📅 Published on: 2024-12-04 20:53:21

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LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly addresses the media on day 1 of the Early Signing Period, which began Wednesday, Dec. 4.

View The List of Signees: LSUsports.net/signingday

🎙 Channel: LSU Sports

🌍 Channel Country: United States

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🕵️‍♂️ Transcript:

that’s true we already had his paperwork but we wanted to make sure we let you well good afternoon uh today feels more like um you know tax day than it does Signing Day um scrambling the last um few days uh it’s uh it’s unlike any recruiting period that I’ve ever been involved in um you know recruiting uh is about um identifying uh evaluating um it’s about uh Logistics and uh it’s about a uh desire to build relationships with student athletes and uh you do that over a long period a time and so when you’re announcing a class uh this is the culmination of in some instances um you know 18 months to two years work I’m really proud of my staff uh my football staff uh support staff uh and the university everybody is is Allin when it comes to recruiting here at LSU from our president to our athletic director all the way down to the student assistant that is driving the golf cart around on uh you know every uh visit um the photo shoot that that goes late at night I mean I could go on and on uh it takes a village truly and that’s um that’s incredible here that that we have that kind of commitment um to this this large Endeavor but I but I would be remiss if I didn’t say that as I mentioned men in my opening remarks this is a new uh landscape that we are in in recruiting and new when I say it’s not just about um finding the right fit academically it’s not just about finding the right fit where you can develop holistically um and graduate and play for a championship it’s about what the most money I can get and that’s unfortunate but it’s the world we live in and you have to be able to uh adapt and you have to be able to um realign and and be prepared um we have a class that is going to be represented in um you know the somewhere in near 24 25 there is still more uh that we think that is going to be added added to this class in in terms of freshman um but many of those were committed prior to their senior year and state committed to us nine out of 10 of them we did lose a few of them uh and it wasn’t because we didn’t recruit those players uh and offered them the opportunity to develop here holistically in all the areas that I just mentioned but we are in a new world and so we had to Pivot realign and and find how we could best um continue to build this class so as I’ve always said it begins with recruiting the state of Louisiana and in this class uh it will again be represented um largely from the state of Louisiana um we will have the number one uh player in the state of Louisiana at the running back position uh and and uh we’re excited about him certainly Harem Barry uh is is a great player we’ll have 10 players from the state of Louisiana in this class and again that’s pulling your base that’s really doing the job and we feel like we did a great job of getting fit and talent uh at this Flagship University here at LSU um you know certainly across the board you know we want to stay in this footprint so you’re going to see players from Texas and Georgia and Florida Tennessee Arkansas uh Mississippi uh and and you know we went up to Indiana and and and got a player from the Midwest as well so um I think overall this is the finest class that I have signed um I think it it points to um the work that the entire staff has done over the past 18 months in putting together an outstanding class and regardless of of what happened over the last week all these guys wanted to be here at LSU and and um representing LSU and wanting to be part of this and waned to be part of a championship is much more important to me than who didn’t want to be here at LSU and um that’s what I’m going to talk about today so again uh many many thank yous to the number of people on my staff and at the University that were tireless uh in in in their work uh in recruiting um and and certainly uh the university itself and our president who was part of this and Scott Woodward um J.R Belton who’s our heads up our recruiting team uh Austin Thomas Frank Wilson ke key players in this uh entire recruiting effort um I want to thank them as well so um each player in in particular uh I’d like to just you know give a little bit of a um quick synopsis on each one uh and then we’ll get to uh questions but I’ll start with alphabetical uh Aiden anding uh out of Rustin High School we see as an Elite Corner uh and also a specialist um from Rustin as you know Championship level football program uh love his traits and and his athletic ability and a guy that can come in and really strengthen uh the corner position Dylan battle uh is is another player for us uh that you know fulfilled the defensive tackle position heavy-handed uh physical inside Bo Davis really liked his um ability to uh disrupt uh at the defensive tackle position I think we all know about Harlem Barry uh out of St Martin’s Episcopal School Elite player uh can do many things for you uh as a guy that uh played both ways in high school uh can impact the game as uh a guy coming out of the back field catching the football running the football special teams he was a leite on defense this is just a this is an elite player that can impact our roster right away uh Brett bordelon we we know his brother is here uh Brett is an outstanding offensive lineman out of Newman High School uh we’re excited to get to work with him physically strong mature to come in right away and and apply that physicality on the offensive line which we desperately need it has great flexibility could play guard could play center um Jaden breaker we think is is emerging as a star linebacker I mean his uh his Ascent has been quick uh and and Medi it’s it’s been that uh kind of player that has jumped off the page in terms of of his status um really just love the way he plays he’s fast he’s physical he uh diagnoses extremely well uh and he plays the position you know with great length he’s 6′ three 217 lbs that’s the kind of body frame we’re looking for you know with our outside backers um he he’s going to be um you know from our standpoint um a great fit here Jacob Bradford um you know the more you watch Jacob Bradford you see his physicality on the field uh he plays a physical brand of football uh he can line up at the corner position the slot position uh the safety position love his versatility but more importantly love the way he plays the game um Brandon Brown and other defensive tackle Force um somebody that Bo had has had his eyes on for a number of years another guy but uh love his quickness uh a little bit of a different player than Dylan um quick First Step uh more like uh First Step quickness like jvr Suggs uh really love his ability to pass rush but um a g a good presence inside uh as well um but love love his physicality but his quickness really jumps off the film carrias karna um physically imposing 64 330 lbs one of the stronger offensive lineman that I’ve recruited in some time he is physically strong uh at the point of attack he dominates his opponents if you just turn on his film he absolutely dominates his opponent he is physically ready to play in the SEC right now we’ll have to see how the other things come together but he is physically ready to play he’s a special player teron Francis is just ascending each and every game that he plays uh loved his film over the last couple of weeks making plays um and and playing fast and free and excited about another edne car player in our program uh they’ve done nothing but Excel here at LSU CJ uh uh Jim Coley very versatile athlete extremely physical athlete at the safety position and you can see by his size you know he’s 63 212 to 215 lbs you know this is a guy that can play close to the line of scrimmage but he’s athletic enough to can play off the hash so we’ve got a really uh interesting Prospect here in terms of a freshman coming in that um is probably going to get bigger uh and and look he he’s going to put himself in a position to succeed with us JD laflor obviously is a a legacy player for us his dad played here I think many know that um big physical uh 66 245 lbs but also has soft hands and can catch the football um again I I think he gives us that big presence that uh we wanted from an inline player but certainly can catch the football for us as well JT Lindsay might be one of the the hottest players in the country especially at the running back position he continues to show himself as as his team uh just you know keeps moving through the playoffs now into the the semifinals uh I think it’s the semi-finals isn’t it yeah they’re in the semis um just had uh an incredible year and he is uh an electric back we we welcome him into our back field and we we have somebody that we’re so excited about and he’s had an incredible year Walter matthys another outstanding defensive tackle out of Calvary Day School very coveted player throughout the country love his physicality love his motor every play is um you know for him uh just the way he has um put forth the effort in every single play love the way he uh he plays the game Tyler Miller very talented offensive lineman the best one in Mississippi um you know gives us uh the versatility with a big physical offensive lineman could play tackle could play guard um really love his feet the way he bends and uh will be a great addition kelen Moses locally um obviously battled some injuries this year but an extremely gifted player a guy that could play either side of the ball he’ll fit in very nicely in Blake Baker’s linebacker room uh Great Character uh and we just think he’s a great fit first here at LSU DJ picket um arguably the you know the number one corner um in the country I don’t even know if it’s an argument we believe he’s hands down the best corner in the country um incredible length at 6’4 180 lbs um you know I don’t know that I’ve ever felt that there is a lockdown corner but he’s about as close as there’s a lockdown Corner in the country it’s it’s DJ picket and his offensive field might be as good if not better if you’ve ever watched him so this is an elite player um that we’re excited to have in our our our roster Charles Ross thei again the the superlatives are um such that not only that does he get the game of football and have great awareness where he plays he is one of the fastest linebackers if not the fastest linebacker in the country uh and that that’s proven by what he’s done in track and field this guy is lightning and uh can’t wait to get him into Blake’s defense he will be a Difference Maker Damen Shanklin uh an edge player with an incredible attitude of excitement and energy and reminds us a lot of of of swin in terms of his energy and excitement brings that in and he’s an Elite pass rusher so we welcome him uh and excited about him uh Jayce Thomas obviously his season cut short destan also uh vying for a championship U but very cerebral very smart uh athletic and will’ll come down and hit you that’s what we’re looking for somebody that can play the ball and also be a great run support guy guy Zack weeks as you all know this will be the third week’s Brothers in the program um and look the only way you get three brothers is if you recruit them individually as as they are a and they love their experience in the program to have three brothers cuz they just talk to each other and all three of them here we’re excited about that and you know Zach is uh an incredible athlete um and I kid the other two that he’s the best of the three and of course you can imagine how that goes but great versatility uh and an extremely gifted athlete and we’re excited Zion Williams is I mean you talk about a space eater he is massive he’s physical uh at the point of attack um he’s 340 lbs and he doesn’t even look it I mean he’s a guy that could play play at that weight um and now you’re talking about a defensive line with depth size uh physicality that’s what it looks like gentlemen in the SEC we’re putting the bodies we’re putting the men together to put together the defense in terms of what it should look like and then Philip Wright who is just lightning uh he is so fast uh athletic tough I love his toughness his mindset the way he plays the game he doesn’t avoid contact UM he goes up and get catches the football um and and really excited about his presence here as well um and and again we think we’re still uh going to be uh announcing uh some more uh as they come in a little bit later today so thank you for your patience and and listening to me uh talk about these fine young men today’s their day um they get to listen to this press conference uh so I wanted to be able to say a few words about them and and who they are and and how excited we are we’ll welcome I think 16 is that right J.R 16 of these players will come in as as mid years uh and have graduated early and I think we all understand what an incredible accomplishment that is to graduate early from high school and so um bringing 16 of these guys in uh will definitely impact our roster and we’re excited about that so with that we’ll open up the questions coach you spoke about this being kind of like unlike any recruiting cycle you’ve ever been a part of and just you know the new world we’re living in I’m just curious if maybe what’s transpired with this class has maybe altered your thinking about how you want to approach recruiting freshman classes in the future just maybe speak on that a little bit well I mean I I think you could make the case that you know you you um you just go out through the entire year and you raise money right that’s one and look I’m I’m not trying to be a wise guy but one side of it could say hey let’s just go raise money the the entire recruiting season and get X and and then the last few weeks let’s just go buy a team of freshmen obviously that’s not what we’re going to do right but what it means is that recruiting no longer is just about recruiting it’s no longer just about relationships you need a collective you need the nil to supplement your recruiting efforts and that’s just the reality of what we live in because you can’t close every one of these just because you got great relationships and they want to go to LSU because I I’ll give you an example where where we see um where we see Tyler Miller you know relative to revenue sharing another school might see him much higher because they value him 20% 30% 40% more because they need them more and and so their number comes in at X it doesn’t mean we devalued him but we’ve got three other tackles in our program and so that’s where the rub comes right that’s where this comes of well so and so is offering us X and you’re only offering us why well it has nothing to do with your value it’s just the other program is doesn’t have a tackle and they desperately need you as their Cornerstone and so they’re going to spend more money so it’s not your market value it’s it’s what they need and that’s where this becomes really really difficult anybody that we’ve lost in the last few days it wasn’t because we didn’t offer money it wasn’t because we didn’t recruit them it was because the value that was meant to them was exponentially more it wasn’t market value it was exponentially more because it meant they needed that piece and they were going to do whatever was necessary um to get that piece coach you mentioned you’re going to be very aggressive in the portal MH uh difference makers when you pinpoint who you want once they’re in there do you have to do you have the resources that you need if it’s also Ohio State and Oregon and Georgia and those types that also want that that player yeah so that’s the bar right I mean it’s Oregon Ohio State it’s Michigan it’s uh Georgia Alabama I I could keep naming Notre I mean I I’ll give you all the name you guys know what they are but now it’s no longer about just your brand your brand has to be backed up with the ability to supplement that with dollars because that’s what we’re in and and so if you want to get into the portal if you want to be able to close some of these you have to have active uh participation uh from a donor base and it can’t just be one or two guys it has to be from all those that want to see not uh the Notre Dames or the Ohio States or the Oregons or um the Alabam do well uh they have to be involved and so that means the LSUS uh if if they want to be at the top uh of the of of the the food chain then we have to be involved as well that’s just the reality of where we are today and um whether we like it or not it’s where it is today coach right down here you mentioned with a couple of the defensive guys just versatility was a word in their speed could you talk about maybe the conversations when you sat down with Blake Baker just about how you wanted to maybe transform this defense to have that sideline to sideline speed that a lot of these guys have yeah so I I think there’s a couple of things in play here is that you know you saw us play with three linebackers and we would much rather play with three linebackers but three linebackers that can um you know do multiple things that they could in fact cover out if necessary that gives us more options relative to our defensive structure and I I.E we can get into three down and do some three down you get stuck a little bit if that linebacker is is really just a Zone dropper um so these guys can play some man force uh they can Rush the quarterback uh and and that’s where we’re looking for the body types of of breaker and and and Ross and uh that that’s where it’s starting to kind of morph into the the look of the player that we’re trying to recruit hey coach if I could ask you a couple um your view from the Geto has been it’s not supposed to be paper play correct and and do you still kind of feel like these guys are doing anything in exchange for all this money or uh do you do you feel like the the spirit is they they we are paying players to to play oh there’s no doubt there’s no doubt we we you know we clearly understand that at LSU we have to be in the ball game and but but we’re we’re certainly going to uh do it the right way I can’t speak for everybody um but I know we’re going to do it um but look the the incentives that are out there for for players to uh go to XYZ schools um to meet that brand um kind of um platform they would have to do a lot of things and maybe they are I’m not researching them I know that when we’re putting together contracts uh they have to meet the performance in incentives and and performance meaning not on the field but what they’re asked to do uh through their nil they’re telling us that this is going to be monitored by the NCAA that’s what they’re telling us we’ll see where that goes kelen Moses we just went to his signing he says I bleed purple and gold perhaps some people offered him more money but his heart was here is that more important these days the local kids in Louisiana that you can build this roster with who maybe have that sentimental attachment to L yeah and you don’t have to take the hometown discount you know I mean you can bleed purple and gold and don’t take the hometown discount because you can be featured in so many other things you you talk about name image and likeness we you know we’ve got a billionaire right here in the city um uh you know we’ve got multi-millionaires right here in the city that are very anxious and very willing uh to feature those young men and and women we’ve seen uh prominently uh in marketing campaigns um you know we’ve got Fortune 500 opportunities uh and and not very far from here so you know staying in state the the the ability for a kid from this state to capitalize on his brand is so much greater than if he go somewhere else and and kelen kelen recognized that and being from Baton Rouge how he can he can use his brand here and and really um capitalize financially right when you look at this class um who do you think maybe has the physical and you also often talk about emotional maturity ear to maybe play early next year Well I mentioned carriers Kern I mean I felt like physically he might be one of the strongest players that I’ve recruited at the position in a long time he has that kind of physical uh characteristics um I would say Zion Williams is is big physical a guy that you could plug in uh immediately those those are big physical guys um you know I’d say just because of his length um you know a DJ picket you know and and his pedigree is a guy that could come in right away um you know again you know bordon is physically as strong uh as some of the offensive linemen we have those are guys physically that can do it now who are the guys that can make the transition that have the physical tools to do it you know now you’re talking about Harlem Barry right you’re talking about Philip Wright you’re talking about skill guys can they make that flipping transition because they certainly have the skill to do it but the big physical guys I would lean on ker bordelon Zion Williams um those are those are guys that that physically are ready um I know whenever you recruit guys and you watch film and you know about them and everything but when they visit you see them for the first time I’m just curious your reaction the first time you saw DJ picket yeah um I was I was surprised uh by his length I mean I people were saying 6’4 and you know how that goes right you’re saying 6’4 I’m like he’s not 6’4 he’s not going to be 6 4 he’s 6’4 and so I think that that at first was a surprise for me that he was actually you know watching a guy on film move that way um was what really surprised me about him um and and then um just his his engagement with um people I mean I I loved the way he engaged uh our play ERS our staff uh and never has he been this festar disconnected guy like hey I’ve arrived you know um he has been humble he has been not about himself he’s been about wanting to develop to be the best version of DJ picket and that’s why um we were in his camp and we’re going to do anything possible to make sure he signed here today which he did because we loved the fact that he was humble um in all that he was being um told about himself and and that’s what stood out coach you mentioned um market value and and you need active participants from a donor base not just two or three guys uh brand name has to be back with dollars um that was all true two years ago right I think what you’re saying is that it’s just multiplying and just getting more complicated yeah we we really didn’t have this kind of um across the board um commitment to the financial end of it the way we do now um schools in the AAC schools um across the country um are are involved in this as well now I I mean so you can imagine you know some of our some of our guys they’re they’re not only getting hit by SEC and big 10 schools but they become the number one priority for the best school in you know the the big 12 or or or the AAC uh or Conference USA and the numbers are crazy because that becomes you know their five star if you will so now it’s across the board and and and and sometimes you got to listen to it um and and it makes recruiting even more difficult because of that um two questions I think one real quick do you have a number in mind how many high school players and and transfers you’d like to arrive at at the end or or you have to see which of your current players are going to are going to be back well we’re going to welcome over 25 freshman into this class I mean it could go as high as 27 but at least 25 freshman um so you’re going to have 25 freshman and then you know we have we have room probably for another dozen um in the program and and so you know if you’re if you’re talking about total numbers you could be between 35 and 37 uh addition to the program uh in January so let’s say 25 freshmen and give um don’t hold me exactly to the number but 25 freshmen and 12 um from the transfer portal and U you told me once that um in this environment you have to look for the um where you can find advantages in the chaos I can imagine there’s no coach who likes this whole situation but you still feel that way you still feel like you can play there are things that you can play to your advantage and if so how well I I think what you have to be is thinking about how you can um get ahead of Revenue share H how do you for example you know how do you retain the players on your team and maximize April’s Revenue share so that you know when you get to April right and you start to share that Revenue piece let’s say it’s $13 million just for a number right say it’s 13 135 million how do you how how do you retain players without that being that 135 without that being all invested into a small number of players how do you stretch that out and you do it by raising money prior to that and and getting to those guys through the Collective early on and and so being proactive prior to getting into Revenue sharing I think is is is crucial hey Co hey coach hi with posting such an impressive class what is your message directly to the fans that may be disappointed in the de decommitments that transpired and some of the players that are planning to enter the transfer portal well I mean look if you’re a fan you you could you got to look at this is the glass half full or is it half empty this is an outstanding class would we have wanted all the guys yeah we fought hard for all those guys but I think I laid a pretty good um message out to what this recruiting is all about and those two guys loved LSU they they didn’t have much of a choice um and and so we’re out there fighting and recruiting and putting together a great class and all these kids wanted to be here they wanted to be part of LSU because they see something they felt something that was clear to them and what was clear to them that this is going to be a championship program and they want to be part of it so the message is really clear in backtack years we’ve been able to put together Elite Class and we we feel like the student athletes know that they talk to each other they they they sense that and so our fans need to know that and what finishes it off is that we need to get continued support from our donor base so we can now continue to augment the roster through the transfer portal which is the other way of of building your roster now in this new world that we live in if we do that um the glasses certainly have full right here coach you mentioned donor base and then you mentioned a little bit just on the University side of things can you talk about just maybe the shift in the alignment that’s a word that’s used a lot just from when you first got here and maybe some of the things that have maybe changed that you can share about from then till now well I I would say it’s it started as and I don’t think LSU is different I think LSU probably was similar to most not all but most I don’t want to give to nil I don’t want to pay players I I don’t want my money to go to you know um a player I I wanted to go to something different so I think early on it was education right it was educating the donors about what the landscape was of college football and and making them understand what a collective was and making them understand what recruiting is like I’ve just laid out to you that we’re going to recruit we’re going to put in the time we’re going to get the right young men that want to graduate that want to play for championships but we also have to be able to provide them with the niil resources through our Collective so they actually come here because other schools are are are going to do the same so if you want to be in the big poker game this is what the ATI is and that was educational for our group and not just LSU all across the country I think we’ve gotten through to that now we still have donors that say I’m not given to that I get it but we are still in the big poker game and so we still have to be able to go out and say we need support so we can continue to build our roster cuz you can’t do it playing five freshman and two sophomores like we did on Saturday night you have to be able to play mature players as well and that’s that’s the mix good thank you very much appreciate your time e

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