Scott Rabalais' top three takeaways from Brian Kelly's stop at the Baton Rouge Rotary Club

football coaches Wednesday at the Baton Rouge Rotary Club luncheon in Tiger Stadium. Here’s what he had to say:
1. Brian Kelly wants to build the right stuff
Going into his second season at LSU, Brian Kelly is clearly more confident he’s holding a winning hand than he was when he spoke to the Rotary Club last July. “Our football team is poised to have the kind of year we all expect,” Kelly said. “People see the five- and four-star recruits, the first-team All-SEC performers. That doesn’t make your football team. What makes your team are the little things no one sees. The things we’ve been working on the last 5-6 months.”
2. How LSU handles the transfer portal
Kelly left folks guessing when he said LSU lost one player in the transfer portal he really wanted to keep (the first instinct is quarterback Walker Howard, though linebacker DeMario Tolan was a notable loss). The Tigers also gained key players in the portal (running back Logan Diggs, linebacker Omar Speights, defensive end Ovie Oghoufo), but Kelly wants to wean his program off of depending on the portal. “Moving forward, we’ll probably take a few position players here and there to top the tank off,” he said. “We’re probably a year away from doing that.”
3. Kelly says you'll recognize the up-and-comers
Yes, LSU will count on transfers to make a big impact on this year’s team, but also some familiar names who haven’t shown their full potential yet. Kelly spoke in general terms of his eight-deep running back group but made a point of mentioning wide receiver Brian Thomas and defensive tackle Maason Smith, who was injured in last year's opener against Florida State. “(Wide receiver) Brian Thomas is taking a step up,” he said. “We didn’t see anything from Maason last year. Maason Smith is now going to get a chance to play."