For the second time this year, LSU head coach Brian Kelly will face a former Notre Dame assistant. The first round came at Texas A&M when Kelly’s old DC Mike Elko got the best of LSU.
Now, LSU is set to face Vanderbilt, led by Clark Lea.
Lea was linebackers coach at Notre Dame before Kelly promoted him to defensive coordinator. Lea was with Kelly at Notre Dame from 2017-20 before taking the Vanderbilt job in 2021.
“Clark is extremely locked into what his process is,” Kelly said, “He’s stayed steadfast with that even through some of the rougher years, and that’s why they’re on the other side of this.”
Kelly elaborated, talking about Lea’s time at Notre Dame.
“That’s the way he ran everything. All of our meetings were in lockstep. Everything that we did was a consensus, which I’m certain he’s getting that same consensus within his program at Vanderbilt,” Kelly said.
All of Lea’s defenses at Notre Dame ranked top 15 nationally in scoring defense. Two units ranked in the top 10.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Brian Kelly shares thoughts on facing former assistant Clark Lea
