The LSU Tigers finished the 2023 season at 9-3 once again, and while that was far from a bad result, it was a bit disappointing for a team that entered the year ranked in the top five.
The defense really held the team back this season, and it’s clear the Tigers have a long way to go to have the kind of roster that the best teams in the SEC boast.
Speaking to Paul Finebaum, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] laid out his plan for returning LSU to a championship level. To Kelly, that starts with retaining the top players on the roster as we’ve seen some high-profile Power Five players already announce their intentions to enter the transfer portal when the window for non-graduates officially opens on Dec. 4.
“Good foundational pieces for us, but we’ve got to take the next step and that is win the SEC Championship,” Kelly said, per On3. “I think it starts with evaluations with your team. I think it’s important that you sit down with your players, let them know what they did well, certainly what they need to do better, talk about what the future looks like.
“Retention is first and foremost the most important thing right now for our football program. It’s not who you can get through the portal. That’ll be part of this entire process in the offseason, but I think retention first. Spend time with your players.”
However, retention is not enough. Kelly said the staff will also hit the recruiting trail hard in the coming weeks and months.
“We’ve got to get back on the road and recruit here,” Kelly said. “Recruiting now until it goes dead on the 17th is an important part of this as well as we look forward to ’24, ’25 and ’26.”
It seems the staff is turning its attention toward high school recruiting and talent development this offseason after being very aggressive in the portal in Kelly’s first two seasons with the team.
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