Nick Saban Compliments LSU Football, Calls the Tigers a "Sleeper Team" in 2024

Saban believes the Bayou Bengals can exceed expectations this fall, show growth in 2024.

Nov 4, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban greets LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly midfield before their game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers continue making their rounds at SEC Media Days with the program going through the motions on Day 1 of the four-day event.

Kelly took the stage in Dallas (Tex.) at 10am CT where he was candid about the improvements that must be made heading into the season.

Following Kelly's appearance, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban joined SEC Network to discuss LSU and the expectations heading into the season where he was complimentary of Kelly and the Tigers.

“Brian is a lot like I was,” Saban said. “He doesn’t worry about expectations. He’s not really worried about what people say and think because he’s done it for a long time. He believes in the process that he has to try to get his team better each and every week. So, he’s not going to pay attention to that. And if you are someone who does pay attention to that, that’s the rat poison that I talk about all the time.

“That can really affect your performance and create a tremendous amount of anxiety and affect your decision-making, whether you’re playing quarterback or whether you’re calling plays on the sidelines. I don’t think Brian will be affected by that at all.”

Kelly enters his third season in Baton Rouge where he believes he has a chance to piece it all together. He's had recent success in year three at his previous stops with hopes of doing the same in Baton Rouge.

Former Alabama quarterback and current ESPN analyst Greg McElroy believes LSU is poised for an eye-opening 2024 season.

“Now, this is probably a little bit low and if I’m going on ceiling — and I’m going on ceiling. LSU’s ceiling is very, very high,” McElroy said. “If Garrett Nussmeier can adequately replace the reigning Heisman Trophy winner [Jayden Daniels], they should be in really good shape. I believe in their offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. I think he’s going to be excellent. He’s the new playcaller, I think they’re going to be awesome on the offensive side.

“On defense, that’s their issue,” McElroy continued. “They fired Matt House and pretty much all of his assistants. They gave up 417 yards per game last year and 28 points per game. It’s just not good enough. It’s LSU for crying out loud."

McElroy was complimentary of defensive coordinator Blake Baker and what he provides the program moving forward.

“[Defensive coordinator] Blake Baker comes in. He was at [Missouri] and is now leading the LSU defense. He’s excellent. Very aggressive and allows his guys to fly around and allows guys to play with great passion and energy, I think they’re going to be in a really good spot.”

“So if LSU can improve just a little bit on the defensive side,” McElroy said. “They could be poised to cause a lot of problems for a lot of teams here in 2024.”

LSU will open the 2024 regular season on Sept. 1 against the USC Trojans in Las Vegas (Nev.) with all eyes turning to the Bayou Bengals in what many believe can be a impressive season in the Bayou State.

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