Notebook: Brian Kelly Names OL Starters, Talks Quarterback Decision

LSU's' offensive line rotations are set while Kelly discusses decision to not announce starting quarterback

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers are locked in for their season opener against Florida State. After a successful offseason, this program is prepared to flip the script and return to the LSU standard of football.

Though there will be hurdles to get over, Kelly understands what this team is up against. Their first hurdle appears to have been cleared after determining their starting quarterback. Despite Kelly not openly naming the starter, him having his guy is a key component to game preparation.

The LSU decision-maker spoke Monday afternoon on the quarterback battle, injuries and offensive line rotation as we transition to game week.

Here are a few takeaways:

Quarterbacks

Kelly will not be naming a starter this week in order to give the Tigers a “tactical advantage” against their opponent. The competition between both Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier has been close throughout all of camp with LSU ultimately making the decision less than 48 hours ago.

“I think it’s a tactical advantage not to announce it,” Kelly said on Monday. “We’re going to hold onto that card until gameday.”

Related: LSU Not Announcing Starting QB Before Florida State Matchup 

Kelly spoke on the decision to keep the starter a secret. 

This coaching staff feels as though they have two dynamic signal-callers who can plug into the playbook at ease. Kelly spoke on the ability for each to succeed in offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s system.

It isn’t a long shot both quarterbacks see the field this season. Kelly has been very open minded about both of them getting some snaps. It may not be a traditional two-quarterback system, but Kelly has remained optimistic about both seeing playing time.

Kelly harped on how similar the two players are and the playbook being catered to both quarterbacks, not just one. 

Offensive Line Rotations

Kelly announced the starting offensive line unit for the Tigers:

LT: Will Campbell

LG: Miles Frazier

C: Garrett Dellinger

RG: Anthony Bradford

RT: Cam Wire

Expect Tre’Mond Shorts to get significant snaps this season as well. The Tigers have tremendous depth at the offensive line heading into the season and it’ll take time to determine the best rotation for this team.

Related: An Early Look at LSU's Matchup Against Florida State 

Injuries

From an injury perspective, LSU came out of camp extremely healthy. Battling a few nagging injuries, the Tigers stayed relatively healthy this offseason. Monitoring Jack Bech and his shin splints throughout camp, he’s looking sharp as we enter the season, recovering well.

Kelly spoke on how lucky the Tigers are to come out of camp nearly fully healthy aside from Corren Norman tearing his ACL in camp.

Related: Practice Report - Day 19 - Malik Nabers Sidelined

Another name we’ve kept tabs on is sophomore wide receiver Malik Nabers. The dynamic wideout didn’t participate in practice on Saturday as he nursed an ankle sprain. Kelly announced Monday that Nabers will practice this week and is expected to play Sunday against Florida State.