“Who The F*** Do You Think You Are?”– LSU Coach Brian Kelly Goes Off On Player In Tense Sideline Exchange

Brian Kelly is going through it this season. The LSU Tigers have fallen short of expectations, clinging to a top-25 ranking entering Saturday's SEC clash with Florida in Gainesville. In what the youths of today would describe as a "mid-off" or characterize as a Battle of Mid, Kelly and his Gators coaching counterpart Billy Napier appeared to be figuratively duking it out for the honor of who could gift wrap a win to the other. Well I suppose that's not entirely true. Kelly seems to be trying to get through to his players, but as he's wont to do, he blew his stack when wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr. mistimed a jump on what could've been a big play. Had to include a comment from the original transcription that clarifies what I believe Kelly animatedly said to Hilton on the sidelines. https://twitter.com/mccann_hunter/status/1857900778117022101 https://twitter.com/whiskytex/status/1857906327932006738 The Tigers are winning 13-10 as of this writing and have the clear edge at quarterback with Garrett Nussmeier. Just the fact that this game is competitive with a Florida team fighting for bowl eligibility, though, is an indictment of where the LSU program is at under Kelly amid his third season at the helm. It's also not a good sign when he's had time to turn over the roster, landed his chosen recruits, and developed them, only to have multiple open airing of grievances during Saturday's game. https://twitter.com/talia_baia/status/1857902244353441964 If I were Chris Hilton Jr., I'd have just stayed put and taken the verbal beating. Ball skills can be developed, but some are more blessed than others. It would appear Hilton has difficulty tracking the ball, or at least timing his jumps right. Even at the NFL level, I'll see so many wideouts jump to catch a ball that's on track to hit them in the facemask. Trying to bring it into the body creates the risk of a ricochet and losing possession. Some receivers are worse offenders than others, but it's a low-key pet peeve and something pass-catchers could easily clean up with just a little more attention to detail. Anyway, rant over about jumping to catch the ball unnecessarily. The Tigers need plays from anywhere they can get at this point. It's unfortunate that Hilton reacted the way he did, because Kelly may not give him another chance to make an impact, at least for today. If Hilton is to the point where he doesn't want to take that tough coaching and is kind of checked out, though, that's also not a good reflection on what Kelly has done since landing in Baton Rouge. To succeed as a coach at the highest levels, you need a little bit of off-kilter intensity to motivate your players. I just feel like Kelly goes way over the line more often than not, and clearly by the way LSU has played this year, it's not resonating in the locker room. Might be time to take a chill pill and create a looser atmosphere so your team is playing "not to lose" against an inferior road opponent rather than playing to seize the win. Hey LSU fans, look at the bright side. You still have stars like Livvy Dunne and Paul Skenes — not to mention my GUYS Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase — among many others who are representing your school well! Just a temporary setback happening on the gridiron right now.