Where Brian Kelly said LSU football roster is similar to Notre Dame's - and where it's deeper
BATON ROUGE - Brian Kelly may have left Notre Dame for LSU football, but it doesn't mean the former Fighting Irish coach doesn't follow his former team.
Kelly gave a scouting report Wednesday during his first SEC teleconference ahead of the Tigers' season opener on Sunday (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC) against Florida State at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
"Well, I think Notre Dame is very talented," Kelly said. "They return a lot of starters on defense. So there are some similarities to the defensive personnel that is here at LSU. Certainly, the talent level at the wide receiver position is deeper here."
Kelly, who spent 12 seasons at Notre Dame and became the winningest coach in the program's history, went on to add that LSU's program is in a rebuild compared to the Irish, which nearly made the College Football Playoff last season despite his exit from the program in late November.
"Listen, they're ranked fifth in the country, we're not even ranked," Kelly said. "So if you look at it from that perspective, many people feel like Notre Dame has really talented players and we're in a developmental process right now."
Malik Nabers announced as kickoff and punt returner
Kelly also announced that wide receiver Malik Nabers will return kicks and punts for the Tigers in the season opener. Nabers was competing with Armoni Goodwin and Evan Francioni for the lead kick-off return role and Sage Ryan and Sevyn Banks for punt returning duties during the preseason.
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Nabers won the job despite suffering an ankle sprain during practice last week. But the injury isn't serious, as Kelly told reporters on Monday that he will be set to practice this week and play on Sunday.
Kelly announced on Monday that walk-on kicker Damian Ramos will be the Tigers' placekicker but who will handle kickoff duties has yet to be determined.
"It's extremely competitive there," Kelly said.
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Brian Kelly compares LSU football roster to Notre Dame
