New LSU head football coach Brian Kelly’s message to his first Tigers’ football team as they begin spring practice Thursday is simple.

“My job is to build competition in every position,” Kelly said at his spring preview press conference on Wednesday. “If you don't like competition, this isn't the place for you. I came down here because I love competition.

“So, it starts with me and it's going to run through every position. If competition is not what you like, then there's another school for you. We feel like any (recruiting) decisions we made at particular groups (positions), we wanted to up the competition within those groups.”

It's why Kelly and his staff were extremely strategic in plucking players out of the transfer portal which he accurately described as free agency.

Because LSU had just 39 scholarship players on the roster when fulfilled an SEC bowl contract obligation getting hammered by Kansas State 42-20 in the Jan. 4 Texas Bowl, Kelly’s first priority while hiring staff was quickly rebuilding the roster to get the Tigers back close to the 85-player scholarship limit by the time preseason camp starts in the fall.

“We took 17 (new players including 12 transfers and five early enrolled freshmen) at mid-year,” Kelly said. “That is not how I will build a program here year in and year out, but we needed to address that gap.

“This is the SEC. You better have a full roster of really good football players. We had to address it and 10 of the transfers or mid-year players we got are from Louisiana. They love the state and want to play here.”

The one transfer who's the unexpected wildcard is graduate quarterback Jayden Daniels. As a three-year starter for Arizona State, he threw for 6,024 yards and 32 touchdowns at Arizona State and also rushed for 1,288 yards and 16 TDs.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise Kelly wanted Daniels after Daniels reached out to LSU once was in the transfer portal. In his 12 seasons coaching Notre Dame, Kelly has never hesitated using quarterbacks with different styles such as dual-threats like Daniels.

“I think he brings more than extending plays actually,” Kelly said of Daniels. “He was in an offensive structure and system which was really built towards ball control this past year, playing to a very good defense. We think that there's a lot that has not been tapped into with his ability to be a dual threat quarterback.

"He's got arm talent. He's got a high IQ, and he’s a talented runner on the football. He wasn't asked to do that. He was he was more of an extender of plays. We think that there's much more to it than what he's brought over the last couple years.”

As far as Kelly is concerned, every starting spot is up for grabs but naturally finding a starting quarterback is a top priority. He’ll have four in his spring practice rotation with Daniels, sixth-year senior Myles Brennan, redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier and highly heralded true freshman Walker Howard.

Kelly said he spent much time with offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan devising how all four QBs will get equal reps to prove themselves.

“We want to give everybody enough work before you can start parceling it (reps) out,” Kelly said.

Kelly’s goal for spring practice has never wavered in his coaching career.

“We want to be able to evaluate our football team in a manner that allows us to say `Here's who we are going into the summer, here's our strengths, here's our weaknesses’,” Kelly said. “I want to expose them (weaknesses) in the spring. I don't want to cover them up. I want to know who we are.

“So, we can go to work on those when I get into camp in August. I can start addressing those things.”