SEC Media Days: UF opponent LSU

[Mark Wheeler]

Transcripts courtesy ASAP...

LSU Tigers​

Press Conference​

BRIAN KELLY: I'm not starting until that's over.

Go Tigers. Love it.

Well, welcome. It's an exciting part of this month, because we're close to football season.

Clearly as a football coach, we love this part of the year. I think what stands out to me is that when I get this opportunity to talk to everybody, it's really about generating the continuous excitement from our fan base for LSU football.

We have an incredibly passionate fan base. We've sold over 75,000 season tickets. We led the country in season tickets sales. As we get close to the season, you get these opportunities in front of the media, and I know you want to talk specifics, talk about some of the hot topics that are confronting us.

What confronts me is how we continue to generate the incredible support. That means what are we about to do? And that is continue the vision of graduating champions at LSU. Every single day that's what we talk about.

I know you find that hard to believe in a sense, but that's what we talk about. We are still college. This is still about college. This is not the NFL. And that's a great thing for a guy like myself that started in had Division II and has worked my way through five different programs. It's really about the student-athlete and the relationships with student-athletes. And helping them get to that goal of graduating. And helping them get to the goal of winning championships.

So we have a clear process in place for our guys. That process is what I love to do. I come up here every year because I love the relationships with players. I love developing our players. I love the ability on a day-to-day basis to have a transformational relationship with them so when they leave our program they're successful in the NFL, successful in life.

And I know sometimes it's sound bytes and quick observations, but that's my life work. I'm much more interested in the significance of what we're doing than just the success.

So I start my talk with you about certainly excited for our fan base and this season. I'm more excited for our players and the opportunities they're going to get to continue in this developmental process.

So when you talk about how you get there, you need to look at where we started. When we started in 2022 we didn't have a full roster. We needed to upgrade our guys' mindsets as it relates to academics, and we've been able to do that with this first year and 2025 having a perfect GSR.

That to me are some of the underpinnings that I know you're more interested in talking about other things, but this is what excites me about LSU football, our ability to graduate our players now and to move them on and see the success that they're having in the NFL.

Because they're prepared. They're ready to handle what the NFL has to offer them. For me, that's success, right? That is success. Because it's significant. We're talking about young men that are now able to get a degree and play for championships and move onto whatever their vocation is.

The expectations are always high. We've got some outstanding players. I think you start always with the quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier. I think when you look at Garrett, what he brings is a mindset of a coach's son. That is I'm always looking to improve. Every day he comes to workouts, every day I comes to practice, he's looking for areas to improve on. I would tell you that experience is going to be his best teacher in the SEC. Having played a year in the SEC and seeing what needs to happen on a consistent basis is most important.

He brings the individual trait that coaches love because he wants to be taught, coached. He wants to be coached hard. He wants to be coached in a manner that gets him to be the best version of himself.

I love that about Garrett.

We've got Whit Weeks here today. Whit is our driver. He brings the passion, but passion without focus is irresponsible. He's not that. He's got incredible focus. He's got incredible passion. It rubs off on our entire defense.

And he wants to obviously outplay his brother West Weeks, who is a pretty darn good player as well. Add Harold Perkins back to the mix who was out with an ACL last year, a player that can make plays all over the field. It gives us an incredible linebacker group.

Chris Hilton is with us today as well. I want to say Chris had a very difficult injury last year, one that really didn't allow him to be the player he is. He runs 22 miles an hour. He is a guy that can go get the football. He can change games, and we didn't have him virtually the entire year.

That was frustrating to him and difficult for him, but he fought through it. Had a great end of the season for us. I love the way that he has now used his personality, which isn't one that if he gets up here he's not going to say a lot, but he's respected by his teammates about what he does every day and how he handed injuries last year.

Many of you know that we went into the transfer portal to really build depth, championship level depth across the board. Guys like Patrick Payton from Florida State; Barion Brown from Kentucky; Nic Anderson, Jack Pyburn, Bauer Sharp, just to name a few. Mansoor Delane at the safety and corner position.

I could go on and on. And I've missed some and I'll make sure when I get to some of these other locations I bring their names up as well, because so many of them are deserving to be talked about.

(Zoom froze.) And we do pretty darn good in baseball. We do pretty good in gymnastics. Do really well in all of our other sports. But the game day experience at LSU is incredible. It's because of our fans. They're so passionate and knowledgeable. When you go into that stadium they are watching the game. They are following every play.

And that as a football coach, that's the captive audience that any speaker wants, that any teacher wants.

It's such a captivating audience and they're passionate about LSU football that they've delivered for us much as you know, I had $1 million gift, my wife and I, to help support or NIL. That was the league gift because I knew how passionate our fan base was.

We had 1,600 supporters follow that up that raised that number to about $3.5 million. That's the kind of passion that we have at LSU.

It comes back to the one goal that I started with, that's I want to graduate our players and play for championships. Whether it's on the field, in the classroom, in the community, it's developing great young men on a day-to-day basis.

That's the significance for me. It's wrapped in that much more than just the success.

So I know everybody is excited about the season. Everybody here is excited about it. We're certainly looking forward to the opportunity. We open up with a great program in Clemson. I know Dabo very well. Respect him and his program and the accomplishments they've had. We played against each other several times when I was at Notre Dame and just have a ton of respect.

But we've also been 0-3 in openers at LSU under my watch. We needed to do some things differently this year. That is embrace this opener. Embracing it in a manner that this is a big game. It's a tangible goal for our football team to want to be 1-0. That's not let's warm up into the season. We want to be ready for this football game. So we're doing everything in our power to give our players the opportunity for that success.

Exciting season. Excited about the ability to continue to develop our program and our players. Looking forward to our opening against Clemson University.

Thank you very much.

Q. You mentioned your donation and the other donors' donation to build the roster this year, to get to a championship level. How sustainable is that long-term not only at LSU but other programs of similar resources?

BRIAN KELLY: I'm not going to do a million every year, no. I know that wasn't your question. I'm kidding.

Look, I think it's the nature of where we are in college football. We have revenue sharing, NIL. Look, we're early on in the process here. This is the first step towards what we're trying to put together.

I'm excited about college football. I'm excited that we have something in place relative to revenue sharing. NIL is still something that we have to navigate through.

So to answer your question, I think we still have to be thinking about how we continue to build or support for NIL, because it's not going away, nor should it. As well as revenue sharing.

We're in the first stages of where we need to be, but we have to still be moving in that direction.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

Q. Historically LSU quarterbacks in the past have had a pretty significant jump from year one to year two. What do you anticipate Garrett Nussmeier's being as he gets that experience in year two?

BRIAN KELLY: That's a good question, Emily. I would say that when you're comparing him to Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow, that's a high bar for anybody, right?

But Garrett is at LSU because he loves LSU. He wants to lead our football team to a championship. If the Heisman follows with that, I think he's good with that.

I answer the question this way because all of our conversations with him aren't about individual goals. They're about how do I lead this football team to a championship. All we've seen is him leading, him being selfless. His selflessness is going to be the differentiator from last year to this year, as well as the experience he had playing against really good SEC teams.

Q. I'm curious to hear some improvements you want to see from your defense this season?

BRIAN KELLY: Well, I think we have an outstanding defensive coordinator and defensive staff. Blake Baker is in my opinion elite in the field of defensive coordinators. We needed to give him some more tools.

Look, I've been the head football coach at LSU and I know that we have not played the kind of defense necessary to win a national championship. I think we put a roster together in this offseason, along with young players that have taken lumps along the way as they've developed, and given Blake now the tools to play championship level defense.

Clearly the 2023 offensive football team we had was good enough to win a national championship. We weren't good enough as a team. A lot of that had to do with addressing some shortcomings we had on defense. We think we've done that.

I love our roster, our team, the camaraderie of the group, the seriousness and the focus, intent. So I think we're going to have a defense that's going to be representative.

Look, any time you go on the road and play a team like Clemson you better bring a defense with you.

Q. LSU has traditionally played in-state schools. What do you think the benefits and maybe any bad points are of doing in-state schools and football?

BRIAN KELLY: Well, when you're trying to balance a schedule, and I've been a proponent of playing the toughest schedule that we can relative to the SEC, there needs to be balance to your schedule as well. Because you're looking at opportunities you want to give to your players. You want them to play for championships.

You don't play 12 SEC schools, so now you're open with two opportunities. In the state of Louisiana we have such a passionate base. Why not play the schools from our own state and share in the revenue?

If we're going to have to pay somebody to come in and play us, why not play the in-state schools and take care of them. We have some great schools we're going to play. Louisiana Tech and Southwest Louisiana this year. Excited about those. So really about sharing with those that are in the state and balancing the schedule.

Q. Coach, wanted to ask you, reflecting back on the SEC spring meetings, the narratives that the mood shifted in the room on the different playoff models. Share some insight as to why that shifted, one; and then, two, another popular narrative is the Big10 wants to see the SEC increase their number of league games to get on board. Just your thoughts on that, having coached in that region for several years as Noter Dame's winningest head coach?

BRIAN KELLY: Thank you for that last piece. That was very nice of you. The check is in the mail.

Both of those work together, the two questions that you have. This is what I mean: I think we would push for as many teams as possible if they were evaluated based upon what their schedule looks like.

And so that's why both of those questions dovetail together, in that if we're talking about win-loss record, they're not all the same based upon what conference you're in and who you play.

So how many teams in this probably have a lot to do with how are we going to select them. What's the selection process going to be. I think at the end of the day, that selection process will probably be having the end in mind first.

And that will then generate the answers to the other questions in terms of how many teams and what's your conference schedule look like in terms of how many you play.

Q. Everybody know you had four players from your offensive line drafted, including I guess Will was the fourth player overall. What kind of progress do you think you made in rebuilding that line? Can it be as good without Will and guys like Emery Jones?

BRIAN KELLY: I don't think you replace a Will Campbell. Certainly having four drafted, they were well regarded and certainly Brad Davis has done a great job in coaching them.

But if you're trying to address graduation in a knee-jerk reaction and not having that planned in advance, you're probably going to take a hit on the offensive line this year.

We have been grooming some players for their chance and their opportunity. You remember I started Emery and Will as true freshman in the SEC and they held their own. We think we have gone a step further, that we don't have a start a true freshman this year but guys we developed.

Then we went into the transfer portal, brought in Braelin Moore at center, Josh Tompson, some veteran guys from the Big10 and the ACC who have been in wars. So you're adding those two guys to the mix.

DJ Chester started every game for us last year at center. He's a multiple player guy. Can play guard or center. And then we've got some younger players that are going to step up that started in the Bowl game, and we'll see how that plays.

But I'm bullish on our offensive line. I think we're going to be able to produce the kind of things necessary to be a championship team.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

Q. It seems from like a 35,000 foot view, there has been a little bit of a philosophical change from a positive perspective. Transfer portal class, hire some phenomenal coaches, support staff. Just feels like there is some good vibes in the program. Talk a little bit about your relationship with the Associate AD Austin Thomas and how your day-to-day working relationship has been with him in the past year and a half?

BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I think Austin has done a terrific job in this new order that we're in. Brings a lot of experience being at multiple schools in the SEC; his ability. He's extremely bright and innovative when it comes to the revenue sharing plan we had in place, and certainly NIL.

But he also knows it's about surrounding himself with great people as well. I've given him the opportunity to go out and do that. We've hired some great people that will help in personnel, in recruiting. We've hired some great people in our player dev area that will keep the players. Retention is important as well. Retention is key.

And then somebody that can also assist him with contracts and the day-to-day, because he's involved in a lot. So I've got a great relationship. It's new for me, right? I've never had a general manager.

But I thoroughly enjoy the relationship, and really the ability for both of us to grow and learn as we go through this exciting new part of college football.

Q. You're one of the fortunate ones that has a veteran quarterback this year. Talk about the difficulty of playing that position and growing into that position in this conference.

BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I can't underestimate how important the development was. I think we all -- you all saw it. Jayden Daniels' development in year one to year two was astronomical if that word even suits it. It was incredible.

Garrett Nussmeier will have a similar jump. It's because you go on the road and it's sold out. You play teams that are so well coached and so balanced and have great players that you have no choice but to learn, develop, and get better, or you're going to be left by the side.

So that's why I'm so confident that experience in this league at the quarterback position is the most important thing. Could you come in and play as freshmen? Absolutely. But there will be those moments where you look like a freshman. You look like a first-year player. Garrett will tell that you. And he wasn't a true freshman. He had seen it, been there.

Being on the field in those situations when everything around you and your best is needed, you need experience. That to me is why he's going to be very successful.

Q. You talked a little bit how we're sort of still in this new stage and iteration of college football, college sports.

BRIAN KELLY: Yes.

Q. When it comes to broader governance, whoever it is, I guess what is it that you want to see from those in charge leading college sports, whether it's structure, whether it's consistency in rulings, what do you want to see as a football coach?

BRIAN KELLY: Transparency and consistency. Those two words are probably the most important thing as we continue to move forward.

Now, other thing we would like federal government involvement. I got the Christmas list here. I can go through them all. If we start with transparency and start with the clear communication necessary and consistency and approach, look, I know this might not be what you were asking, but it's got to start with coaches.

It's got to start with us. I mean, we have to be the stewards of this. There has to be a moral high ground. Ethics in this. It starts with us. It starts with coaches.

I was at a speaking engagement a few weeks back, and every question about the NIL was trying to find a way around it, trying to find a way to bring in revenue in some other way. Sooner or later we have to take the stand that transparency, consistency, ethics, and morality are at the core of this.

If that's where we are we're going to be able to move to the next step and be able to continue to make progress.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

LSU Tigers​

Press Conference​

Q. What do you like to tell people about this LSU team and the wide receivers and also about the running game this year that might be different?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Yeah, well, for one, just in general, about the team, I think it's the closest team I've ever been on at LSU, as far as the brotherhood and the camaraderie within the locker room.

As far as the receiver room, I don't think that we have a receiver that runs over a 4.4. That's exciting. A lot of versatility and a lot of speed.

The running game, I think, has been a big emphasis for us, and improving in that area. And I think you'll see a lot of versatility just as far as getting guys the ball in different ways.

Q. You guys added both Nic Anderson and Bauer Sharp from Oklahoma. What do both of those guys add to your offense?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Both of those guys are unbelievable players. So I'll say for one, Bauer has kind of added another level of backbone to our offense and that type of mindset he has. He's ready to take somebody's face off. And he can make plays and he's electric with the ball in his hand.

Nic, on the other hand, is around the same way. He's very electric, very, very good football player, and makes plays on the ball in the air that are unbelievable. For him and me it's about getting the chemistry down and the timing and getting on the same page on things. And that's what the summer has been for and spring ball.

Very excited for Nic, and looking forward to what he's going to be able to put out this year.

Q. You're going into your full second season as a starter. Talk how much you've learned and developed personally as a player. Obviously you have big goals this year as a team but you as a quarterback.

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: For one, just having last year to be able to go back on now and watch, study. This entire offseason has been about that for me, just watching all parts of the game, seeing the areas where I need to be critical on myself on and improve at, whether it's taking care of the football or using my legs more in situations that I need to.

But it's also been about seeing the things I did well also. Having confidence in that and confidence this is what I was able to do in year one. And now it's just all I've got to do is raise the floor.

And I think that obviously my goals are team goals. I think me being the best version of myself will hopefully lead us into the team goals.

Q. You said a couple weeks ago you're not Joe, you're not Jayden, I'm me. How important is individuality to you, especially letting people know the kind of quarterback you are?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: It's huge to me. I think obviously with the track record that LSU quarterbacks have in the past, it's not a thing of disrespect. I have a lot of respect for Jayden, a lot of respect for Joe and what they were able to accomplish in their second years, and also respectively in their first years.

But as I said before I'm me, at the end of the day I'm Garrett Nussmeier. I'm a son of Christ. I'm a follower of God. That's who I am. That's who God made me be. And I'm worried about improving myself, being the best I can be to lead us where we want to go.

Q. Curious your thoughts on Marcel Reed. You worked with him at the Manning Passing Academy, and did you also talk about the game last year?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Not too much. I may have made a couple of jokes in there, like I gave it to him, or something like that. I was, like, you're welcome, or something, and we had a laugh.

He's a good football player, obviously. He can make plays with his feet and obviously with his arm. Very excited with him. He's a great dude, great person. Looking forward to watching him this year.

Q. What excites you the most about getting another opportunity to play in Tuscaloosa, but this time as the starting quarterback?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Obviously Bryant-Denny, I have memories of, when I was a kid, being around that building and that stadium. My dad was there. Some of my greatest experiences of my childhood were while we were with Alabama.

So there's a lot of, I guess, backhanded love. It's a hatred, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Anytime I get an opportunity to go back to a place I lived and play on that field -- it was the same when I was able to go back to Gainesville last year and play in the Swamp. I have memories playing there. I have memories training on the stadium field and things like that.

So it's really cool. Something that helped me a lot when I was younger is having those experiences and no moment being too big because I was blessed enough to be around the game and things like that.

Obviously very much looking forward to going back Tuscaloosa this year.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

Q. The South Carolina/LSU game last year, a lot of close plays, flags people still question. What do you remember about the game and the hit on you that wiped a pick-6, what do you remember about that play?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: That happened for sure, but I also remember getting the ball back on the 50 and taking it down to score and to win the football game. At the end of the day the LSU Tigers won.

So obviously that was a great environment, really cool experience. It was loud. It was electric. It was really cool. So a great memory for me. My first road win as a starter, first road win. So exciting.

Yeah, the hit happened. It is what it is.

Q. Your season-openers being battled, the battle of the Tigers, the battle for the real Death Valley, and it's even thrown in now with you personally about you versus Cade Klubnik that both of you are listed, the top of the All-American list, though. But what's your thoughts on that game?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: I mean, obviously for one, at the end of the day, it's the LSU Tigers versus the Clemson Tigers, that's what I'm focused on. And there's no me versus Cade or anything like that.

Cade is an unbelievable football player. He's a very special talent, and Clemson is a very good football team. That stadium is a very, very awesome environment as well.

I'd say it's more of a welcoming of that opportunity to be able to go into a place like that on prime-time television at 7:00 and just put it all out there.

I think there's been an emphasis for us as a team, a total switch of mindset to go 1-0 and to focus on that. There's no hiding from the fact we've lost the last five openers. That's something that we've acknowledged and we've accepted. And I think we've changed the way we think in order to make that correction.

Q. You roomed with Arch at the MPA. Just from what you know about him personally, what are your thoughts about him taking over as the QB1? And in general the quarterback class here in the SEC this year -- Arch, you LaNorris, several others, long list -- what do you think of the class in general?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: I love Arch. He's a great dude, great player. I'm excited for him. Went through a similar experience I had to go through in waiting for your time and waiting for your opportunity. I think that he's very prepared, obviously comes from a very prestigious family who understands the game very well. More than most, obviously.

But I'm very excited for him. I think he's going to do very well. His mindset is great. He doesn't feel like he's earned anything, even though I believe he already has because of the type of player he is. So I'm excited to watch him go prove it. And I'm really rooting for him.

Q. Along those same lines with LaNorris Sellers, obviously you've seen him in SEC play and Manning Passing Academy. What is your evaluation of his talent as a fellow SEC quarterback?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: He's an unbelievable player. His ability to extend plays and make plays outside the pocket is special. And also I think some people don't realize how good of a passer he is as well. He's a pure thrower of the football. He can rip it.

He's a great dude as well. Getting to spend time with him as well at the Manning camp, get to know him as well. Another player I'm excited to watch this year. Hope he has a great season.

Q. Successful first season as an LSU starter. What have you been focusing on as far as improving your game this offseason?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: One, there's no hiding from the turnovers. I think it's more of an understanding of, you know, the way I am as a player, as an anticipation player, there's going to be some interceptions. The ones I need to eliminate are the ones that don't need to happen, the ones where I'm trying to do too much, the ones I'm trying to make a play when I don't need to.

I think it ties into my growth as well, and I've really bought into trying to change my body makeup and being able to be more durable, to be able to run, to be able to make plays with my feet as well.

I think there are times last year where I may have made a mistake, that if I would have put my head down, gone and got back to the line of scrimmage, or went ran for three yards and slid, would have been a different outcome. All tied in together.

There are also many ways I'm trying to grow as well and be better as a player. As I said before, it's more about becoming more well rounded and raising the floor.

Q. Chris Hilton, you guys both came in together, both in your fifth years, but this is the first year you finally have a fully healthy Chris Hilton. What should we expect out of you guys this year?

GARRETT NUSSMEIER: Last year, if you would have asked me the same question, everybody was raving about how good a player Chris was. The injury that caused him to not be able to show everybody kind of was a setback for him. I'm super proud of him the way he attacked his rehab, getting back. I think in the end of the year you saw the Chris Hilton we were talking about.

Chris is a special player. His speed, on top of his quickness and his catch-and-run ability on top of his ability to go make plays on the football field is special.

Obviously I came in with Chris out of high school. He's somebody that I'll always have a good relationship with, always rooting for him, but I think what you're going to see this year is more of a complete Chris Hilton. And he's really, really just bought into continuing to get better, to continuing to build off the confidence that he gained at the end of the season last year.

I think Chris really, if you look at all the healthy games Chris has played, my first start in the ReliaQuest Bowl in 2023 or, I guess, 2024, and then you look at the last three games the last season, even the bowl game this year, Chris was able to make plays vertically every single time, not only vertically but also intermediate and even in the quick game as well. I think he's really grown as a complete and total receiver. Very excited for him as well.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

Q. Tell me, what's the attitude this year? Is everybody fired up and ready to go?

WHIT WEEKS: Oh, yeah, everybody's fired up. I can feel it throughout the city. I feel like every fan is so bought in this year and invested. It's fun to be in Baton Rouge right now.

Q. LSU fans, they've really gravitated to you. What's it been like to interact with them and meet them on the street and whatnot?

WHIT WEEKS: It's awesome. The best fans in the world are in Baton Rouge. And LSU's fan base is second to none. Getting to play in front of them on Saturday nights in Death Valley, that's a special moment. Getting to play in front of my classmates in Death Valley, it's the best feeling in the world to be able to play in front of 102,000 fans who are screaming the whole time.

Q. How has your recovery process been? How are you feeling?

WHIT WEEKS: It was a long road to get back, but I'm feeling better than I ever have. And I credit that to the training staff and strength coaches. They spent a lot of time with me this offseason getting my body right and getting my ankle healthy.

Q. Having been on the team for a while now, do you feel like you're kind of in the more veteran role now where you can coach these younger guys up and show them how things are done at LSU?

WHIT WEEKS: Definitely. Being here, this will now be my third year, going on junior year, I do feel that I'm a veteran voice in that locker room. It's cool to take the younger linebackers under your wing and kind of show them the ropes a little bit. I take a lot of pride in that.

And whenever you see them, when they first get here to where they are now, that's a cool feeling for me, my brother and Harold, who are really the veteran voices in the linebacker room. I think it's a great thing to see those guys kind of grow up before your eyes.

Q. What can you say about Garrett and his leadership and just sort of the way the team has gravitated to him in him time at LSU?

WHIT WEEKS: First of all, that dude's a baller, so when you have a quarterback like him, it's hard not to gravitate towards him. I mean, he has a big personality. He's fun to be around. Everybody in the locker room loves him. When your quarterback is that guy on your team, it's very exciting to see because when your quarterback's your leader, usually you're going to have a good team.

Q. What are you most excited about being back on the field with your boy, Harold Perkins?

WHIT WEEKS: Oh, I can't wait. I cannot wait to be out there playing with Harold. He's the best football player, the best defensive college football player in the world. Being able to play with him, he makes it easy to be a good football player, because you know he's going to be out there making plays and you want to make plays for him, too.

Q. Talking about Harold, he's dealt with a lot of injuries over his career, a five-star kid. How have you seen him adjust to that, and where is the limit for him right now?

WHIT WEEKS: The sky's the limit for Harold. He's the best athlete I've probably ever seen in my whole life. If you let Harold be Harold, he'll be a superstar. It's not going to be hard for him to be a superstar.

Q. Any players on the team that people maybe don't really know that much about right now but you expect them to break through over the course of the season?

WHIT WEEKS: There's not even one name that I could give you right now because there's so many. The work that we've put in this offseason and seeing how far people have grown, freshmen who are now going to be sophomores, how much they've grown in this offseason, and the transfers that we've brought in. There's so many dudes who I could say. I could list off 20 guys right now who are going to have breakout years this year.

Q. How is it so far to have your little brother Zach on campus, what's that been like?

WHIT WEEKS: It was weird at first because he skipped his senior year. So he's only 17 years old coming to college. But just being around him, it's a blessing. It's a blessing to be around both my brothers all the time. But it definitely took some adjusting to get used to having both of them there. Zach, he's crazy, but he's a lot of fun to be around.

Q. You said a lot of the transfers are just going to have impact years. One of them -- I don't know how familiar you are with him, Donovan Green, have you gone up against him in practice? What's he like?

WHIT WEEKS: That dude's a workhorse. He's one of the hardest-working guys we have in the building. And I haven't been up against him yet because I wasn't able to play spring ball. But getting to watch him, that dude can play. He's an athlete that you can split out, and he's going to be able to win those one-on-one routes.

Q. You guys are one of several teams in the SEC opening with a really big game, with a game against another major conference opponent. What can you say about knowing that you don't really have a runway -- you're starting the season against a team like Clemson opening weekend?

WHIT WEEKS: It's exciting. I want to play the best teams every week because those are the fun games to play in -- prime-time TV, 7:30, ABC -- those are the games you live for. That's why I play football to play in environments like that, play against teams like that. My motto is in order to be the best you've got to beat the best.

We're going to go out there week one against Clemson. And that's what you want. You want to go play a good team you don't want to lollygag into the season; you want to get into a fistfight the first week.

Q. Season openers have been a little bit of a challenge for you guys, lost the last five, three under Brian Kelly. Is that something that's discussed in the locker room this offseason, how to start the season off better, especially with such a big game like that?

WHIT WEEKS: We know what our past records have been in home games. Every day we go into work to change that narrative. Everybody in the whole building knows what the goals are for this season. And Clemson's just the first team that we have to beat in order to achieve those goals.

Q. What's the key to handling the expectations that teams like LSU have in the preseason? How do you do it personally?

WHIT WEEKS: I think you have to have a strong support group within the locker room, being able to rely on your brothers every day when you're in that locker room. We have a lot of fun together. This team, this year, every workout that I show up to, that we show up to, there's never going to be a dull moment. It's really fun to be around the guys this year.

I feel like that's how you can handle expectations is just being able to rely on your brothers.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

Q. What is the best part about your quarterback that you like to tell people?

WHIT WEEKS: How competitive he is. No matter what we're doing, he's going a 110 percent, obviously on the football field, but ping-pong, pool, golf. Anything we do, he's going to try to absolutely destroy his competition. And that's promising to see.

Q. You said you did not participate in spring. Are you fully ready to go for fall camp?

WHIT WEEKS: Yes, definitely. I feel like within these past four weeks, five weeks, whatever, since the start of June, I've really been able to get back to being my old self. So I did sit out this spring, but now I'm ready to roll. And I feel really good.

Q. What keeps you so happy, energetic, enthusiastic? Do you just really appreciate the opportunity to play college football?

WHIT WEEKS: Every day, every day. This was a dream of mine as a kid. I'm from Georgia, the great state of Georgia, so growing up I always knew how great LSU was. But I never really knew what LSU was about until I got down there.

I thank God every single day for allowing me to be an LSU Tiger. It's the honor of my lifetime to put on that purple and gold and represent the great state of Louisiana and the great fans. It's an honor that I don't take it lightly.

I know how passionate our fan base is, and I'd be doing them a disservice if I didn't go out there every single day and give them 110 percent for them because I know how much they love us.

It's not hard to do. It's not hard to go out there and play passionate when you're playing in front of the best fans in the world.

Q. Harold was in your position last year here at SEC media days. Did he give you any advice as you got ready for today?

WHIT WEEKS: 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.

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.

Q. You're going into your third year as a starter. LSU has a couple of players who maybe are going to get their first taste of significant playing time. What are the most important things for a player who's going to see an increase in snaps going into a season?

WHIT WEEKS: I'd say the same thing that Harold said to me. Be yourself. There's a reason that you're playing football at LSU right now. If you weren't one of the best college football players in the world, you wouldn't be at LSU. Go be yourself, have confidence. Know that at times, adversity is going to hit, something bad is going to happen, but know every single person out there has your back. The brotherhood at LSU this year is stronger than I've ever seen.

There's going to be no pointing fingers, no nothing, just know something bad happens, I have your back, everybody else has your back, Coach Kelly has your back, Coach Baker, Coach Sloan, everybody in the building has your back. Just go play, don't be scared to go be who you are.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

Q. Chris, we know you dealt with an injury last year, and your career hasn't gone as smooth as you would have liked. What are you most excited about this season, hopefully being able to play a full season fully healthy?

CHRIS HILTON JR: I would say I'm just really excited to see what I could do. Obviously everybody knows that I've been injured in the past, and I plan to keep that in the past. And I don't question what God has planned for me. So whatever he has planned for me moving forward, I have full faith in him.

Q. Can you talk a little about your season, the battle of the Tigers, the battle of Death Valleys, and just a big match-up between two probably top-five teams? What are your thoughts on the way to start the season?

CHRIS HILTON JR: For one, I've never been to Clemson, so I'm excited to play there. I heard the atmosphere is electric. So I can't wait to see that. It should be a good game. I'm pretty sure you all heard the main focus in our building has been win week one, so that's what we're going to try to do.

Q. Coach Kelly talked about this morning, just addressing some of the needs of the wide receiver position, but also still making sure you guys have a lot of veteran support. Can you sort of speak about what you've seen from both of those perspectives?

CHRIS HILTON JR: I would say we became more vocal in our room, like, leadership-wise. You know what I mean? I feel like that's something that we've been missing in that room. That's kind of been like the main focus.

Q. A lot of excitement around Garrett after the season he had last year. What can you say about the offseason he's had, improvements and just the quarterback position this year?

CHRIS HILTON JR: I would say the biggest thing I've seen from him is he took a big step being a leader. Like more of a vocal leader, not just leading the offense, but leading the whole team. The sky's the limit for him. He can do whatever he wants to do, as long as he continues to put the work in.

Q. Ryan mentioned today that Nic kind of got himself into a bit of a car accident. What did you learn about that? And him and Brown, they're newcomers, what's that routine like right now?

CHRIS HILTON JR: I heard about that this morning. I hope he's okay. But adding them to the room is not going to do anything but -- how do I want to say this -- but makes us more dynamic.

Said this in previous interviews, you would think it would cause problems, but it's not because we have so many weapons. Like, you try to put emphasis on one of us, you've still got to worry about two others. If you somehow find a way to guard two of us, you still have a third you've got to worry about.

Q. You're from Zachary. Was LSU always the dream? Are you living your dream right now?

CHRIS HILTON JR: One, I didn't think I would be playing football right now. I thought I would be hooping. But that was short-lived. Growing up, that's when Oregon was good with Marcus Mariota and De'Anthony Thomas and all of them. So I was a fan of them.

But, like I said, staying close to home, that means everything to me because my parents can come to all the games. They're actually here right now. So that means a lot to me.

Q. What is your favorite place? I know your home game's an electric atmosphere. But what's your favorite road-trip venue that you would like to go to to play?

CHRIS HILTON JR: That I would like to go to? Ole Miss. That one is a little personal for me because back in '23, I had the chance to win that game. Didn't work out like that. So that would probably be what I would like to go back to.

Q. Can you preview the rest of the receiver room for us and let us know sort of what else LSU has to offer at receiver?

CHRIS HILTON JR: We're going to be really dynamic, very explosive. Really just that you're going to see a whole bunch of dances, a whole lot of celebrations.

Q. One of the transfers is tight end Donovan Green. I don't know how much you've gotten to know him, but what is he like? And watching him practice, what do you feel he will bring to the team?

CHRIS HILTON JR: I think he's going to be, just like the majority of our tight end room, he's going to be very versatile. He's going to bring a lot to the team. He's going to bring that energy.

Q. You brought it up -- I don't know if we've ever talked to you about it -- but 2023, Ole Miss, you had your hands on the ball. You felt you could have had it. Is that something that motivated you or worked on in your career?

CHRIS HILTON JR: It's definitely something that has been in the back of my mind ever since it happened. I didn't just drop that one; I dropped the one earlier in the game, too.

I don't remember the final score of that game, but I just think if I catch those two, that's a different game. More than likely, that's a different season, you know what I mean? So, I said that's something that's been in the back of my mind for a hot minute.

Q. What can you say about playing for Coach Kelly and anything that might surprise folks about Coach Kelly that they don't get to see that maybe you're familiar with from your time with him?

CHRIS HILTON JR: I would say he wants what's best for his players. That's been his main thing. He wants what's best for us. And he's going to push us to be our best.

The one thing that I don't think people really know about him is he cracks a lot of jokes, like a bunch of them.

Q. What's it like scoring a touchdown in front of the student section, on that end of the field?

CHRIS HILTON JR: I ain't going to lie, that's a different feeling right there. Those are people you go to school with, they see you around campus, you probably know some of them.

Q. Is it louder on that end of the field?

CHRIS HILTON JR: Most definitely, yeah, because I scored mine the opposite end zone, so I didn't get to score in front of the student section.

Q. What's the most important thing you want people to know about you?

CHRIS HILTON JR: That I've had a rough road, you know? Things haven't gone as planned.

I would say one of the best things I did since I've been here was open the bible and just started reading. That's kind of how I got back to myself, which you all saw the last two games. That's the product of God having his hand on me.

Q. This receiver room is loaded. You're like the old man of this room. You're not very outspoken. So how are some other ways you're able to lead if you're not, like, the very talkative person?

CHRIS HILTON JR: I would say just leading by example, letting my work ethic show for itself, and just bringing along the rest of the room with me.