By Andre Champagne, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
LSU head football coach Brian Kelly made his 2025 weekly radio show debut at a packed TJ Ribs restaurant in Baton Rouge Thursday night.
And he packed in racks of racks of information during the one-hour broadcast.
He also dropped a bombshell on the cost of the additions to his 2025 roster – the 18 players on the No. 1-ranked NCAA Transfer Portal class by 247sports.com and the 23 on his 10th-ranked high school signing class.
NCAA TRANSFER PORTAL RECRUITING LIKE SPEED DATING, SAYS LSU GM AUSTIN THOMAS
“We’re going to be at just about $18 million,” Kelly said of the money going to the new players via the recent federal court ruling that cleared the way for revenue sharing in college athletics and Name, Image & Likeness money from LSU donors and boosters via the Bayou Traditions collective.
Revenue sharing officially began on July 1 with the football program getting about $13 million, but Kelly said LSU started “front loading” that money toward transfer recruits as early as January to keep ahead of the game.
The $18 million was for new players and any raises for returnees, such as quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who decided to skip the NFL Draft and return to the Tigers for the 2025 season when he could have gone in the first round.
The total of $18 million dwarfed what LSU had previously spent on roster additions since NIL, which legalized pay for play beginning in 2021. LSU spent just approximately $11 million from on its roster from 2022-24 and only $5.5 million last year and never signed more than 10 transfers before this year.
SEC FINALLY MOVES TO 9-GAME SCHEDULE
Kelly also discussed the news of the day with the Southeastern Conference announcing it would begin a nine-game league schedule in 2026 after eight-game schedules since 1992, despite adding two teams in 2012 and two more last year for a total of 16. Kelly said he was always in favor of playing more high-caliber games. LSU athletic director Scott Woodward has also wanted a nine-game SEC schedule for several years now.
“I told Scott that that’s why I want to be at LSU,” Kelly said. “I want to play the best. Why not play a championship schedule? Now you have ten games that prepare you for postseason play.”
The 10th game Kelly commented on is a reference to the SEC rule that says league members must play at least one non-conference game against a team from one of three power conferences – the Big Ten, the Big 12 or the Atlantic Coast – or a game against Notre Dame.
“The fans are paying the bills here,” Kelly said. “Give them what they want to see. So let’s give them a schedule that they can be excited about.”
BRIAN KELLY SAYS LSU IS PLAYOFF BOUND
But Kelly made the TJ Ribs crowd erupt by what he said next about the postseason.
“Look, we haven’t been in the playoffs yet. We’re going to be in the playoffs a lot,” he said as the crowd roared. “And so, having a schedule that puts us in this kind of position where you have 10 games that prepares you for postseason play is important.”
Kelly, who enters his fourth season a week from Saturday when his No. 9 Tigers play at No. 4 Clemson (6:30 p.m., ABC), said he will be more involved in scheduling in the future along with deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry.
“Verge and I are in agreement of what we want it to look like moving forward,” he said.
Speaking of the portal roster, Kelly said that senior Mansoor Delane would start at one cornerback slot, which has long been expected of the Virginia Tech transfer.
“We wanted to get some veteran players,” he said. “Mansoor Delane was the guy we had our eyes on, and we recruited the heck out of him. He was a great fit for us. He’ll be a lockdown starter.”
WILL BRIAN KELLY HAVE THE TALENT TO MANAGE ALL HIS NEW TALENT? GUILBEAU COLUMN
Meanwhile, returning junior starting cornerback Ashton Stamps has not won his old job back yet, because of the influx of new talent. And Kelly loves the competition the new players have created.
“Ashton Stamps has played a lot of football for us, and he’s fighting to get on the field,” Kelly said.
Then he made a prediction … sort of.
“I think our team is mature enough to go out and beat Clemson on the road,” he said.
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