LSU Starting to Implement Brian Kelly's Practices in "Doses" Ahead of Texas Bowl

Davis says Tigers' players are embracing the impending changes with the program

One of the biggest questions entering the last few weeks of the 2021 season was how involved Brian Kelly would be in the planning and implementation of practices ahead of the Texas Bowl.

Kelly after all has only been in Baton Rouge for a month and throwing too much at his new roster and the young players in particular could be a culture shock that is hard to adjust. For interim coach Brad Davis, that's been the give and take with the last couple of weeks. 

Davis, who is currently the only member of the coaching staff who Kelly has elected to keep on following the 2021 season, has been working hard to "bridge the gap" between how Kelly wants practices run and trying not to overwhelm his players at the same time. 

"Yes, absolutely. He and I have collaborated. The big piece is bridging the gap," Davis said. "We obviously wanna finish this season off the right way and really springboard into the 2022 season. There's been things we've implemented in doses that meet expectation level of how he wants practice ran. The kids have welcomed it. Change is inevitable, it's not always a bad thing and so some of the things we've actually done, they've welcomed it and are excited about it."

Kelly has been busy filling out his coaching staff as well as hitting the recruiting trail, most recently adding Mike Denbrock to lead the offense and Matt House to take over the defense. The seniors haven't been paying too much attention to all of the news around the program, instead focusing on the guys who are in Houston trying to win one last game in purple and gold.

On the depth chart released by the program ahead of Tuesday night's game, the roster is very thin in the secondary, at linebacker, defensive line and running back. As for the quarterback situation, Davis said the NCAA has returned a ruling on Garrett Nussmeier's redshirt season but won't reveal the decision.

"I can tell looking around in the team meeting room that it's getting a little thin," center Liam Shanahan told WAFB's Jacques Doucet. "We're all we got, we're all we need and all really excited to go play as a team one more time Tuesday night."

It's not known exactly how much influence Kelly has had on the practice field but Davis ensures the progress being made in the transition has been positive.

"I think it's gonna benefit us in the long run," Davis said.