Tempers flared during No. 22 LSU’s 27-16 loss to Florida on Saturday when coach Brian Kelly was seen on the broadcast yelling at wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr after Hilton mistimed his jump on what could have been a big play. Hilton Jr. has two receptions this season.
That wasn’t all.
Near the end of the third quarter, LSU star wide receiver Kyren Lacy also was shown on the broadcast yelling at Kelly.
According to the Associated Press:
Kelly appeared to get into it with receiver Chris Hilton in the first half. Kelly got in Hilton’s face after a play, and online lip readers suggested Kelly eventually called Hilton “uncoachable.”
Late in the third quarter, cameras captured receiver Kyren Lacy yelling at Kelly on the sideline after an empty possession.
In the clip, Lacy could be seen letting Kelly have it. The coach’s eyes widened as he seemingly realized what was happening. The ABC camera quickly cut away from the interaction.
The transcript of Kelly’s postgame interview did not include any questions about the two incidents, but Kelly was asked about keeping LSU’s players focused with two weeks to go in a season that has quickly soured.
“If you’re not saying, ‘I’m going to work to be better,’ then we don’t have a place for you,” Kelly said after the loss. “If you want to fight and you want to keep working to get better, we’re going to be alongside you. We are in a rough spot that we have to fight through. We got to do it together. … It’s going to point out those who are not fighters.”
LSU lost to Florida for the first time since 2018 to drop to 6-4 on the season. LSU has lost its last three games to Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida after starting 6-1. LSU opened the season with a 27-20 loss to USC in Las Vegas before firing off six consecutive wins over Nicholls, South Carolina, UCLA, South Alabama, Ole Miss and Arkansas.
“We’re going to put guys on the field that are going to fight and do everything they can do to correct where we are right now and that is struggling with consistent execution,” Kelly said. “I think we’ve seen it enough to know we have to be better at as coaches and players.”
Kelly’s streak of seasons with at least 10 wins will end at seven. Kelly won 10 or more games during his final five seasons at Notre Dame and started his tenure at LSU with back-to-back 10-win seasons.
LSU will host Vanderbilt next Saturday and close out the regular season against Oklahoma on Nov. 30.