Brian Kelly made a bold National Championship statement but, he has to follow through

On Saturday Night, the LSU Football team wrapped up its Regular Season finishing the regular season 8-4 and 5-3 in SEC play. No one will say that LSU exceeded expectations but, few will say they severely underperformed as everyone knew this roster had its flaws while replacing both coordinators.

As of late, Brian Kelly has spoken a ton about the future including the Tigers plans to use the transfer portal aggressively. On Saturday Night, Brian Kelly made his boldest statement about the future

"I am proud of my team. They played inspired football over the last two weeks. They are 19-2 at home over the last two years. Whatever camp you want to jump in, go ahead. Were's taking receipts and we will see you at the National Championship. This team is building, and we are really proud of them."

- Brian Kelly

The statement that will take the headlines is that Brian Kelly said this team will see everyone at the National Championship. That is a tough statement to make after an 8-4 season where the Tigers lost to poor USC and Florida teams, a middle of the road Texas A&M team, and an Alabama team that was clearly flawed.

While this season didn't result in a National Championship, this team does have a ton of key pieces to build around. This season LSU has played a ton of Freshmen and Sophomore and they'll continue to develop this offseason.

If Kelly truly is going to see everyone at the National Championship then this is the week that he starts toward that goal. On Wednesday, the early portion of National Signing Day opens where LSU will try to keep its sixth ranked recruiting class intact while also adding a few pieces. Getting that class filled with top end talents that can make an impact as soon as year one is the most important for Brian Kelly.

After that the biggest priority is the transfer portal and roster retention which are just as big in this era of College Football as is traditional recruiting. Garrett Nussmeier, Will Campbell, Emery Jones, Harold Perkins Jr, and Mason Taylor are all draft eligible and players important to LSU's success. The only player LSU likely can't keep is Will Campbell who is a top ten pick according to nearly every draft analyst. The rest, LSU should be able to make a compelling case to in terms of improving their draft stock for one more season.

In the transfer portal, LSU will have a ton to bring in to replace some of the production that will need to be replaced. Bradyn Swinson leads the team in sacks, Kyren Lacy leads the team in receiving, and Zy Alexander leads the team in interceptions. LSU will also lose its two starting guards, Paris Shand, and a few other veteran starters.

Its easy to hope that LSU's underclassmen can replace that production, bringing in top end talent from the transfer portal makes competing for an SEC Championship and a National Championship much easier.

If you put the resources in the results will come

The biggest thing LSU will need to do to get to that National Championship is show that it can spend the NIL Money to get the talent in the building. LSU has the positional coaches that can develop the pieces to get to that level but, adding sure pieces helps with eliminating the risk of a lack of development. The Tigers have had success with transfers like Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Aaron Anderson, and other but, it'll have to play at a different level this offseason to get to that National Championship level.

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