When LSU football faces Vanderbilt this week, LSU head coach Brian Kelly will see a familiar face on the Vanderbilt sideline. The Commodores are led by Clark Lea, a former Brian Kelly assistant at Notre Dame.

Lea arrived in Notre Dame as the linebackers coach in 2017. He followed Mike Elko from Notre Dame as Elko took over as the Irish defensive coordinator.

When Elko left to be DC at Texas A&M, Kelly promoted Lea.

In Lea’s first year calling the defense, the Fighting Irish ranked No. 13 nationally in scoring defense and punched a ticket to the College Football Playoff. In 2019, Notre Dame was again ranked in the top 15 in scoring defense. Lea’s unit was top-30 in 2020 before he became Vanderbilt’s head coach that offseason.

It took Lea time to find his footing in Nashville, but Kelly is impressed with Lea’s recent work.

“When you take over a program, right, and they took their lumps early on, it’s easy to listen to the noise and go away from what your vision is for your program. Clark has never swayed from what the vision is that he had and the vision that he painted for everybody else there,” Kelly said.

Lea took over a Vandy team that was winless in 2020. The Commodores were used to living at the bottom of the SEC. In year one, Lea went 2-10. In 2022, the Commodores were 5-7. That momentum wasn’t carried into 2023, when the Commodores were back to 2-10.

But ahead of the 2024 season, Lea overhauled his staff and brought in a large group of transfers, including star QB Diego Pavia. It changed the outlook for the program.

“He’s done an incredible job of avoiding the noise and staying steadfast in his beliefs as to what the vision is for his program. And it’s a great lesson for other coaches,” Kelly said.

Vandy went 7-6 in 2024. The year was highlighted by a win over Alabama in Nashville and capped off with a bowl victory over Georgia Tech.

Now, this Vanderbilt team is even better, so much so that Vandy is the favorite vs. a ranked LSU team this week.

“At the end of the day, you have to be consistent at something. And his messaging, the way he wanted to build his program was consistent and he’s, you know, it’s showing itself now,” Kelly said.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU’s Brian Kelly facing former assistant coach in Week 8