Brian Kelly and LSU have their eyes set on the coveted national championship that has long been a far-fetched dream for the Tigers. As the team is heading to the spring camp on March 8, the clock is ticking for the LSU head coach to lead his boys to the most touted glory. Kelly first needs to surpass the playoff obstacle with a reshuffled roster in 2025. But the question it begs is: Can he do it amidst a mass exodus fueled by the sudden departure of defensive lineman coach Bo Davis? Well, there is still some silver lining underneath, as insider Matt Moscona scaled some good pointers.

The absence of Bo Davis is going to weigh higher than expected for the Tigers. The reason is obvious. They have to escape the humiliating limit of 8-4 or a 9-3 this time to save Kelly’s job as well as the blueblood status of the program, aligning to its history and tradition and losing a cornerstone of the defense. Davis was an ace recruiter and part of Nick Saban’s national championship team at Louisiana, which means nothing but a tough jolt to that goal. However, it’s not the first time Davis left the Tigers. In 1997, he jumped ship to Steve Sarkisian’s Texas and formed one of the best defensive tackle squads in the country.

However, surrendering to an intense fans’ plea and some other practical grounds, Davis retreated in 2024 only to walk off with a solid NFL offer (New Orleans Saints) in his hand. Getting out of the initial shock, Kelly moved on with his bigger goal and seemed to have finalized the deal with a former star defensive tackle, Kyle Williams, to replace Bo Davis. Just when you wondered whether it was a wise move to proceed or not, Moscona chimed in.

”This is a big role to take on, right? I guess maybe it’s a different thing when you’re a lamer comes calling, and it’s the LSU defensive line job. It’s also interesting because Kyle has never recruited like that. I also think that one of the reasons this makes sense is that recruiting has probably never mattered less, so I’m not trying to be contradictory, but as we think of high, one of the big selling points of Bo Davis is a great recruiter, not only the best technical defensive line coach but a great recruiter,” Moscona highlighted the Bryce Underwood situation and the Jahkeem Stuart situation to dismiss the best recruiter debate.

A bigger paycheck is more important than a recruiter’s hand at this point, so the first and foremost concern of whether or not Williams can fill in the shoes of a great recruiter seems hollow now. Sherrone Moore needed just $10 million to untie one of the most loyal commits of the Tigers, Bryce Underwood. So, you know where the recruiting reality is heading. The next thing not to be disappointed about in William’s recruitment is his NFL familiarity.