LSU football coach Les Miles just could not catch a break this off- season when it came to addressing the Tigers’ quarterback situation. There was no escaping that issue, whether Miles was visiting soldiers in Kuwait or being alone with his wife in the wee-hours of the morning in their bedroom. And that is no exaggeration. During Southeastern Conference media days at the end of July, Miles shared two interesting stories with reporters about his life leading up to this 2006 season. “I went to Iraq as part of a USO tour,” Miles recounted. “(I) landed in Kuwait, was there a day and a half, then we took a C-130 into Baghdad. Late that night I had a soldier I want to say at 11:30. I had not talked about the quarterback up until that time. I had a young man from Louisiana come in and say, as the last thing that I did that evening, ‘OK, coach, tell me who’s starting at quarterback.'” After leaving Kuwait to return home, the inquisition followed Miles all the way. “[It was] 3 in the morning, I’m at home, I am wide awake,” Miles said. “My wife is there, sleeping. Heck, I’d been in Iraq for a week, eight days, so you miss your wife. I kind of wanted her to wake up. I kind of skooch over by her and nudge her a bit.” After his “nudge,” Miles said his wife woke up but was not very happy about the coach waking her up. “She rolled over, looked at me,” Miles said. “She gathered her wits about her and says, ‘So tell me, who you going to play quarterback?'” That’s pretty rough, Mrs. Miles – give the poor guy a break. So here we are, less than a week before the season begins, and all indications are that JaMarcus Russell will be this season’s starting quarterback. Good choice or bad choice? My vote is good choice, so let the bashing of my thoughts and opinions begin. But at least hear me out. As an LSU starter, Russell has a 14-2 record in two years, including six wins in the fourth quarter or overtime. He has thrown for 3,496 yards and 23 touchdowns during his tenure, which ranks him ninth and tenth respectively in LSU’s history. Before I get too in-depth about Russell, I will address the play of junior quarterback Matt Flynn and the non play of redshirt freshman Ryan Perrilloux for the sake of making a good argument. Flynn holds a 1-0 record as LSU starting quarterback and is famous among fans for his stunning performance in LSU’s 40-3 romp of the University of Miami in the 2005 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. He was the game’s most valuable offensive player after passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns against a Miami defense that was among the best in the nation. And finally there is Perrilloux, a blue chip recruit coming out of high school who has yet to step on the field for LSU. Perrilloux’s speed and athleticism is almost unfair to the defensive opposition but is still plagued by the tell-all word “potential.” Miles has said Perrilloux will see playing time this season but did not elaborate on the extent of his play. For the sake of inexperience, we will rule out Perrilloux for this season. Note that I said “this season.” Amid all these stats and facts, there is one number that stands out above all – 14. Russell’s 14 wins in 16 games as LSU’s starting quarterback is almost impossible to argue against. For those who do not want to buy into Russell’s success, think about this. Russell has given the opposition up to 16 games to study his habits and tendencies on the field. Coaches have been given the opportunity to expose his weaknesses, but the truth is the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers have beaten him. It’s simply not fair to name Flynn the No. 1 guy after one game. Yes, his performance was great, but there is barely any game-time film for coaches to watch Flynn and study his play. Outside of the Peach Bowl, Flynn threw only 36 passes in his time at LSU, and most of those passes came when teams had already been obliterated by LSU’s starters. I can concede that I have no way of knowing if Flynn could be as successful or even more successful than Russell. But why bench Russell for going 14-2 as a starter? If Russell’s shoulder and wrist turn out to aggravate his play, then sure, let Flynn lead the team. But do not bail on Russell. There are always going to be those who point to the fortunes of players like Kurt Warner, but people forget his success in the NFL was limited. It was fantastic but short-lived because of injury and flat-out poor play with the Rams, Giants and now with the Cardinals. But regardless of who is chosen to start at quarterback, I think most LSU fans can agree on one idea. Let’s play some football.
—–Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]