LSU Football Does Not Name Starting Quarterback 'For Tactical Advantage' Vs. Florida State, Coach Brian Kelly Says

BATON ROUGE - LSU football coach Brian Kelly opted for mystery at his first game week press conference with the Tigers on Monday.

Kelly will not publicly name a starting quarterback going into his debut as LSU's coach against Florida State (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. eastern Sunday at the Superdome in New Orleans on ABC. The Seminoles defeated Duquesne, 47-7, on Saturday.

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"We've made a decision, but I'm not going to announce it publicly," Kelly said in the question-and-answer session of his press conference in the Lawton Room of Tiger Stadium. "Certainly, everybody here wants to know who the quarterback is. I get that. But I think it's a tactical advantage for us not to announce it. So, I'm going to hold that announcement. Look, Florida State played a game. That's an advantage for them. The advantage we have is we haven't played."

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TEMPE, ARIZONA - SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Jayden Daniels #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils throws a pass during the first half of the NCAAF game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on September 25, 2021 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Kelly did previously narrow the decision to two quarterbacks - junior transfer Jayden Daniels, a three-season starter at Arizona State from 2019-21, and redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier, who played briefly last season for the Tigers. The plan is to red-shirt freshman signee Walker Howard, if possible.

"It doesn't help us to give up any of our cards in that sense," Kelly said. "So, we're going to hold onto that card until game day," Kelly said.

Kelly left Notre Dame, where he had been the head coach since 2010, to become LSU's coach following the 2021 season.