When Jai Eugene was a senior at Destrehan High School, he thought he had made up his mind about his college future.The LSU junior cornerback had committed to Michigan, but on his son’s first birthday, he had a change of heart — he knew he could not be more than 1,000 miles away from “Little Jai” during the next four years.”I took the visit [to Michigan], and I really liked it,” Eugene said. “I wanted to try something different and just wanted to get away. But then I knew I couldn’t go too far from my son, and LSU was the place.”Eugene’s mother, Sharon, said she was thrilled with her son’s decision to stay in Louisiana and remain close to his family.”I was delighted because that gave me more opportunity to come and see him play and be at every game,” Sharon Eugene said. “Little Jai comes along too. His baby really loves him.”Sharon Eugene said Little Jai, who is now 4 years old, loves when his father comes home to St. Rose to visit, and she said he will start playing football next year.”He knows all about football, and he knows all his dad’s teammates,” Sharon Eugene said. “He is so funny like his dad. When Jai was here Sunday, Little Jai made the remark, ‘Dad, I hate when you have to leave me like this.'”On the field at LSU, 22-year-old Jai Eugene has started 10 of the 33 games he has played, including LSU’s most recent game against Tulane. He was recruited as a cornerback, but he said he hardly played any snaps on defense before college.”I played cornerback for a game or two my freshman year and then moved to quarterback and played there the whole time,” Jai Eugene said. “I went to some combine camps and was running and playing corner there. It took me a while to get used to cornerback when I got here.”Jai Eugene’s backup quarterback at Destrehan High School is a familiar name in LSU football today — Jordan Jefferson.”Jordan and I grew up together,” Jai Eugene said. “We lived on the same street, and I grew up playing with him. He was a way better quarterback than me.”Jefferson called Jai “a big clown,” and the sophomore quarterback said that has been his personality since they first became friends playing little league football.”He’s very outgoing and is always holding a conversation about something,” Jefferson said. “He’ll talk to anybody about anything … he’s very funny and a great player.”Fellow cornerback Patrick Peterson, who has started every game this season as a true sophomore, said Jai was one of the first people he learned from at LSU.”You know when he comes in because he’s always talking,” Peterson said. “When I first came here, I looked up to Jai, and he taught me a lot of things. Now he asks me things even though I’m not older than him.”Jai Eugene has not been a consistent starter in the LSU secondary, but he said he does not mark his career by the number of starts he gets.”When I first came in, I was playing a backup role,” he said. “It was getting to me a little bit, but it wasn’t my focus at the time. It’s really not about a starting thing to me. It’s about competing and doing the best I can.”One of Jai Eugene’s career highlights was his first interception as a Tiger during the fourth quarter against senior quarterback Tim Tebow and Florida on Oct. 10.”Not too many people can say they’ve intercepted the Heisman Trophy winner,” he said. “I was pretty excited about that.”LSU junior safety Chad Jones said Jai Eugene is always around “to help you crack a smile,” even during challenging days of practice.”When everybody’s tired, he gets you going again and gives you that second wind you need,” Jones said. “Catching that interception showed the type of player he is. He played a limited role in that game, but he made the best of it. He’s basically like our 13th starter on defense, and we all love him.”—-Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]