LSU greatly exceeded expectations in Brian Kelly’s 1st season.

The Tigers were generally expected to be a middle-of-the-pack team in the SEC last season. But they won the West Division and finished 10-4 after routing Purdue in the Citrus Bowl.

LSU exceeded modest expectations, and the expectations for this season are much more significant.

Is this year’s team headed back toward national championship-contender status, or does that require more program building?

Kelly still has some recruiting work to do in order to have the roster depth to match that of Georgia and Alabama. But he’s getting close.

Here are 10 bold predictions for the Tigers:

1. Record-setting runner

Jayden Daniels will break Jordan Jefferson’s career record (2008-11) for rushing yards by a quarterback (1,018).

Daniels rushed for a team-best 885 yards last season, so surpassing Jefferson should happen early in the season, but it might not come as quickly as it first seems.

That’s because of a …

2. Crowded running back committee

The Tigers were thin at running back by the end of last season, but that won’t happen this season.

There are 8 viable ball carriers, and they will reduce the need for Daniels to be the primary runner, though he’ll still be used as a multipurpose quarterback.

3. More special in the kicking game

LSU was plagued by special teams breakdowns throughout last season.

Improving in that area has been a point of emphasis, and the Tigers will be better. Alabama transfer Aaron Anderson will provide a big boost to the return game, which was especially weak on punts last season as LSU averaged 3.3 yards per return.

Punter Jay Bramblett was very good last season and returns for a 5th season. Placekicker Damian Ramos will build on a solid redshirt freshman season.

4. Belated coming-out party

Defensive tackle Maason Smith will be one of the top defensive linemen in the SEC.

He was expected to be just that as a true freshman last season, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury on the 1st defensive series of the season opener.

Now Smith is almost a full year removed from the surgery, healthy and ready to roll alongside Mekhi Wingo, who’s already 1 of the better defensive linemen in the league.

Presumably, Smith will be more judicious in his celebrations this season after his injury occurred while he was celebrating a teammate’s sack.

5. Frequent end-zone visits

Malik Nabers caught just 3 touchdown passes last season, but 2 came at the end of the season when he found the end zone against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and against Purdue in the bowl game.

That gives him a streak to build on, and he’ll keep the streak going at least through the 1st half of this season. That will enable him to break the school record for consecutive games with a receiving touchdown (7).

The record is shared by Kayshon Boutte (2020-21), Jarvis Landry (2012-13) and Dwayne Bowe (2005).

6. Busting into backfields

Harold Perkins Jr. was a disruptive force as a true freshman last season. He’ll be even more disruptive as a sophomore.

LSU is going to move the linebacker around to create favorable matchups and maximize his ability to make plays, especially in the backfield.

Perkins will be a frequent visitor to opponents’ backfields and surpass Gabe Northern’s single-season record (1994) for tackles for loss (23).

7. Tight end targets

Mason Taylor finished his true freshman season last year with the 2nd-most receptions by a tight end in school history.

His 38 catches were 9 fewer than Thaddeus Moss had in 2019.

Taylor will top Moss’ total and eclipse the school record for touchdown catches by a tight end (5), which is shared by Richard Dickson (2007 and ’08), Robert Royal (2000) and Brad Boyd (1972).

8. New top tackler

Linebacker Omar Speights arrived from Oregon State through the transfer portal.

Even though the Tigers return their top 3 tacklers from last season — linebacker Greg Penn III, Perkins and safety Greg Brooks Jr. — it will be Speights who will be the team’s top tackler.

Speights, who totaled 308 tackles in 4 seasons with the Beavers, will flirt with 400 career tackles by the time this season ends.

9. Hello, Big Apple

Daniels had a very good 1st season with the Tigers.

He’ll have an even better one in 2023.

Daniels’ 2nd season in Mike Denbrock’s offense, working behind a more experienced line while getting help from a much better group of running backs and having plenty of talented targets to throw to, will be a memorable one.

He’s not going to make the kind of jump that Joe Burrow made from 2018-19, but the favorable circumstances aren’t all that different.

Ultimately, Daniels will be invited to New York in December as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

10. Back to back in the West

It was a big surprise when LSU won the SEC West last season. It won’t be nearly as big a surprise when it happens again this season.

The Tigers will finish 10-2.