LSU football: 5 questions Brian Kelly must answer at 2023 SEC Media Days

Another season of LSU football is nearly here.

The Tigers will begin the 2023 season and their second year under coach Brian Kelly on Monday, when LSU helps kickoff 2023 SEC Media Days in Nashville.

Year 1 under Kelly was a success. The Tigers won 10 games, upset Alabama and won the SEC West. But what does Year 2 have in store? And what lingering questions should Tiger fans have for coach Brian Kelly heading into this season?

Here are five questions Kelly must answer at SEC Media Days on Monday.

Does LSU baseball and women's basketball's recent championships put more pressure on Kelly in Year 2?

LSU baseball and women's basketball both head into this upcoming school year as reigning national champions.

First, coach Kim Mulkey led the Tigers' women's basketball team on an improbable run through the NCAA Tournament that culminated in a 102-point outburst in the national championship game over Iowa. Then, just a few months later, coach Jay Johnson guided LSU baseball through Omaha and to its seventh national title in program history.

What does Johnson and Mulkey have in common, other than winning their first national championships at LSU? They did it in their second seasons in-charge.

So as Kelly enters his second campaign with the Tigers, it's fair to wonder if there's any extra pressure on him to match his colleagues' Year 2 triumphs.

How healthy will the Tigers be heading into preseason practices?

The theme of spring practices for LSU was injuries, as the Tigers were missing 13 players due to injury in the spring game to go along with 16 other scholarship players who had yet to join the team.

Maason Smith, Josh Williams, Duce Chestnut, Mason Taylor, Da'Shawn Womack and Mekhi Wingo were among the key contributors who were injured. The injuries this past spring limited what LSU could do and left it thin at various key positions, especially on the offensive line.

The Tigers can ill-afford to prepare for their season-opener against Florida State with a depleted roster. It's exactly why LSU fans will need to know the state of the roster heading into preseason practices.

What will the running backs room look like?

LSU will have a crowded running backs room this fall.

The Tigers brought back every running back from last year's squad while adding Notre Dame transfer Logan Diggs and freshmen Kaleb Jackson and Trey Holly. They also brought back Tre Bradford, who left the program during preseason practices last season.

However, not all of them may be ready to begin next year. John Emery sat out spring practices due to academic issues and Armoni Goodwin and Josh Williams were also absent with injuries.

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How is the cornerbacks room shaping up?

LSU remade its cornerbacks room from the transfer portal for a second consecutive offseason this winter, adding Chestnut from Syracuse, JK Johnson from Ohio State, Zy Alexander from Southeastern and Denver Harris from Texas A&M.

Johnson and Alexander were the Tigers' starting cornerbacks in the spring game. But the starting positions at both spots are far from sewn up with sophomore Laterrance Welch's excellent performance during the spring game and Chestnut not being able to compete at all.

Where is the 'air coming out of the tire' on LSU's roster?

In an interview with USA TODAY Sports Network, Kelly said that LSU is still another year away from becoming a true national championship contender.

“Year 2, the foundation is in place. I think there’s a really good confidence within the group. We’ve got good players," Kelly said. "There’s some holes. There’s a little air coming out of the tire here and there. I think we’ve kind of patched most of it, but I think Year 3 is probably the year where I’ll feel, in terms of building a program, we’ve had enough time to really put the pieces together.”

Kelly's comments raise the question: What are those holes? And what will need to be done to fix those issues to the point where this is no more air coming out of the tire?

Because for Mulkey and Johnson, the car was fixed in two years.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football: Brian Kelly, SEC Media Days 2023 questions