Brunch with Brian: Ole Miss

The Arkansas game wound up being tighter than it probably should have been, but LSU was able to escape the Razorbacks 34-31 and keep The Boot home. Now Brian Kelly and his team shift their focus to a pretty pivotal game in the SEC West race as the Tigers travel to take on Ole Miss (5:00 P.M., ESPN).

Kelly closed the book on Arkansas by talking about his defense and the work that remains ahead.

“We have to do the ordinary things extraordinarily well,” Kelly said. “We’re having a tendency of trying to chase too many plays on defense. We’re trying to make plays that are really not our plays to make and we just need to do our job. I think once we settle down, this can be a really good defense because it’s shown itself to have resiliency and toughness.”

Kelly was asked about true freshman edge Dashawn Womack and the impact he made in limmited playing time (three pressures, two tackles, a sack and a QB hit in just five snaps).

“He’s gonna be a really good player and I don’t wanna take anything away from the young man. But there’s a process and he’s making progress. We’re getting him on the field in our dime package and nickel package because he can rush the passer.”

Another area that’s coming along is the LSU running game, which has come alive now that Logan Diggs is emerging as the lead running back.

“I think it’s comprehensive. It’s the offensive line doing a great job of combination blocks,” Kelly said. “I think the backs are running hard, with intent. We’re not looking to bounce it out. We’re low pads, taking four, five, six yards and putting ourselves in good down and distance accordingly.”

Kelly provided an update on fifth-year senior safety Greg Brooks, who had a brain tumor removed last week.

“We still have not gotten the full pathology reports back yet,” Kelly said on the Paul Finebaum show. “We’re hopeful. We’ve gotten good reports that we’re encouraged, but we still don’t have a full medical report. He’s making progress each day. This will be a long recovery.”

Kelly also gave an update on the health of the rest of his roster as the team prepares for Ole Miss. The reports are good if you take Kelly at his word.

“So leading into it,” Kelly said, “we don’t have anybody right now that we would list as anything but probable for the game.”