'Incredible Challenge!' LSU Coach Brian Kelly Thinks Texas is Championship Material

LSU head coach Brian Kelly welcomes Texas and Oklahoma into the SEC

Jul 15, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; LSU head coach Brian Kelly shakes hands with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey speaking at Omni Dallas Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

At the SEC media days, every head coach got asked the same question: what about the Texas Longhorns?

For LSU head coach Brian Kelly, Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference just further solidifies the competitiveness of the SEC.

“I want to welcome Texas and Oklahoma into the SEC, making this, in my opinion, the premier college football conference in the country,” Kelly said. “Deep, and competitive, and certainly now an incredible challenge from top to bottom.”

Texas and LSU football won't be meeting each other this year or in 2025, but Kelly, who's going into his third season leading the Tiger, has some knowledge of the program.

While scouting the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2023, Kelly was at Bryant-Denny Stadium when the Longhorns took the home team down in Tuscaloosa -- and he was impressed with what he saw.

“If you take a snapshot, right, you take the Texas-Alabama game last year and say, ‘well, they're SEC ready,’ right? I mean, they beat Alabama,” Kelly said. “But what happens is the guys in the front row that you talked to that year, they graduate.”

Steve Sarkisian's 2024 recruiting is ranked fifth overall in the nation by 247Sports, behind Georgia and Alabama in first and second, with 33 commits including five 5-stars.

“I think it’s always about how you replace and so if you recruited well and you can step in, if they recruited well and they have guys to step in, Texas certainly has the ability to compete for an SEC championship," Kelly said.

Big new names like Ryan Wingo, Trey Moore, Andrew Mukuba, Matthew Golden and former Alabama star Isaiah Bond who have experience in the big-time games, can only improve the Texas roster.