A week ago in the BCS National Championship Game, the buildup of LSU’s and Ohio State’s respective defenses centered around All-Americans Glenn Dorsey and James Laurinaitis.
Those players performed well in the contest. Dorsey tallied five tackles and a forced fumble for the Tigers, and Laurinaitis led all players with 18 tackles.
But a couple of lesser-known players stole the spotlight in the Tigers’ 38-24 victory.
Sophomores Ricky Jean-Francois and Harry Coleman anchored LSU’s second BCS title victory in five seasons, and the performance was the culmination of an eventful year for Jean-Francois.
Before LSU’s match-up against Notre Dame in the 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl, the University’s Dean of Students Office suspended Jean-Francois because of an academic dishonesty issue. That suspension lasted 13 games and stretched from LSU’s 41-14 victory against the Fighting Irish to the end of this past regular season.
Jean-Francois, who was a Sporting News Freshman All-American in 2006, returned to the field for the Southeastern Conference title game Dec. 1 and had three tackles in LSU’s 21-14 win against Tennessee.
But his coming out party came on the biggest stage of them all. The Miami native had eight tackles and a half sack against the Buckeyes, and his play earned him Defensive Most Valuable Player honors.
In a year, Jean-Francois went from an almost forgotten man to a national championship game superstar. He said that during his suspension he received constant moral support from teammates and coaches.
“My coaches told me to keep my head up from day one,” Jean-Francois said. “I felt down, and I felt like I wanted to leave school and everything, but all my coaches told me ‘at the end, something is going to come through for you.'”
That “something” happened with the score tied at 10 in the second quarter against Ohio State when Jean-Francois plowed through the Buckeyes’ offensive line and blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt by place-kicker Ryan Pretorius.
After the block, LSU drove 66 yards to take a 17-10 lead – an advantage the Tigers never relinquished.
Jean-Francois said the coaching staff told him to utilize his 6-foot-3-inch, 281-pound frame to burst through the Ohio State line.
“So I backed up [from the line] and just came off as quickly as possible, trying to time ball,” he said. “When I got back there, and I saw my hand, I was like ‘Please, let this block this ball.’ When I finally blocked it, I was shocked. It changed the momentum of the game.”
LSU coach Les Miles said special teams play was a bullet point in the final two weeks leading up to the title game.
“Our special teams coach [Bradley Dale Peveto] really pointed at that throughout bowl preparation,” Miles said. “Ricky Jean-Francois is a very talented guy, and we got a good push. He got a hand up, and we got a hand on it. To me, that was a definite turning point.”
Another turning point came in the second quarter when LSU All-American safety Craig Steltz went down with an injury.
Harry Coleman, a reserve safety, replaced Steltz, and the Tigers didn’t lose a beat. Coleman had two tackles, two fumble recoveries and one important quarterback hurry in the game.
On Ohio State’s next possession after the blocked field goal, Coleman blitzed Buckeyes’ quarterback Todd Boeckman and forced him to throw an errant pass that was intercepted by cornerback Chevis Jackson.
Senior running back Jacob Hester, who carried the ball 21 times for 86 yards, said Coleman’s big plays kept LSU’s momentum going until the end of the game.
“Coleman’s play just shows the good recruiting and the depth that we have,” Hester said. “We lost an All-American, and a lot of people got nervous. But he came in there, played sound football and didn’t make any mistakes. He was really a key to us winning.”
—-Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]