Lane Kiffin praises LSU football strength coach Nick Savage

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Lane Kiffin assembled his first LSU football staff by bringing a swath of assistants from Ole Miss, while retaining some of Brian Kelly's staffers, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Among the staffers who came from Ole Miss was strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage.

"He's as good as anybody I've ever been around," Kiffin said. "Having Coach Savage with us before and having done a great job with us was really critical and to have him here right away to hit the ground running was really important."

A bevy of new players arrived to Baton Rouge via the transfer portal and from high school. The offseason work was critical to getting injured players ready for fall camp and making strides in the weight room. Kiffin talked about the importance of having a trustworthy person like Savage leading the program.

"I think that the strength coach is extremely critical and one of the most important people in the entire building because they have him so much in the offseason before we even have them," Kiffin said. "You see a lot of body changes and the guys have really done a good job, so a lot of credit to him."

Strength coaches have a particularly important role in the modern era of college football. With restrictions on practice time, the strength coach often spends more time with the players than the head coach.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Lane Kiffin praises LSU football strength coach Nick Savage

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