Well, we did recruit Bowers so I'd say it was him. I tend to agree that Watson was "lost on purpose" if that is even possible without withdrawing the offer.
Good point with Bowers. Maybe when Saban said they only lost one he is referring to someone they REALLY wanted badly but didn't get. That would make more sense because it does seem they offered more than one person that they didn't get
I have to say it was Bowers. I think we really wanted him. I only think we lost him because, at Ole Miss, he thinks he has a chance to A) play immediately and B) become the cornerstone of that defense, whereas at LSU, even with Hill going to the NFL, he will have to redshirt, ride the bench for at least one year, and even if he gets on the field, he'll be just another brick in the wall.
According to rivals, LSU did NOT offer Bowers or Watson (at least at the point in which they committed to another school). Sorry guys, you can stop with the Bowers and Watson thing (and yes even I thought it was Watson). We may have offered Watson and then retracted it late in the recruiting process. We offered Derron Thomas and he is from LA and he did sign with someone else. He was rated as 4th among all-purpose backs. A couple of weeks ago Dandy Don had reported that LSU had no longer an interest in 3 Louisiana players. One of them was Richard, I almost 100 % certain. Reynaud may have fallen into that same category, and maybe Jay Lucas was the third. So congrats to NOSA on getting this one right.
From Saban's mouth "We wanted Daryl Richard but he decided to go somewhere else." Now obviously you are not going to keep going after someone who keeps telling you he is going somewhere else.
I too heard we cooled off of Richard, especially once we got the commitment from Favorite. With that quote from Saban though who knows.
I wish that the info on Richard was still up on Dandy Don. He specifically listed 3 players that LSU had retracted their offers on, and one of them was definitely Richard. So it depends on who you believe.
I am not arguing about what Dandy Don did or didn't post. All I know is what I heard Saban say. Maybe they did pull his offer at some point such as when they signed plenty of defensive lineman. At that point their focus switched to other positions of need (wide receiver). That does not change the fact that they wanted him.
Dandy Don was upset that Geoff Bernard (OL 6'7 330), Lafayette got away. Signed with Florida State. Maybe thats what he meant.