For the past five seasons, former LSU running backs coach and special teams coordinator Derek Dooley spent countless hours on the road, recruiting some of the state and nation’s top players to play for the Tigers. Now the coach at Louisiana Tech, Dooley will have to spend Saturday night competing against his former players. “I take great pride in some of the things [LSU] is doing down there now,” Dooley said. “The current coaching staff is doing a great job, but there are four or five guys there I vividly remember sitting in their living rooms with their parents selling them to come to LSU, so I am very proud of what they have done.” Nine games through his first full season as Bulldogs coach, Dooley said he already sees major differences between coaching at what is considered the major program in the state and coaching at a Western Athletic Conference program like Louisiana Tech. “The major difference we see is the amount of money the athletic departments are willing to spend on the teams,” Dooley said. “[LSU] has all the best in everything, which is attractive to incoming players.” While Dooley did acknowledge LSU as one of the top programs in the nation, the first-year coach said his team has intentions of coming to Baton Rouge on Saturday with an upset in mind. “They obviously have players who can play at a high level,” he said. “But I like our guys, too. I think we have a locker room full of good players too.” One player Dooley was likely referring to is junior halfback Patrick Jackson, who has over 750 rushing yards for the Bulldogs this season. Jackson said he believes smaller programs in Louisiana do not receive enough national attention, but that he does not feel disrespected by the lack of media praise. “That’s not something we can really control,” Jackson said. “All I can do is go out and play as hard as I can on Saturday’s. People will eventually take note of what we’re doing.” Jackson was initially recruited by former coach Nick Saban, but following Saban’s departure in early 2005, the West St. John High School halfback chose Louisiana Tech because of the premier engineering program the school offered and LSU’s interest in other running backs. At West St. John, Jackson teamed with his cousin, LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson and fullback Quinn Johnson. Patrick Jackson said he is excited about playing against his cousin. “We communicate every week,” Jackson said “We text one another before games to encourage one another, so it’s going to be really fun to go out there and play against him this week. Patrick Jackson said he does not hold a grudge against LSU despite the Tigers not recruiting him as heavily as he would have liked. “I don’t have any ill will or anything,” Jackson said. “They were two of my blockers, so it will be more fun to play against them than anything else.” Despite Jackson’s lack of anger toward the LSU program, LSU coach Les Miles said stopping the Edgard native will be one of the most difficult challenges LSU’s No. 4 rush defense will face all season. “[Louisiana Tech] has a very good runner in Patrick Jackson,” Miles said. “He has just fewer than 800 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Their offense is a very quality group.” Dooley and Jackson both said regardless of the Bulldogs’ opponent, they will prepare the same way every week. “It doesn’t really matter who we play,” Dooley said. “But we have a set routine of things we do, and we’ll follow them regardless of our opponent. We played undefeated Hawaii and took them to overtime, so we have confidence in our system.”
—Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]