After a dominant win to start SEC play against Mississippi State in Starkville, LSU returns home to continue conference play against Arkansas. Head coach Brian Kelly addressed the media on Monday, giving updates ahead of the game.
Here are some takeaways from Kelly’s press conference:
Injury Report
Kelly listed four players on this week’s injury report. Greg Brooks Jr. remains out after missing the previous game due to what Kelly called a “medical emergency.”
Kelly said he couldn’t comment further on Brooks’ situation. Mason Taylor, Omar Speights and Ovie Oghoufo were listed as probable.
Taylor and Speights both missed the previous game due to injury, and Oghoufo only played on special teams. Despite not playing, Taylor dressed and was a game-time decision, according to Kelly.
Arkansas matchup
Saturday will be LSU and Arkansas’ first meeting since LSU clinched the SEC West in Fayetteville last season. Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson didn’t play in that game, though, and Kelly discussed the challenge he poses for the LSU defense.
“He’s still a big physical athletic quarterback that scares you,” Kelly said. “He’s hard to bring down, he’s got a live arm and we’re gonna be prepared for him to play his best against us.”
A fifth-year player, Jefferson is one of the most experienced quarterbacks LSU will face this season. He’s surrounded by a talented group of running backs and receivers, despite top running back Raheim Sanders still being questionable to play with an injury.
Kelly also complimented the Arkansas defense, who held LSU to 13 points last season and currently leads the SEC in sacks along with Tennessee. That defense is led by new defensive coordinator Travis Williams, who Kelly had high praise for.
“Outstanding coordinator coming from UCF. Has had great success, great pedigree in the SEC, was with Kevin Steele at Auburn, so we know we’ve got our hands full,” Kelly said.
Freshmen getting playing time
Another theme in the win over Mississippi State was the play of the freshmen, especially Whit Weeks and Kaleb Jackson. Weeks got the start at inside linebacker with Speights out, and led LSU in tackles.
When asked to evaluate Weeks’ performance and whether he’d continue to get playing time, Kelly complimented Greg Penn III’s role in helping Weeks and communicating with the defense.
“The guy that’s really settled this for us, in terms of whoever he’s been with, is Greg Penn. Greg’s been outstanding,” Kelly said. “He’s a settling factor out there for us. He gets guys lined up, he communicates very well, and that’s the guy that we want to keep on the field. So, we’ll be moving guys around to complement that, and I think the best rotation keeps Greg on the field and then we’ll move guys in and out with him.”
Despite not starting, Jackson made his presence felt in the game with an explosive 13-yard run in the third quarter. Despite the continued flashes, Kelly remained adamant that they don’t want to rush Jackson’s development.
“It’s easy to see the raw physical ability, but there’s so much more to that,” Kelly said. “You saw what Diggs and Williams were able to do in third down protections against a very difficult scheme. Kaleb was not ready for that. He will get ready for that, but he’s just not there yet.”
