LSU head football coach Brian Kelly going back on prior promise with Tigers’ offseason recruiting strategy
LSU head football coach Brian Kelly claimed last offseason that he wasn’t buying players. As On3’s Andy Staples points out, that recruiting strategy has been flipped this cycle. LSU has the No. 1 transfer portal class thus far from spending on players.
“…the Tigers have been players in the transfer portal. Kelly got lampooned last offseason for saying he doesn’t ‘buy players’ when asked about LSU’s inaction in the spring portal. What he meant was the particular players available probably weren’t worth the price tag,” Staples wrote.
“Kelly and company are absolutely buying players this offseason, and they’re attacking positions of need. They grabbed cornerback Mansoor Delane from Virginia Tech. They grabbed edge rushers Jimari Butler (Nebraska), Patrick Payton (Florida State) and Jack Pyburn (Florida). They grabbed receivers Barrion Brown (Kentucky) and Nic Anderson (Oklahoma).
“The Tigers seem serious about upgrading the roster, and Kelly has shown through the years that when the talent is close, he tends to win.”
Staples listed Kelly as the second-likeliest head coach to return to the College Football Playoff. Kelly was behind Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer but ahead of USC’s Lincoln Riley and Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell.
Kelly recently spoke out on the Tigers’ transfer portal success being a direct result of the donor base’s financial support.
“From a fan perspective, I mean a grassroots support, not our huge donors, our donors have stepped up as well,” Kelly said, per The Daily Advertiser. “Those fans that come to see the games, those that follow LSU football, whether it’s been $5, $50 or $500 dollars, we’re seeing those kinds of contributions that we hadn’t seen in the past.
“It’s put us in a position where we can be aggressive on anybody that comes into the portal. That simply wasn’t the case before. I’m not saying this particular ‘match’ did that but I think it really sent a message to everybody that this is where we are today.
“And if we want to be where we all want to be in terms of putting our roster together, we all have to step up. It started with me and I think our fan base responded equally.”
Kelly had many doubters, but by putting his money where his mouth is and doing the leg work a head coach has to do in the NIL era, he’s turning them into believers. LSU may be the hottest team in the SEC on the recruiting trail right now.
And that’s somehow after losing 5-star QB Bryce Underwood to Michigan. Though maybe it’s because of it.
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