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Brian Kelly Has a Lot to Prove in the SEC

LSU Introduces Brian Kelly as Head Football Coach

Photo: Getty Images

Tuesday on 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe, Jonas Knox, LaVar Arrington and Brady Quinn react to Brian Kelly's press conference at SEC Media Days where he continued to talk about his new accent and avoid questions about his former school Notre Dame, giving fodder to his critics who are still sore about how he left. Kelly's reputation has a lot to overcome so bringing winning seasons and a National Championship to LSU will be crucial, but all that starts with recruiting where Kelly has struggled in the past.

Brady Quinn: "He did a lot of good things. He's won more games as a Notre Dame head coach than anyone in the history of Notre Dame football. But in the way he left, it tarnishes some of that because it's the people who would want him to come back, they're gonna remember how he left. People don't forget that that sort of thing."
LaVar Arrington: "I'm interested to see if he can make LSU a contender again because yeah, he did leave in not such a professional manner, but people always remember winning."
Jonas Knox: "I actually think he would have had a better chance at winning a National Championship had he stayed at Notre Dame than going to LSU. Because in the SEC, who the hell knows... I would bet right now he's not winning a National Championship at LSU."
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Brady Quinn: "Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football and if you're not working at it, you're going to get beat, so that's what I'm curious to see. It's not so much if he's a good coach. He can coach football, he can manage the staff. To me, it's about if he's willing to put in the time and effort in order to recruit the way he needs to against the Alabama's, against the Georgia's, against eventually Oklahoma and Texas and everyone else within the SEC, because that's where it's different. You don't have the unique pitch of saying like, 'Hey, we're Notre Dame.' No, now you're just one of many in the SEC and you gotta figure out that landscape."