The Recruiting Bash is bullsh!t... Fellas, if not for a cash bar, most people would say it's hardly any fun at all...I mean, yeah, if you bring a bunch of friends with you, you have an excuse to get drunk...but it's nothing but a cashcow for the Gridiron Club... In 1997, this thing cost my father $20 (two tickets for us both), and we got free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and also got free beer (Me being 17 at the time, I couldn't partake of course). This year, the ticket was $30 ($40 at the door), and the lines were so ridiculously long for food (breakfast & lunch), that the lunch line snaked 3/4 of the way around the Atrium by 11:00am, and it was 5-7 wide...With only one main area serving food... The highlights were obviously the recruit highlight tape, and of course the introduction of the coach's families, Skip's intro of Les Miles, and of course, Les Miles himself. Of course most of you heard his press conferences, and it's obvious that Les might be a little shell shocked by the scrutiny and the bright lights, and his polish (or some would say lack thereof) is showing...He is tongue tied rather easily... But, it's easy and apparent to see the level of intensity behind this man's still evolving public persona. The way he talks, the things he says, it belies an enthusiasm that we haven't yet begun to see. As far as the recruits go... The Parkview Baptist D-Lineman is very quick off the ball. He's exceedingly quick, at that... The St. Aug Defensive lineman is a strong presence...I'm not sure how that will translate at the next level...I think the PBHS guy will have a chance for immediate impact because of his quickness... The tight end from Texas-Anderson-has been talked about at 6-4, 260...But I would say he's a good 6-2, and MAYBE 230...MAYBE...A good blocker, and also has good body control and soft hands... The running back from Winfield is deceptively fast...I was thinking to myself that he was not going to get to the edge, or that up the middle, the safeties converging would have a good angle, and I'd be wrong...He's good, and he'll either provide excellent depth as a redshirt, or maybe move over to a safety position on defense...Good specimen with the ability to put on more weight... The Fountainbleu kid is a beast...He was not only the biggest kid on all of his highlights, he was without question the quickest. He also has great moves and again, like Anderson, excellent body control. A real tough kid, hard runner, who looks like he wants it. Hawkins of Walker is a talent...He'll be another in a mold of Travis Daniels. Tall kid with good ball skills and great breaking ability. He tapes on defense didn't look like a kid at the HS level... RJ Jackson is really, REALLY good...and what I like about him is not that his running highlights are amazing...We knew they would be...What I liked was that he has EXCELLENT receiving skills out of the backfield. His coach got him the ball in a variety of ways, and whether it was out of the backfield or via handoff or toss, he's adept at getting into space and making something happen. He won't be moved...and he will make his presence felt in a year or two... The 6'3", 180 wideout reminded me of Amp Hill's highlight tape...Excellent polish for a high school wide receiver, and excellent speed. On the tapes where he broke long plays, he didn't slow down, which made me think he's well conditioned and put in the time, not just leaning on his natural ability. The Trindan kid from Northeast is-if you can believe this-a mixture of Bennie Brazell's thin bag of bones look and actually shorter than Shyrone Carey... Having said that, this kid's highlight tape was freakish...He had absolutely no blocking, and beyond that, if the kid got hit, he was going to break in half... So to break one, he had to actually not only outrun everyone (VERY easy...This kid is a legit 4.4), but get NOT TOUCHED by anyone...and he did it....Over, and over, and over, and over again...Out of the backfield, spinning, getting to the edge...Catching a pass....But most excitingly...Returning punts and kickoffs...I cannot say enough about this guy...If he can survive hits from SEC defenders, he may set records for return yardage at LSU....AND YES I KNOW X-CARTER IS STILL HERE...That's how impressive this kid was back deep... Ryan Perrilloux reminds me of JaMarcus Russell's arm (Not quite the armstrength) and probably twice the runner Marcus Randall is/was. No slight to either JR or MR, but Perrilloux will be excellent before he's through at LSU. He will redshirt, as will more than a few of LSU signees today... All in all, it was nice to hear Miles speak, nice to see the coaches, and nice to watch the tapes and hear of the coup with Perilloux...But the Gridiron Club needs to reevaluate the planning committee for the Bash...It was a bomb...
That has a lot to do with Matt Flynn...If they can convince Matt Flynn not to transfer (a monumental task if you ask me), then its a definite...If Flynn flies the coop, which is probably a done deal, then Perrilloux might see action as a backup... The coaching staff's main objective will be to continue the development of both Flynn & Russell, because a situation in which our backup is a true freshman-even if he was Peyton Manning-is just not one that can be counted on to produce results. Our offense and defense is returning loaded, and we HAVE to have a successful season... Flynn staying is the X-Factor to ensure LSU is competitive for the next 4 years (on offense)...Interestingly enough...Even though Flynn may never get a shot at starting quarterback for LSU, he might just turn out to be the single most important LSU football player to return...
If I go to the bash again, it will only be for the afternoon session - The highlight video, band, coach's comments. They do NOTHING to entertain the crowd throughout the day. Unless you consider the following to be entertaining: Watching a replay of the Oregon State and Florida games from this past season and occasionally making announcements to draw raffle tickets for trivial prizes. I felt information deprived being there and would have been better served right here on this forum during the early morning hours. Oh and the food lines were a joke.
Interesting observations. I agree that RP will redshirt. As good as Korte the FB is, is he going to see any PT until his junior year? It's hard to believe that he is more talented than Hester and Steltz. TE, what did you think about the LB Beckwith? You think he is going to push for PT? I think Hitt, like Lafell, is really underrated, but he will most likely RS. Too much depth at DT. I hope Ciron Black pans out, because we will most certainly need him soon. I am really excited about RJ and ARob, they will make losing Addai not so bad.
I got to meet Grad...and to follow up on this...The lines were SO long...My father and I-knowing it was free-up and left to go get some din-din at The Chimes... Man...I have to reccommend the Blackened Alligator...They have it as an appetizer, on a po-boy, and even as an entree...Their horseradish sauce they serve with it was amazing... I had the Seafood Pasta...and with the appetizer of 'gatormeat', the entree itself and a Sweet tea, I made it out at $20 tip included...With no ridiculous ass wait... The fan interaction was a joke...They have in the past had roundtable discussions, where LSU personalities take questions from the crowd and include panel discussions... But this year was a total cashcow..DeSalvo and company should be ashamed...
HotDog (Which would have been nice instead of that damn line today), I think that Korte will probably redshirt, and then make a big splash in '06...He's going to be a mean mofo, though...With two years in the weight program...Sheeeh! RJ was impressive...Your comparison is apt...He's a not quite so tall version of Addai...Outside of Joseph, we don't have a guy in our backfield that can catch the ball as well as Jackson can...
Rp will not redshirt....he has a great shot of being a qb next year...our version of Chris Leak hopefully....starting as a freshman.
It sure is nice getting fullbacks that can do more than just block. I'm really excited about Hester. Whenever he gets the ball he does great things...except for that fumble against Georgia after like a 15 yard run.
Leak led UF to a 4 loss season and an embarassing loss in a Bowl Game in his initial campaign...Our eyes are on a higher prize than that at LSU...and if Flynn transfers, then I agree with you, RP won't RS...But, let me say this...If you are confident enough in a kid whose never taken a single snap in a college football game that you'd say he'd take over and dominate, then start bending some spoons using your mental powers alone and tell me who to bet my checking account on Sunday in the Super Bowl... I remember a guy a year ago that we all (not me) thought would come in and dominate and be our starting quarterback by the Georgia game, and yadda, yadda, yadda...He'd take over and light it up... How'd he end up doing? Get a grip, man...How can you say that RP is so much better than JR after two years in the program? How can you know how he'll react to SEC defenses? How do you know how he'll react when he can't just outrun linebackers? How do you know how he'll react when he can't just line up out of the shotgun and choose whether he wants to chuck or duck, tuck and run? Dismissed...
