Brian Kelly explains how his recruiting mindset has changed at LSU
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Brian Kelly understands the challenges that he’ll face at LSU.
The Tigers have been miles away from the program that took college football by storm in 2019. They managed a 5-5 record in 2020 before a 6-7 mark (3-5 SEC) in 2021, with Ed Orgeron and the program parting ways before the Tigers’ bowl game.
Now, with Kelly in the fold after a lengthy spell at Notre Dame, LSU will look to return to its place as one of the dominant programs in the SEC, and in the college football world as a whole. There’s one major difference between Baton Rouge and South Bend, as well as his previous stops, that he’s made note of, as well: the recruiting process.
“It’s a full-time job,” he said in an interview with 247Sports’ Josh Pate on Monday. “There’s more to it than any time in my career. You get in the process from the very beginning, in it ’til the very end.”
Kelly mentioned that earlier in his careers, his assistants would play a bigger role in recruiting, while he saw “a little bit” of involvement at the beginning and toward the end. That’s hardly the case in the SEC.
“You’re on from Day 1,” he said. “I love that part of it, because you build a stronger relationship with the recruits, and you know them so much better when it’s time to make the decisions.”
The Tigers finished the 2022 recruiting cycle with the 7th-best class in the country, according to 247Sports. Its 2023 class currently sits at No. 8 nationally.
"(Recruiting is) a full time job. There's more to it than any time in my career."
?️ @LSUfootball head man Brian Kelly talks about his transition to Baton Rouge & the SEC with @LateKickJosh ?#LateKick x @Geaux247 pic.twitter.com/TsoRYhx05O
— 247Sports (@247Sports) July 18, 2022
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
