If University students, whether seventh-year seniors or six-week-old freshmen, don’t have enough to cheer about before kickoffs, look no further than the LSU football team’s own spirit trio.
Senior safety Jai Eugene and senior special teams player Daniel Graff, along with junior cornerback Ron Brooks, have become fan favorites because of their antics in the northwest    corner of Tiger Stadium.
The spirit trio, as Eugene calls it, makes its way to the student section before every kickoff, doing anything to get the fans on their feet. Eugene, Graff and Brooks, along with the rest of a hungry LSU kickoff team, feed off the students’ tantalizing energy.
“The more the crowd gets into it, the more we get into it … the more sense of urgency to run down the field and try to take somebody’s head off and try to make a big play for the team,” said Eugene, who serves as the vocal leader on kickoffs.
So far, so good for the ‘attack team,’ as the players like to call it.
LSU currently leads the Southeastern Conference in kickoff coverage with a net average of 48.2 yards, which combines the average kickoff distance with the average return yards.
Eugene has been the leader of the group since he got here in 2006. In his early days he could be seen waving towels on the sideline to get the crowd involved, before taking his talents to the kickoff team.
“He’s crazy and likes to have fun, and he plays with that same emotion on the field,” Brooks said.
Eugene took Brooks under his wing and hopes to pass the baton to Brooks as the designated hype man when Eugene graduates.
As for Graff, he said he expends his emotions on the first couple kickoffs before letting Eugene and Brooks do the rest.
“I kind of get a little envious,” Graff joked. “I’m like, ‘I wish I could do that right now,’ but I try to save some of my energy.”
Graff first got the idea for a role as an on-field cheerleader before he transferred to LSU from UNO. During several games as a fan, Graff saw how the players and students interacted and said it instantly sparked his interest.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god, those guys are having so much fun,'” he said. “Now I actually get to do it.”
The trio makes up for 30 percent of the attack team, which includes some of LSU’s best athletes.
Joining Eugene, Graff and Brooks on kickoffs are junior safeties Brandon Taylor and Derrick Bryant, sophomore cornerback Ryan St. Julien, freshman cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, freshman running back Alfred Blue and freshman safety Eric Reid.
Junior cornerback Patrick Peterson and redshirt freshman defensive end Barkevious Mingo have also seen time on the attack team.
“I want our best players on special teams,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “To me, any time you turn the ball into the air with a kick and you have the opportunity to change the field by 40 yards, the responsibility should be to our best players.”
The attack team is the last team to be assembled during fall camp and is best described by the players as a privilege, not a right. Even offensive starters like junior running back Stevan Ridley and sophomore wide receiver Russell Shepard have expressed interest.
“You have to be a special athlete,” Eugene said. “The coaching staff, the whole team knows [that] if you’re on kickoff team here, it’s a lot of pride.”
Eugene’s and Brooks’ personalities have already rubbed off on two of LSU’s young players —  Mingo and Mathieu — who joined the trio during LSU’s first two home games.
But Eugene doesn’t want to stop there.
“For the next home game [against Tennessee] we’re going to try and get the whole team to do it,” he said.
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Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected]