Another round of SEC Media Days are upon us, and that means the 2023 season is just around the corner.
LSU will be among the schools featured in Day 1 of the festivities on Monday, and when [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and players take the podium, the atmosphere surrounding this team will be a lot different than it was last year after a surprisingly successful first season.
ESPN’s Chris Lowe broke down five major questions as we enter SEC Media Days, and one of them was how the Tigers will look in Year 2 under Kelly. Like many others in the national media, Lowe is optimistic about this team’s potential.
Chris Low: When are expectations not lofty at LSU, especially when you bring in a coach the caliber of Brian Kelly and are coming off a national championship four years earlier?
The Tigers surprised a lot of people a year ago in winning the SEC’s Western Division and knocking off Alabama in Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge. Taking that next step will prove even more difficult, but LSU has the pieces in place to make another run in the West and get back to the SEC championship game. It starts with quarterback Jayden Daniels, who blossomed last season in LSU’s offense. Having a multifaceted quarterback with experience helps solve a ton of problems, especially when your entire offensive line is back. Tackles Will Campbell and Emery Jones started as freshmen last season, and Kelly believes that unit has a chance to be special. And on defense, linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. returns after establishing himself as one of the SEC’s top big-play defenders as a freshman, and moreover, defensive tackle Maason Smith’s return from injury is another reason to like LSU’s defense. This isn’t Kelly’s first rodeo. He understands the expectations and understands that LSU will be circled on a lot of teams’ schedules this season. But it’s also an LSU team that improved as the season progressed a year ago, and there’s no reason to believe that Kelly, given his pedigree, won’t get even more out of this team in 2023.
As Lowe said, the Tigers will have a target on their backs this year. But this is also a talented roster once again with considerable depth across the field, and there’s reason to believe this team is poised to take a leap.
Kelly will hope Lowe’s predictions hold true when the Tigers take the field in September.
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