I'm thinking this is not a huge loss to LSU. Maybe he thinks he can start at ULL and really enjoys playing the game. If his prospect at LSU for playing time is not that great, the decision could be a good one for him?
Probably a good decision for him on the football side of things. I get the feeling he was getting a lot of pressure from family and friends to stay close to home and I mean really close. Probably a lot more playing time as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he changes his mind again, however. He wants to go to Med School one day and an offer from LSU or say Tulane (Some talk that it could happen) would be hard to pass up given ULL doesn't currently have a scholarship for him. Not sure if our proposal to him is still on the table.
Let's get this straight The guy committed to LSU fairly early...was passed over by other schools because of his early commitment...when it came down to it, LSU needed his scholarship for someone else higher on LSU's board than him late in the game... ...don't expect a very early commitment from his good friend and teammate Mickey Johnson even though Mickey's much more of a sure bet as a prospect.
Let's see . . . he's passing up a promise for a future LSU scholarship for a promise of a future USL scholarship? There is something else going on here.
Yeah, its called feeling jaded. He was promised a scholly, then has to give it up for a year with the promise of getting one next year. I know thats common place, but shady none the less. Plus Im sure that was a slap in the face to the reality that he probably wont see the field at LSU except maybe special teams or very late mop up time. Might be able to start at USL.
It does go deeper. The LSU staff meet with him a couple of times last year to make sure his commitment still stood because the staff kept hearing rumors that he was looking around. His girlfriend was against him going to LSU and some family members were pushing him to stay home and go to ULL. The staff never felt like he was a sure thing.
Yeah it was pretty bad actually. I felt bad for him because of it. He was getting totally ripped by many LSU fans across the boards because they thought we were wasting a scholarship on him, etc... His girlfriend was posted negative stuff about LSU on his facebook account, etc... I am usually not one to say that negative talk on message boards highly affects commitments. But in this case, I do feel that he did not feel embraced by LSU fans. I know he had family and friends on most of the boards watching.
Yes, it is almost like an old soap opera. I was never very high on him although he seems to give great effort. IMO he plays too high. That is what impressed me with Copeland who plays low with a forward lean while penetrating the line. We certainly need the scholarships so I wish him well. I feel sorry for him being pulled in different directions with such a big decision in his young life. Good luck to him whether he ends up here or not.
All over the place but finally made a decision and signed with Illinois. Zook promised him early playing time at LB. Wish him luck...
