"That's a weakness within our program": LSU HC Brian Kelly speaks on Tigers' woes ahead of new season

LSU football coach Brian Kelly said on Wednesday that there's a "weakness" within the program that could present major problems.

Kelly talked about the team's plans to shore up its defensive line for the upcoming season:

"It's the one area that, you know, you hate to be in the transfer portal for those reasons, but that's a weakness within our program, and we have to address it right now with the portal.

"And (with) the transfer portal is ... the one positive thing is that we can make that correction in our program right now, and we're hard at it. And to have a guy like (defensive line coach) Bo Davis and (edge rushers coach) Kevin Peoples who are so well regarded in this business, quite frankly, it gives us traction with the best in the portal.

"So, we're making progress there. We'll be able to address our needs there, and that's going to strengthen us for the fall."

Brian Kelly's Tigers have lost 14 total players to the portal, while only taking in six new transfers (via the LSU Reveille, the school's student newspaper).

Here's a list of who's in and who's out for LSU so far:

OUT

Laterrance Welch, cornerback: Arizona State
Duce Chestnut, cornerback: Syracuse
Denver Harris, cornerback: UTSA
Jackson McGohan, tight end: Wisconsin
Quency Wiggins, defensive lineman, Colorado
Tygee Hill, defensive lineman, Oregon State
Fitzgerald West, defensive lineman: Louisiana
Armoni Goodwin, running back: UAB
Tre Bradford, running back: North Texas
Logan Diggs, running back: Ole Miss
Marlon Martinez, offensive lineman: Mississippi State
Zalance Heard, offensive lineman: Tennessee
Jalen Brown, wide receiver: Florida State
Bryce Langston, defensive lineman: FAU

IN

Jardin Gilbert, safety: Texas A&M
Zavion Thomas, wide receiver: Mississippi State
A.J. Swann, quarterback: Vanderbilt
Austin Ausberry, defensive back: Auburn
Jyaire Brown, cornerback: Ohio State
CJ Daniels, wide receiver: Liberty

LSU loses another player to the portal

Former top 15 recruit John Emery Jr. is the latest player to leave LSU and Brian Kelly, with the running back entering the portal as a graduate student on Tuesday (via ESPN).

Academic eligibility issues hampered Emery's career at LSU. He appeared in just seven games last season and will still have one more year of eligibility. That's in line with how much time he's missed in his career. He missed out on all of the 2021 season and early last year due to academics.

About the author

Raphel Jairo “Jai” Barnachia is a College Basketball and Football writer at Sportskeeda. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication, which helped shape a career in sports writing that includes a rich 11 years of experience for Tech Times, GameNGuide and several digital marketing and SEO web content companies.

Jai believes college sports are on par with mainstream leagues, but they have more passionate fans. His all-time favorite student athlete is UNC’s Michael Jordan, but has also enjoyed Caitlin Clark’s dominance in recent years. He enjoys a good underdog story, evidenced by his admiration for NC State’s final-four run in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Seven-time national championship winner Nick Saban is his favorite coach.

Jai strengths lie in conducting deep technical dives owing to his above-average understanding of college basketball, and creates compelling content by conducting in-depth research and referring only to reputable sources. Aside from writing, Jai enjoys playing video games and often goes to the theater or listens to music in his free time.

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Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein