LSU wrap-up: Signs of things to come By Jess Nicholas TideFans.com Editor-in-Chief Nov. 4, 2007 You could see it coming the first handful of times Alabama tried to run Terry Grant off-tackle. There was LSU’s Glenn Dorsey, Marlon Favorite and a host of other Tigers ready to snuff out the Alabama running game. What makes LSU different from Tennessee two weeks before – a game Alabama won going away – is what made LSU the one game Alabama fans circled in the preseason and wrote “cover your eyes” next to the date. LSU’s immense talent is what led many, if not most prognosticators to pick the Tigers to fill one half of the dance card for this year’s national championship game. That may not happen in the end, thanks to Kentucky, but it was easy to see why LSU was different than Tennessee, Arkansas, or most any SEC team – loads and loads of top SEC-level talent. Most of it, by the way, was recruited by Alabama’s Nick Saban. It was part of the reason desperate Tiger fans paid into the low thousands, some of them, for a ticket to this game. LSU, by all rights, should have pounded Alabama into the Bryant-Denny Stadium turf and never looked back. Read the rest of the story . . .
It will be tough for Nick to do in Alabama what he did in Louisiana in terms of recruiting. I know you've heard this before, but obviously you haven't internalized these reasons why Louisiana was a great place for Nick to recruit and Alabama will be different: 1. Louisiana talent was going out of state before Nick, and Louisiana has, per capita, the most talent in football of any state. 2. Alabama has an in-state rival for its players, albeit not as prestigious a school. 3. Alabama is close to Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, which have had very successful teams recently, and players from Alabama are more likely to be attracted there than are players from Louisiana--this further dilutes the pool Nick will draw from and ups the competition he will face. 4. LSU has a location which is more exciting than Tuscaloosa, being closer to recreation (beach, casinos, etc., not to mention New Orleans) and to transportation hubs. 5. LSU has had success recruiting from Texas, which, next to California and Florida, a motherlode of football prospects. 6. LSU has recently won a national championship, which Alabama hasn't. Even though it was won with a different coach, still it was LSU. That is more of a constant than the coach is. So although I absolutely loved Nick when he was here and I actually root for him every week except when he's playing LSU, and I think it was a great move for Alabama to hire him, I don't think he will get the talent as quickly or as easily at Alabama as he did at LSU. We'll see. But the memory of Bear Bryant is an old story, now, and actually doesn't resonate that much with today's hip-hop crowd. LSU's national championship AND its record of sending people to the NFL is going to go farther, much farther, especially to recruits who live closer to LSU and whose families can come watch them play in Death Valley. :geauxtige
really??? because i think it takes great heart and coaching ability to overcome your mistakes and win in a hostile environment which is what LSU did. hopefully this performance will move bama up in the rankings for the "heart and coaching ability" BCS. they're worse than usc when it comes to accepting a loss.
Yeah, the tiders are right; LSU will never have a good team again, all of our instate talent will suddenly stop loving LSU, and more championship appearances this year will certainly sway the recruits away to bama.:rolleye33: :wave:
doesn't LSU have 17 senior starters this season? I'm just saying that not having those guys around can be a bit of a drop off.
I'm not disagreeing with you but I'd have to say that he's sure off to a good start with Bama sitting with the #3 recruiting class in the Nation right now. A lot will change between now and National signing day but all signs thus far point to continued solid recruiting.
Yea, I think Jess is seeing that game through crimson glasses, and he is entitled to, since he's a fan like us, and we tend to see LSU through our P&G glasses most of the time. I don't think Bama was any better coached than us, if you take away a couple of Flynn mistakes, and secondary breakdowns, the game was not that close. Bottom line, we won against yet another top 20 team, on the road. Look at Miles record, it speaks for itself. Nobody is giving :lsup: ANY victories.
Miles' average star rating, in his first 3 classes, is higher than Saban's. So, no, shouldn't be any drop off, talent-wise. Better talent coming in- though experience will be a factor.
No doubt, next year is not our year. This year is our opportunity, or we'll have to wait a while. Nobody can lose 17 sr. starters and be as good the next year. It's just not possible in college ball. But I think we can give a good account of ourselves, like Fla. did this year. I don't want to play Fla. again this year, I'll tell you that.
Time for Bama to go into the next year we will be better mode again. You can see this guy is one of the ringleaders.
