It's becoming increasingly impossible to escape the impact of artificial intelligence, and that includes the LSU football field -- or at least adjacent to it.
With the advent and proliferation of AI chatbots and other services that have burst onto the scene in virtually all walks of life, it seemed only a matter of time before they potential was implemented in the football scope. Tigers head coach Brian Kelly didn't hesitate when he was asked at SEC Media Days whether the LSU program would be looking for ways to take advantage of them.
“It’s an intriguing opportunity," Kelly said. "I think there’s room for it."
The question was posed in the sense of game-planning, which will be its own can of worms if LSU ever opts to traverse that path, but where the Tigers will be looking to implement it first is on the recruiting trail. LSU devotes a good chunk of manpower to what Kelly refers to as "recruiting profiles." These aren't necessarily profiles for specific players, but measurables, archetypes, intangibles and other delineating factors that help the Tigers traverse the massive landscape of high school talent in the hopes of plucking out players that fit. It can be a massive undertaking, and a perfect fit for the raw computing power that comes with AI.
"I think AI has an opportunity to create that kind of model for us relative to who is that kind of player out there all over the country without making a mistake," Kelly said.
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To this point it's largely unmapped territory when it comes to sports, but the implementation feels inevitable. College football and most sports aren't that far removed from the analytics boom that turned in-game decision-making on its head. Kelly might be in his 60s, but he's demonstrated himself to be one of the more forward-thinking coaches in that regard. It's a safe bet that if LSU makes a 4th down decision or a 2-point conversion attempt that raises eyebrows, the answer will be along the lines of: The analytics said go.
A 2-point conversion attempt in overtime to end the game on one play, good or bad? That's what LSU did to Alabama this past season, and you'd be hard-pressed to sell that in the pre-analytics sports world.
Football is a game of inches. Football is also a game of advantage seeking, and right now, AI appears like the next ground to be gained.
"I think it’s exciting" Kelly continued, "and it’s something that we’re about to venture into.”
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