Opinion: Brian Kelly’s Louisiana recruiting earns stamp of approval
I have never been Brian Kelly’s biggest defender nor his biggest critic.
I’ve always said he is a competent coach who will win a handful of football games wherever he is. He isn’t Nick Saban, but then again, who is?
I think too much was made about how Kelly fit at LSU. Lincoln Riley is from Lubbock, Texas, and nobody made a fuss when he ended up in Southern California.
We also watched Saban and Les Miles win championships at LSU. Neither one of those guys screams Louisiana. If you win football games, people don’t really care about where you’re from, and Kelly has won a lot of football games.
There were questions on how he’d fare recruiting Louisiana. Some of that was because there was all that noise about the culture fit, and some of it was because he’s never been seen as an ace recruiter.
The first few months were iffy. It was a challenge to gain momentum with recruits during the transition. LSU watched as other schools made progress with top recruits like Derek Williams and Tackett Curtis. Longtime commit Omarion Miller flipped and followed Mickey Joseph to Nebraska.
LSU was having success nationally, but I wanted to see more success in Louisiana. Over the last month or so, Kelly has eased any criticism I had on that front.
LSU pulled in commitments from Louisiana prospects OT Tyree Adams and RB Kaleb Jackson.
The big one came on Saturday when WR Shelton Sampson Jr. gave his pledge and LSU got one of it’s biggest targets.
Sampson was a guy LSU could not miss on. A five-star receiver from Baton Rouge. If Kelly couldn’t seal the deal here, his critics were going to have a field day.
LSU has been building steam with OT Zalance Heard. A big-time prospect from Monroe, Louisiana, who On3 has as a five-star.
Baton Rouge quarterback Rickie Collins recently decommitted from Purdue and looks destined to end up a Tiger. Safety Kylin Jackson received a 247Sports Crystal Ball to LSU earlier this month.
When it’s all said and done, LSU is going to have a solid class of Louisiana recruits. The Tigers still need to show improvement on the field, but Kelly has done a lot with less talent than he has now.
A decent season should have LSU in a good position to run the state in 2024.
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Here's what Brian Kelly said after LSU's first fall practice
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