Jul 16, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly talks to the media during SEC Media Day at Omni Atlanta Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly's Take: How LSU Football is Heading Into 2025 Season With New Mindset

Originally posted on LSU Tigers on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 11:09 AM ET

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers took the main stage at SEC Media Days on Monday with all eyes on the the program in Atlanta.

Garrett Nussmeier, Chris Hilton Jr. and Whit Weeks accompanied Kelly in the Peach State with the four members of the program representing LSU.

For Kelly, it's a different approach heading into his fourth season and he dove into that during his appearances across the event.

The Tigers' shot-caller understands that the program has dropped five consecutive season openers with three of them coming under his watch.

It's now about adjustments and heading into Week 1 with a different look. Kelly is doing things he hasn't done in his entire career prior to the season opener at Clemson.

“I felt like I needed to change the way we looked at the opener,” Kelly said Monday at SEC Media Days. “And so that was a specific mindset change of how we would go attack Game 1.

"There will be some other things that I’m not going to get into relative to how we prepare our team. But that was a decision that I needed to make after critically looking at not having success in the first game."

The LSU players feel the heat. Weeks and Co. know the expectations in Baton Rouge and it starts with Game 1 against the Tigers.

“We know we’re going into a tough environment to play, and I can’t be more excited to be doing that,” Weeks said. “You come to LSU to play the best, and Clemson is one of the best teams in the country. Why wouldn’t you want to go play them?”

"Embracing the opener" is what Kelly is looking forward to as the offseason rolls on. Whether it's a different look in the weight room for the players or diving into new schemes as a coaching staff, it's about embracing the challenges.

“We needed to do some things differently this year, and that is embrace this opener,” Kelly said. “And 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.”

For fifth-year senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, he's yet to win a season opener as a member of the LSU program. He wants to change that in 2025.

“At LSU, there's always an expectation, right?” Nussmeier said. “There's always an expectation to compete for a national championship. I think in the past, we've kind of looked too forward to that and always talked about where we wanted to be at the end of the season, instead of focusing on where we had to start.”