On any given Friday night, LSU baseball fans flood Alex Box Stadium and are dazzled as sophomore ace Kevin Gausman makes opposing hitters look silly.
The same fans will flock to Tiger Stadium in the fall to watch sophomore receivers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. leave defensive backs in the dust.
But once the final out is made or time expires on the gridiron, fans have no trouble following their favorite players off the field.
And it’s all in 140 characters or less.
Twitter following among LSU athletes has exploded in recent months, particularly with the LSU baseball and football programs.
“It’s pretty neat to read it and have people you don’t even know telling you good job after a game or good luck heading into a big weekend,” said junior outfielder Mason Katz.
Both football coach Les Miles and baseball coach Paul Mainieri acknowledged that Twitter won’t disappear anytime soon, and both agreed it must be addressed with their teams.
Miles said during Tuesday’s Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference that his biggest qualm with Twitter is the identity his players assume.
“It’s an opportunity for alter egos,” Miles said. “When I click on, I’m going to be a different cat [than on the field].”
Although out of the loop with Twitter, Mainieri said he cautions his players to be mindful of what is put in the public light.
“I let them know that they shouldn’t be airing things publicly that are internal within our team,” Mainieri said.
While adhering to their coaches’ warnings, athletes can either hype up fans through Twitter or leave them scratching their heads.
Landry and Beckham teamed with junior receivers Kadron Boone and James Wright and senior receiver Russell Shepard to form the Twitter-fueled “fab five,” promising gaudy numbers and a return to the national championship game next season.
Off the diamond, LSU baseball players admit to not taking their Twitter accounts seriously. Except for Gausman, that is.
“Gausman is the team tweet leader, the swag tweeter,” said junior outfielder Raph Rhymes.
Both Rhymes and Katz derided Gausman’s propensity to hashtag the word “swag” after any and all of his tweets.
“Twitter is just kind of my random thoughts that I have, and I have a lot,” Gausman said. “If I was to go to the mall and get some shoes, it would be #AirForceOneSwag.”
Gausman said although his Twitter account may be a random assortment of thoughts, it provides fans a unique glimpse into his life.
“They kind of get to know us on and off [the field],” Gausman said. “We get to share our lives with them.”
 
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Contact Chandler Rome at [email protected].