Notebook: Five Observations From LSU Football, Brian Kelly at SEC Media Days

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers stole the show on day one of SEC Media Days with Garrett Nussmeier, Whit Weeks and Chris Hilton Jr. representing the program in Atlanta.

The Bayou Bengals made their rounds across the Peach State with Nussmeier and Co. addressing the media to break down what's in store for the 2025 season.

From the new-look roster to revenue-sharing in the new era of college football, the topics varied on Monday.

What were a few takeaways from Day 1 of SEC Media Days?

The Takeaways: Five Things We Learned

No. 1: Brian Kelly Details Importance of General Manager Austin Thomas

“Austin has done a tremendous job in this new world that we’re in,” Kelly said. “He brings a lot of experience, having worked at multiple schools in the SEC. He’s extremely bright and innovative when it comes to the revenue sharing plan we had in place and certainly NIL.

"He also knows its about surrounding himself with great people as well. I’ve given him the opportunity to go out and do that.”

“I have a great relationship with him,” Kelly said. “It’s new for me. I’ve never had a general manager, but I thoroughly enjoy the relationship and the ability for both of us to grow and learn as we go through this exciting new part of college football.”

No. 2: Brian Kelly Changing Things Up Behind the Scenes

“We’ve made it a specific goal,” Kelly said. “Goal setting is something that we’re all very familiar with in college football. Everybody talks about goals. We’ve made this a specific goal and a specific goal, meaning it’s tangible for our guys.”

“If you go through our weight room, we’ve got a Clemson paw print on the bags that we hit every day. It’s on every monitor in the building to go 1-0,” he continued. “I think it was important to have a tangible, specific goal for us to start the season. And I think it’s important—our kids want that. They can taste it.”

No. 3: Chris Hilton Jr. Advancing as a Leader

"He’s really bought into continuing getting better and building on the confidence he gained at the end of last year. If you look at the healthy games Chris has played, the ReliaQuest bowl in 2024, the last three games and the bowl game last year, Chris was able to make plays vertically every single time," LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier said.

"He has really grown as a complete receiver and I’m excited for him this fall.”

No. 4: The Nic Anderson Car Accident

Prior to taking the main stage on Monday, Kelly answered questions from the media where he revealed progressions across the last handful of months.

According to The Baton Rouge Advocate, LSU wide receiver Nic Anderson was involved in a car accident this past weekend and needed medical attention, Kelly revealed.

The injuries suffered will not sideline him long and Anderson is "expected to practice at the start of camp" in August.

LSU WR Nic Anderson was in a car accident Friday night and needed medical treatment, Brian Kelly told me, but it’s not going to sideline him long. He’s expected to practice at the start of camp.
— Wilson Alexander (@whalexander_) July 14, 2025

No. 5: Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins Developing Unique Bond

"He said just go be yourself. I got to spend a lot of time with Harold this offseason throughout our rehab. Me and him have became really close. He was a shoulder I could lean on no matter what. Days that looked long for me, Harold was right there," Weeks said.

"'Hey, bro, keep your head up. Keep pushing; we'll get through this together.' Obviously he's coming off an injury. I'm coming off an injury. He said to be myself and go have fun.

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