LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, tight end Mason Taylor, and EDGE rusher Harold Perkins Jr. will represent the program at this year’s SEC Media Days, which will take place in Dallas from July 15 to 18.
Fresh off a 10-3 season, a ReliaQuest Bowl win, and a Heisman Trophy campaign for its former QB, Jayden Daniels, LSU will have a new face behind center, with Nussmeier taking the reins.
With the Tigers up first at the podium, what are some of the biggest questions Kelly is set to face at SEC Media Days?
Three Most Significant Questions for Brian Kelly at SEC Media Days
1) Can the Offense Maintain Similar Success With New Staff and Without Jayden Daniels?
While the Tigers’ 2023 season fell just short of the National Championship heights the 2019 LSU team experienced, it was still electrifying, with Jayden Daniels guiding the Tigers to a No. 12 ranking by the end of the year.
Now, Daniels is playing on Sundays in the NFL, leaving Garrett Nussmeier as his replacement.
Nussmeier has been on the Tigers’ bench for most of his three seasons in Baton Rouge, appearing in 18 games with one start last year. He’s passed for 1,720 yards, 11 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in limited action for the purple and gold.
He’ll get the keys to the LSU offense as a redshirt junior in 2024 but does so without former OC Mike Denbrock, who left for Notre Dame in the same role this offseason. Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton were promoted internally to be co-OCs following Denbrook’s departure.
2) Who Will Replace Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.?
Stud wide receiver duos and the LSU Tigers are a combo that is almost a college football tradition at this point.
Last season’s rendition featured Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. terrorizing SEC defenders for 157 catches, 2,746 yards, and 31 TDs. Both played three seasons at LSU from 2021-2023, combining for 316 catches, 4,900 yards, and 45 TDs through the air.
Suffice to say, both were first-round picks in the NFL Draft, leaving the Tigers with a couple of massive holes out wide. Who will step up to fill those holes is a burning question for Kelly at SEC Media Days.
3) How Has the Defense Improved After a DC Change?
LSU finished second-to-last in the SEC in total defense last year, allowing 416.6 yards per game and 28 points. After two seasons in charge of the Tigers’ defense, former DC Matt House was replaced by Missouri DC Blake Baker.
Switching from one SEC Tiger program to another, Baker had Missouri’s defense ranked fourth in the SEC last fall, allowing 336.1 yards and 20.8 points per game.
SEC Media Days Schedule: Brian Kelly, LSU Head Coach
- Date: Monday, July 15
- Time: 10:00 a.m. ET
- How to watch: SEC Network+
Following significant changes to personnel and staff on both sides of the ball, LSU is likely to experience a balancing effect. Its high-powered offense lost three of its biggest pieces, while a suffering defense may have found some relief with a DC that has already succeeded in the vaunted SEC.
Kelly stated after the season that the defense wasn’t good enough throughout last fall, so whether this team replicates or repels the success of last year is dependent on that side of the ball carrying its weight.
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