Let me begin with a disclaimer. LSU fans, you’re probably not going to enjoy what you’re about to read. Please be kind with the hate mail. But here we go. As the college football season winds down, talks will begin to intensify about who’s declaring to enter the NFL draft in April. By mid-January college football players must decide whether they will attempt to extend their careers in the NFL. Junior quarterback JaMarcus Russell would be wise to make the Jan. 3 Sugar Bowl against the University of Notre Dame his last game as a player at LSU, barring some significant injury. So let my opinion officially begin the fans groaning – “Oh, where’s the loyalty?” or “He should finish his education,” or even “He’s greedy.” Russell has not made a public statement about his future at LSU, but Mike Detillier, NFL draft analyst, thinks the junior quarterback’s days at LSU are limited to one more game. “Just kind of looking into the crystal ball, I would say that he’s going to come out,” Detillier said. Russell has great reason to leave if he does. According to Detillier, Russell would likely be the second signal caller taken in the 2007 draft and a potential top-10 selection. Who would most likely be the first quarterback taken? Everyone’s sweetheart – University of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn. “What most juniors do is they go to the NFL advisory board and get a grade,” Detillier said of Russell’s likely course of action. “If he went to them, he would get a first-round pick grade. He’d be, to me, one of the top-12 to 14 players selected in this draft.” Foregoing his final year of eligibility also makes sense because of the lack of quarterback talent coming from college football this season. “It’s not a top-heavy draft as far as quarterbacks are concerned,” Detillier said. “To be honest in grading out the 2007 seniors, it’s probably the weakest group I’ve graded out in 22 years.” If Russell does stay for his senior season, he would face more draft competition than if he left after this season. University of Southern California quarterback John David Booty, Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm and University of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan would all be included in next season’s draft talk. Then there’s the completely ridiculous argument that Russell is an overrated quarterback, and he still needs to polish his game. I guess overrated means going 24-4 as a starter and tossing 50 career touchdowns compared to 20 interceptions. Many draft scouts put heavy stock in a college quarterback’s completion percentage. In the 2005-2006 season Russell completed 60.5 percent of his passes to a wide receiving corps that dropped the most passes in the Southeastern Conference. This season Russell has inflated his completion percentage to an eye-popping 68.5 percentage. “The one thing that jumps out at me today when I watch him [compared to] when I saw him as a redshirt freshman is his accuracy skills,” Detillier said. “When you’re talking about completing almost 70 percent of your throws, that’s a pretty strong statement.” Then finally there’s the argument that Russell only cares about the money. Well guess what? The 14th pick in the 2006 draft signed a six-year contract worth $17.5 million. That deal bangs out $2.92 million a year. But you wouldn’t take that money if you were him, right? That’s what I thought. The plain truth is Russell is just like any other normal college student. He’s got bills to pay and dreams to pursue. Russell has earned the respect of his coaches, his teammates and the media. He’s earned the opportunity to be successful in the NFL, and no one has the right to tell him that he should remain at LSU “because it’s the right thing to do.” I will concede that Russell has not won a national championship or even an SEC championship. Those two absences from his resume could be enough to sway him to stay for the 2006-2007 season. “The big question mark with JaMarcus is going to be this – do you want to go back and play your senior year, and do you want a shot at a national championship,” Detillier said. And I’m pretty certain Russell wouldn’t mind contending for the Heisman Trophy. But last time I checked, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Tom Brady and Drew Brees didn’t win a national championship or the Heisman Trophy, and they’ve faired pretty well in the NFL. My message to fans is to enjoy watching LSU play in the Sugar Bowl. If you see Russell around campus or running the streets, take a minute to thank him for everything he’s done for the Tigers. Because come Jan. 4 a new era in LSU football will have begun.
—–Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]