It will be interesting to see the impact the loss of LSU running backs coach Larry Porter will have on the recruitment of Hahnville running back Alfred Blue.
Sunday afternoon the University of Memphis named Porter their new head coach and he was the assistant coach that was recruiting Blue for LSU.
Blue, who is considered the top running back prospect in the state of Louisiana, seemed to have narrowed down his schools to Ole Miss and LSU in the recruiting process before Porter was named the head coach of Memphis.
The 6-2, 205 pound halfback rushed for 87 yards on 11 carries in his final game for Hahnville Friday night in the 24-7 loss to Rummel High School.
While Hahnville’s season is over, LSU’s postseason outlook became a lot brighter after the Tigers’ 33-30 overtime win over Arkansas.
LSU trailed Arkansas 30-27 with 1:18 seconds left in the game in a scene eerily similar to the “Meltdown in Mississippi” just one week earlier.
But this time former Destrehan High School standout quarterback Jordan Jefferson made the right throws and decisions to lead LSU to a game-tying field goal in regulation time.
With 1:12 seconds left in the contest LSU took over possession of the football at their own 36-yard line. At almost the same spot on the field and with the same amount of time left in the game as a week ago the Tigers got a chance to put away the bad moments of a week ago.
The first play from scrimmage was not what the Tigers wanted. Jefferson was sacked by Arkansas defensive tackle Jerry Franklin for a 5-yard loss and Tiger fans across Louisiana and the Tiger nation were saying to themselves, not again.
Using freshman wide receiver Rueben Randle, senior tight end Richard Dickson and sophomore running back Stevan Ridley as a runner and a receiver, Jefferson coolly moved the football to the Arkansas 23-yard line to set up a Josh Jasper game-tying 41-yard field goal.
In overtime LSU’s Josh Jasper hit his fourth field goal of the night to give LSU a 33-30 lead and four plays later Arkansas’ Alex Tejada missed a field goal from 36-yards out to seal the deal for LSU in overtime.
Not all the bad taste was out of the mouth of Tiger players, coaches and fans, but it goes to show you the beauty of sports and redemption.
While the win doesn’t completely take away the sting of the Tigers loss to Ole Miss, it does give the Tigers a 9-3 win/loss mark in 2009 and that is exactly where most of us who cover the Southeast Conference thought they would end up before the season started.
Now the Tigers wait patiently until next Sunday to find out exactly where they will play in a bowl game, but it is widely expected LSU will play in the Capital One Bowl game against either Penn State or Iowa on January 1 in Orlando, Florida.
But the good news for 2010 is that the Tigers will not have to face Tim Tebow of Florida again and Alabama will not have Terrence Cody, Javier Arenas and probably Rolando McClain on defense.
Back for LSU in 2010 will be Jordan Jefferson, Steven Ridley, Terrence Tolliver and Rueben Randle, three starters along the offensive line, defensive tackle Drake Nevis, linebackers Kelvin Sheppard and Ryan Baker and the best cornerback in the nation in Patrick Peterson.
And that “money” field goal kicker in Josh Jasper returns also.
But more importantly Jordan Jefferson returns with experience and experiences under his belt at the most important position out on the field.
Be the first to comment