Brian Kelly knows Zy Alexander was a bright spot in the LSU secondary before suffering an ACL injury last season, and the senior cornerback is on the long road to recovery.

But Alexander is getting there, and Kelly provided an update on Alexander’s progress as the No. 18 Tigers try to pick up the pieces after losing their season opener to USC on Sunday night in Las Vegas.

“He has made really good progress,” said Kelly of Alexander, who missed all of spring ball because of the injury. “His workload will increase dramatically over the next four weeks, starting Saturday on special teams. And then corner work in the next few weeks.”

Alexander had 44 tackles — 30 of them solo — in 2023. He also had 2 interceptions and 7 passes defended. He suffered the nasty injury last fall during the Army game on Oct. 21, bringing his season to a sudden halt.

Kelly knew even in February that Alexander wouldn’t be able to practice during the spring as he recovered from the torn ACL.

In 2022, Alexander registered 24 tackles, with 17 of them solo, with a flair for the big play that season, recording 3 interceptions and 2 of them coming back for touchdowns. Alexander also had 4 passes defended that year.