I made this point in another thread. The philosophy of "I play for the name on the side of my helmet, not the one on the back of my jersey" no longer exists at LSU. The guy who gave us that original quote - Travis Daniels - did so after being asked to surrender his redshirt to play in the SEC championship game. The coach who asked him to do that? Nick Saban, who manages to keep most of his stars on the Bama campus for that extra year to win championships, while LSU's guys at the same skill level leave early for the NFL.
Burrow did too, but that type of player is now the exception. I don’t even care if guys are going 3 years and out to be a 1st or 2nd rounder. But Gilbert isn’t going to the NFL. Kary Vincent won’t be taken before the 4th round. Moss left to go undrafted. Charles went in the 5th round (I think). It’s mind boggling; half these guys look like fools at the end of the day and we could’ve mutually benefitted from each other. Something needs to change.
Also, for what it’s worth, ZVR backed up O, saying there is no rift between coaches and players. He says morale is down because of a losing season, but there’s no tension.
Culture is a big part of it, IMO. Sure, playing for a bigtime program such as LSU might give a player an edge on making to the NFL, but the focus should be you come to LSU to win championships.
What needs to change is the culture within the program. I don't think its an accident that more often than not, LSU players with even a hint of NFL talent seem to pass on that final year, and Alabama players of the same level of talent stay put. Moss, Charles, Jacob Phillips and Cushenberry all should have been encouraged within the program to return. Vincent too, but his opting out may actually have been about covid. (Chase, I believe, was protecting his draft status from a potentially bad offense). If they were, no one is saying that.
