LSU Football Holds Players-Only Meeting, Brian Kelly Shares Thoughts

Garrett Nussmeier and Will Campbell lead a players-only meeting amid three-game losing streak in Baton Rouge.

Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; LSU Tigers offensive tackle Will Campbell (66) warms up before a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images / Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

It's no secret the LSU Tigers are struggling in 2024 after dropping to 6-4 on the season and 3-3 in Southeastern Conference play following a loss to the Florida Gators.

The frustration is at an all-time high in Baton Rouge ranging from players thoughts to Brian Kelly disappointed in the overall performance.

On Monday, LSU's leaders arranged a players-only meeting led by quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, running back Josh Williams, linebacker Greg Penn III and offensive lineman Will Campbell.

What was the importance of the meeting? What was the main message?

Campbell dove into the meaning of it while Kelly described how important it is for his "leadership" council to remain vocal.

Will Campbell Dissects Players-Only Meeting:

"We got up and talked in front of the team. We talked in front of the offense. We had a unit meeting with the coaches. We're just talking things out, trying to get everybody on the same page because we have to have all 11 guys clicking as one to make this thing go. We've been in this situation to win a lot of games, but at the end of the day, we have to finish.

"That's the thing. When you go back and look, not a lot of people pay attention to that, but we've led going into the fourth quarter out of three of the four losses that we have. We have to finish games, and that's something that we haven't done. And it's not a coaching problem. It's not a scheme. It's none of that. It's us.

"We have to be able to do the little things right, and when you don't, you don't deserve to win, quite frankly. I think against Florida, we had 13 negative plays. Whether that's penalties, missed assignments, whatever you might call it. You don't deserve to win an SEC football game on the road in a hostile environment against a good football team with a good coaching staff. This isn't high school football. If we want to win, we have to do the little things right for four straight quarters."

LSU held a players-only meeting led by Garrett Nussmeier, Josh Williams, Greg Penn + Will Campbell.

The message was clear: Lock in, keep your chin up and finish strong.

Will Campbell: “If we want to win, we have to do the little things right for four straight quarters.” pic.twitter.com/JWtWJ4keMO

— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) November 20, 2024

Brian Kelly's Thoughts:

“It really depends on what the morale is in your program,” Kelly said during Wednesday's SEC Teleconference. “Essentially, what kind of relationships you have with your team and how you’re doing things inside out? Because you’re right, sometimes, perspective is — ‘Well, there’s a player’s only meeting. There’s friction between the coaches and the players.’ That’s not the case.”

LSU's leadership council met with Kelly following the meeting to give him a better understanding of the agenda.

“What the players-only meeting was about, this was shared to me through our leadership council, was that we got to play better,” Kelly said. “We got to stop talking about ‘We should have had this.’ We got to play better and stop making excuses. Feedback was, collectively from everybody, was that we need to play better and stop making excuses. Go out and play and perform and execute.

“From that perspective, we followed it up with another meeting and got a cross-section of what the opinions were. Our guys want to be coaches harder, want to stick with our process, and no complaining. Go out there, get the job done.”

What's the Leadership Council?

The leadership council ranges from players on the team who keep the coaches in the loop on what's happening behind closed doors to make it a seamless conversation.

Kelly described the importance:

“We meet weekly. It’s morale, it’s ‘We don’t like the sweatsuits. Can we wear these jerseys this weekend?’ It’s a variety of different things,” Kelly said. “The ultimate goal here is, there are standards of how we do things, and players know that. But there are times where you want to get feedback. Sometimes, listening is a really good exercise to solicit information. It’s really about getting the players’ thoughts. We don’t always unilaterally agree on everything but it gives them a form where they can have some input on what’s going on.

“You need that within your program when you have 115 players that come from different socioeconomic backgrounds. White, black, Hispanic. Rap music to country music. You’ve got to get information and you’ve got to give them a platform where they have that. That’s what our leadership council does.”

LSU will return to action on Nov. 23 against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Tiger Stadium with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT.

More LSU News:

Paul Finebaum: LSU, Brian Kelly in a "Really Bad Spot" Moving Forward

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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