Brian Kelly will know a lot more about his personnel after LSU gets through preseason camp.

His selection of players to join him at SEC Media Days on Monday in Atlanta demonstrated the uncertainty he has with the start of camp looming.

Kelly was 1 of 8 SEC coaches not to bring a quarterback because he doesn’t know who his starting quarterback will be.

It could be Myles Brennan. It might be Jayden Daniels. Perhaps even Garrett Nussmeier. Probably not true freshman Walker Howard.

The crowded competition will continue well into August before Kelly names his starter for the season-opener Sept. 4 against Florida State in the Caesars Superdome.

Bringing any 1 of the quarterbacks to Atlanta would only have invited a bunch of questions that neither Kelly nor the selected signal-caller could have answered.

Kelly brought 2 defensive players – defensive end BJ Ojulari and linebacker Mike Jones Jr. – and 1 offensive player – WR Jack Bech.

That’s because the first-year head coach knows a little more about his defense than his offense at this point.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the defense will be better than the offense, it just means the defense has slightly fewer question marks heading into preseason camp.

Kelly said he it has been “an interesting 6, 7 months” as he put together a roster “creatively.”

“We’ve had to use the transfer portal. We’ve recruited. We’ve spent a lot of time in player development,” Kelly said. “We will then give everybody an opportunity to say, What do we look like here on a Sunday night against Florida State?”

Ojulari and Jones are juniors who should be leaders on a unit that was slowed by injuries last season but played its best down the stretch.

Kelly was asked specifically about Ojulari.

“As a person, he’s what you want to represent your program,” Kelly said. “He represents us here today because his traits are outstanding. His character, how he handles himself in the classroom, he’s a leader. I couldn’t say more about the integrity and character that he has.

“Look, we’re going to talk about his ability to rush the passer and his prominence there. But I could talk more about the person than the player today because that’s who I’ve been associating myself with more on a day-to-day basis.”

Some of the creativity that Kelly referenced in putting together the roster was used in the secondary, where he added 5 players from the transfer portal – most notably former Arkansas players Joe Foucha and Greg Brooks Jr.

“I know many don’t like to see (transfers) happen within the league,” Kelly said. “I’m not crazy about it either. But I would say that when we were looking into the transfer portal, we wanted young men that had SEC experience and had ties to the state of Louisiana. Brooks and Foucha fit that to the T.”

As for Bech, he’s perhaps the best spokesperson for the offense’s returning starters, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be that a couple of months from now.

Bech led the team in receptions as a freshman last season and he figures to be a significant contributor again this season.

But Kayshon Boutte would have been the leading receiver statistically if he hadn’t missed the second half of last season because of an ankle injury that slowed him in the spring.

If Boutte goes back to being the player that had 9 touchdown catches before being hurt, he’ll be the star of an offense facing a lot of transition.

LSU recently selected Boutte as the player who will wear the coveted No. 7 that previously was worn by dynamic players such as Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Leonard Fournette and Derek Stingley Jr.

“As you know, Kayshon was just awarded No. 7, which we consider a program number that highlights the very best player, in particular from the state of Louisiana,” Kelly said.

He added that he and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will “set” the offense to the skills set of whoever wins the starting quarterback position.

“The spring really was for us to lay down our offense,” Kelly said. “We weren’t really going to gear it toward any particular skill set. There’s great depth there. Number one, they’ve got to take care of the football. Number two, they have to get the ball to playmakers. I have playmakers on offense that are already in place. Number three, they’ve got to make plays.

“The ultimate decision-making on who that quarterback is, he’ll have to hit those three notes. I think all of these guys can do that. We’ll have to put them in that position so we can evaluate that.”