I didn't really see anything wrong with the comment. Thank God we have someone willing to put in the work right off the bat. Thank God we have someone willing to push the guys ahead of him instead of just biding his time. And yes, I wipe my brow over it. I FULLY expect JJ to be a great LSU Tiger before his time here is done. HOWEVER, the last couple of years have been miserable at the position. The Perrilloux deal made it where we had NO capable QB on campus. I'm not necessarily blaming Lee/Hatch/Jefferson for that, but you know, that article does lead me to think this kid isn't waiting around for JJ/Lee to graduate. He wants to get ready NOW. And for that, thank God! Someone who displays leadership instead of an instinct to follow. I think JJ is going to be capable of leading LSU this season, and hopefully next. But he wasn't last season, and JLee certainly wasn't. God forbid, but what if something happened to JJ? Thank God we have a young guy that wants to play NOW, and is taking steps to earn the respect of his teammates NOW. Remember the division on the team in '08? JLee didn't have the respect of the team. ZLee seems to already be earning that.
I think we have an argument where there doesn't have to be one. We all can agree that it is a good thing for a freshman to show that kind of leadership already. I agree that TT having his back and not voicing any criticisms of Lee would make him feel welcome. Therefore, he would be more likely to stay. But, I don't think anyone likes someone associated with LSU telling us something only because they know it is what we want to hear.
Had you stated it that way to begin with, that your happy that we are seeing leadership qualities out Zack, I probably wouldn't have said a thing. It was just the extremity of the term"thank God" in relation to Zack that I think is unecessary. Now again had you said that in relation to JJ I wouldn't have questioned anything, because it would apply. That is all, no harm in you pointing out the les than positive about the team. I just tend to take pause with the extreme one way or the other. And yes your opinion does matter to some. You're a Tiger fan.
Definately agree! And it's because of that reason I believe he'll remain at LSU and not play pro baseball. If he was close to agreeing on a pro deal in baseball, why would he bother calling meetings and passing sessions with the vets???
I'll tell you what, I like the way the character of this team is starting to shape up. When you combine Zach's personality with guys like Russell Shepard, Patrick Peterson and several others you have a nucleus that is going to translate into championships. Leadership on the sidelines puts you in a position to win. Leadership between the lines translates into championships. These guys are going to be special.
Not trying to be an a$$ but I disagree. There have only been a handfull of "great" QB's to play at LSU (Bert Jones, Tommy Hodson, Rohan Davey). To claim JJ's on the cusp of being in that group is, at this point, an insult to those 3. I wouldn't even list Matt Mauck and Matt Flynn in the "great" category. They were VERY GOOD QB's that both guided us to National titles, but not "great". And Jefferson is in neither category. I expect JJ to reach his potential as a "good LSU Tiger" before his time here is done. If Jefferson fell somewhere between Flynn/Mauck and Herb Tyler, we'd all be ok with that.
I would agree with you on that. The problem is that the word "great" has been degraded to the point where for most people, if JJ leads LSU to an SEC Championship then he is one of the "greats" no matter what. If you said "all time greats" then it would be more clear that he has not and almost certainly will not achieve this level. No knock on him, though.....Mauck and Flynn both won Championships....I'll accept that description. JJ could be a championship level qb, there is no doubt about that.
And as for any player on the current squad that could reach "great" status for us, the ONLY player right now that is in reach of that is Patrick Peterson.
When I think of someone labeled "great" I think of names like Emmitt Smith, Kevin Faulk....Barry Sanders, Kenny Stabler, the Manning family, etc. Maybe now you have to say "legendary" instead of great, who knows.... but players like this....I admit I am a novice as far as technical football goes...there may be many players who are considered great among more knowledgeable observers. But as a fan, that's what I think of when I use the term great.
