Brunch with Brian: Arkansas

Brian Kelly had his weekly Monday presser with Baton Rouge media where he recapped LSU’s 41-14 dominant win over Mississippi State and looked ahead to Saturday evening’s game against Arkansas (6:00 P.M., ESPN).

In closing the book on Mississippi State, Kelly praised his team’s “competitive edge” for all four quarters.

“Holding Mississippi State to seven yards on their first three possessions...it was a job well done,” Kelly said.

But now’s not the time to look forward. There are more games to be played, and the focus this week is beating the Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday night in Baton Rouge (6:00 P.M., ESPN).

It is a hard fought game every time,” Kelly said. “Our guys understand who they’re playing. They will be prepared for that.” Kelly also had praise for senior quarterback KJ Jefferson, saying “we know we have our hands full.”

Kelly sang the praises of some of his linebackers, particularly Greg Penn III and Whit Weeks.

The guy who has settled this has been Greg Penn,” Kelly said. “He’s been outstanding. He gets guys lined up and communicates well. That’s a guy we want to keep on the field. We want to keep the best rotation with Greg on the field.”

Weeks made his first career start this past Saturday and he did not look like a freshman out there.

“He has elite speed at the position,” Kelly said. “He can run mistakes down. He sees an open gap, he’s going to take it. There’s a learning curve there, but when you have a guy that’s that athletic, doesn’t get lost in coverage, that’s why he’s out there.”

Speaking of freshmen, Kelly had good things to say about Kaleb Jackson and it sounds like Jackson’s workload will slowly but surely increase as the season progresses.

“He’s still learning how to play the game,” Kelly said. “He doesn’t have much baggage. We’re talking to him about some of the rules... Teaching him the game and him still learning the game is where we’re at with him. It’s easy to see the raw ability but there’s much more to it than that.”