ball; he’s a competitor. If he didn’t want the ball, I’d be worried about that. But he does, but he’s a teammate first, and that’s why he’s a leader of our football team. He would be another great example.”

On LSU’s three permanent opponents and Arkansas replacing Alabama… “I’m fine with the way it’s set up because within four years you’re gonna play them home and away. You might not get them every year, but you’re gonna get them enough where it continues to take the big game approach to playing Alabama. So, the way the schedule’s set up, I think I feel really good about what it looks like and all the teams that we’re gonna get a chance to play in the SEC.”

Is there a value in slowing the ball down when LSU is on offense… “No, I don’t think so. I think we’re built a lot like we were last year. We’re developing the continuity within the offensive line, but we’ve got weapons on the outside. The running backs are the same. I think the two tight end situation that we have is obviously equal in some respects to last year. So I think we’re very similar to last year in that sense. We just can’t turn the ball over. We can’t have the three and outs that we’ve had. We’ve got to maintain possession of the football.

“Defensively, I think they know what to expect. It’s going to be uptempo. We’re going to have to defend against big plays, and we’re going to have to get off the field on third down.”

On LSU safeties coach Jake Olsen and his room… Jake has done a great job since he’s been here. Again, we’re getting more experienced and veteran players on the field. And from a coaching standpoint, let’s not overrate this. We’ve got better players, and those kids played hard for us last year. But these are really good players, and so Blake’s a better defensive coordinator. Kevin Peoples is a better edge coach.

“We’re all better. I’m a better coach because we haven’t lost a game. All of these things have to do with your players, who ultimately are playing the game. Now we’re going to have a process for them, and we’re going to coach them and teach them. We’re tackling so much better, and obviously that’s something that we work on. So I don’t want to say it’s all the players, and the coaches have nothing to do with it, but you start there, and then you have an expectation to put those kids in a good position.

On how LSU acquired the group of defensive players… “Well, you need resources, and our fan base rallied. We had really good support that allowed us to be competitive in what is now an NIL marketplace, if you will. You need the resources to be able to go out to do that. We built a front office that identified the right talent and was effective in doing so. Then we closed the deal with the ability to have the resources necessary to attract that caliber player.

“So, it’s a number of things. It’s having a fan base, a donor base. It’s having a front office and then creating an environment here at LSU, and using the brand of LSU and what it can do. I think all of those things came together as one to get to where we are with this roster.”

With LSU DE Gabe Reliford out vs. Ole Miss… “Dylan played quite a bit. We’re excited about Dylan. We’ll take a look at CJ [Jackson] and Kolaj [Cobbins]. They’re both ready to play for us as well. We’ll take a look at Damian Shanklin. We think we have some really good options for that fourth position. We’ll miss Gabe this week, certainly until we decide what his fate is moving forward relative to the shoulder. But we feel really good that we’re going to be able to find that fourth guy through all the guys that I just mentioned.”

On LSU OL Carius Curne… “He’s an exceptional physical specimen, but we have to be able to turn that into a technically sound offensive lineman, and he’s made really good progress. I think we all know that I’m willing to play freshmen at that position. We did it in 2022. It’s just really difficult when you’re asking somebody to go in and play a position at this level for the first time; there’s going to be a learning curve. I like what he’s doing. I like the maturity that he’s showing, and the consistency. I still think you’re going to see him playing in some capacity, and he’s got to be prepared to do so.”

On Nussmeier’s health and performance compared to previous three games… “You saw him play versus the other teams, and you saw him [Saturday] night; I think you could see a difference in what he was doing. He was much more confident throwing the football. He saw opportunities to run, he took it. I thought his escape out of the pocket, where he threw the touchdown pass, was outstanding. Those are the things that we’re looking for from him, giving him the opportunity to push the ball down the field. He’s highly accurate in throwing the ball down the field.

“There are a couple of things we can clean up with him, and I think that’s good for him. I think it’s good that there’s a couple. He can continue to play better, but it’s good to see him back to where he had been prior to the year. I know he’s feeling really comfortable right now.”

Any adjustments or challenges to afternoon kick… “I think that it’s not an easy trip, and I told our team that last week, actually when we were talking about the schedule moving forward. You get to Tupelo, and then you’re still an hour bus ride, so you got to handle it. You got to mentally lock in and handle that you’ve got a road trip and don’t be distracted by it. It is what it is. Get your mind right about that and be prepared. But I don’t think the 2:30 start is really something that’s out of our comfort zone. We practice every time right around that.”