Anthony Wilson
Brian Kelly is casting a contrarian view on how LSU will build its football teams in the NIL era. While he acknowledges that NIL “is part of it,” the Tigers’ third-year coach told WAFB that “we are not in the market to buy players”.
“Unfortunately, right now, that’s what some guys are looking for,” Kelly told WAFB. “They want to be bought.”
Instead, Kelly explained, the Tigers are pitching something beyond just money for potential additions as they look to build back-to-back 10-win seasons by entering the 12-team era of the College Football Playoff.
“If you like all the things we do here in developing our players, bringing you to a championship program, playing in front of the best fans in America, playing for championships and having an opportunity for NIL, you should be a Tiger,” said Kelly. “But if you just want to get paid, this isn’t the place for you.”
Kelly’s comments about LSU’s roster-building approach come after a spring transfer window in which the Tigers failed to land potential high-impact additions they wanted to increase their defensive front through the portal. In an article about transfer class grades last week, CBS Sports gave LSU’s result a C+.
Defensive tackles were valuable in the transfer portal and LSU was after two of the hottest commodities, Damonic Williams and Simeon Barrow. Williams has committed to transfer to Oklahoma and Barrow is headed to Miami.
“I think I made it clear in several press conferences that we had that we were in the recruiting market in the transfer portal looking for defensive linemen,” Kelly told WAFB. “Frankly, it hasn’t done very well, because we’re selling something a little different.”
Interpreting Brian Kelly’s comments
Kelly, 62, left Notre Dame after a successful 12-year run to take the job at LSU, telling the Associated Press that “I want to be in an environment where I have the resources to win a national championship.”
If LSU is struggling to produce the NIL resources needed for Kelly to attract top portal talent, it raises questions about whether a national title run is in the cards for the Tigers, who have struggled defensively in Kelly’s tenure.
However, given the relative dearth of available talent during the spring portal window, it could simply be that Kelly didn’t want to overpay for transfers and upset the locker room when there is precedent in place for talent drawn from high school. ratings thriving at LSU, even in the portal era.
“I think what Kelly is really saying in these remarks is that the NIL may be one of many factors that make LSU an attractive place to play, but it won’t be the most important one,” said Geaux247’s Glen West. “LSU is more than willing to play ball in the NIL space. Just look at the start of the 2025 high school recruiting class – LSU’s class is ranked in the top 3 of most recruiting services, with several prospects five-star prospect already on board and there is real interest from other key players at their respective positions with the Tigers. Kelly wants to build this program through the high school ranks and the NIL opportunities reflect in the current roster and freshman recruitment.
West said LSU was aggressive in its pursuit of the aforementioned Williams and Barrow but “made strong offers” but noted Kelly’s comment that the Tigers were not interested in getting into expensive bidding wars for spring transfers. .
LSU’s incoming 2024 high school recruiting class is ranked No. 7 nationally at the 247Sports team rankings. But your transfer is only 42nd and noticeably lacking in star power. However, the Tigers remain clearly committed to a robust high school recruiting effort, as evidenced by the three top-10 classes landed by Kelly and his staff thus far and the strong start to their class of 2025, which already has 12 commitments.
“We’re going to develop you, we’re going to prepare you for the next step, like we did with Jayden Daniels, like we did with Malik Nabers, like we did with Brian Thomas.” Kelly said. “We developed three defensive linemen who were drafted this year. We’ll do it again. But if you’re just looking to get paid, you’re looking in the wrong place.”
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