Greg McElroy says LSU has improved at ‘almost every position’
Despite surprising the college football world by turning in a 10-win season in Year 1, coach Brian Kelly didn’t rest on his laurels in his second offseason at LSU.
This team had some losses, but Kelly managed to plug many of them with experienced transfer additions. Pair the newcomers with a strong returning core, and you have a team that seems poised to make another leap.
On his YouTube show, college football analyst Greg McElroy said he thinks the Tigers have improved or at least maintained at nearly every spot on the field.
“This year, you could actually make a strong argument that they have improved or maintained almost every position,” McElroy said, according to On3. “I’m cautiously optimistic that Jayden Daniels is going to be better this year. I’m really optimistic about the depth that they have at running back, they can go five deep at that position and probably not miss a beat.”
Beyond Daniels, McElroy praised LSU’s offensive unit as a whole, particularly the receivers and returning offensive tackles in Will Campbell and Emery Jones.
“I think that might be even though Kayshon Boutte was a great talent, I think his presence last year was difficult for the coaching staff to get him to buy in to do what he needed to do,” McElroy said. “So his departure might be addition by subtraction. Now, in comes Malik Nabers, in comes Kyren Lacey, Mason Taylor at tight end is going to continue to get better, and they have other weapons waiting in the wings to take the next step at wide receiver.
“Offensive line, you had two bookends true freshmen. Now they’re going into year number two. They bring in a ton of talented players, not just in the recruiting process but in the transfer portal as well.”
McElroy is a bit skeptical that the talent will result in a significant difference in how the Tigers finish this fall, but he thinks another 10-win season is in reach.
“This team feels ready to roll,” he said. “Now, will they ultimately be as good as they were last year? I think they will. Will their win-loss record reflect it? That’s what we need to figure out. Last year 10-4, great breakthrough season. I think they have every bit of a chance to get to 10 wins yet again, but getting to the SEC Championship Game might be very difficult for Brian Kelly and co.
“Can’t wait to see what he does in year No. 2. If we’re grading year one performance, though: A++ for the head coach of the LSU Tigers.”
LSU will hope to build upon last season’s success when it kicks off the 2023 season against Florida State next month in Orlando.
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