Brian Kelly twists ‘iron sharpens iron’ metaphor to describe 2024 LSU: ‘We had iron vs. butter’

As LSU readies for a season opener against Clemson, looking to flip the script on a recent run of futility in openers, Brian Kelly has shaken some things up. The Tigers have been trying to get into a game-week mindset for quite some time.

But more than anything, the difference for LSU this year is on paper. Kelly explained with an interesting metaphor.

“Well in terms of the opener we upgraded our roster,” Kelly said Wednesday on an SEC teleconference call. “And I think that that’s probably at the end of the day the biggest thing. Look, everybody talks about iron sharpening iron. We didn’t have iron all the time. We had iron vs. butter. Butter doesn’t like iron.

“So from that perspective, the competition in camp was so much different when you have the kind of depth that we have built here. It’s taken time, right? We still have some work to do.”

The meeting with Clemson will represent a chance to make a real statement to the College Football Playoff committee early on. While a loss won’t be a deal-breaker, getting on the right side of the momentum early is huge.

So while the roster is better, Kelly has also done some other things to get his LSU team ready to play. Some of it was just shifting things around, like practicing late on Saturday nights to get ready for the kick time in the opener.

“I think (the roster is) probably the biggest difference,” Kelly said. “There’s some nuances in terms of our schedule. We got into a routine, a game-week schedule earlier than I had in the past. But the other things are pretty similar, like you’re on the road in a very loud environment. You’ve got to play a lot of loud music and work your way through those things. But I’d say that the roster’s different, there’s a lot more depth, which creates a lot more competition in camp.”

In addition to the Saturday night practice, LSU also got into its game-week preparation a little earlier. Kelly wants guys adapted before going into the showdown with Clemson.

Will it work? Will it have LSU ready to finally pull out an opener?

“We’re going to find out. I mean this was really about trying to get into a routine so game week didn’t feel so unusual,” Kelly said. “And I think our guys really adapted well to understanding that even in camp each day of the week, which is part of our in-season routine, was laid out.

“So they knew what to expect even in camp in terms of what the practice was going to look like. And I think that allowed them to be a lot more intentional about their work each and every day. But the proof is in how you perform. Our preparation has been really good, now we have to perform.”