The cheers echoed off of the dusty, wooden buildings that circled the town square. The villain had been slain and the cowboy was off in the distance riding towards the sinking sun.
One might say it’s seemingly the theme of every western movie. The protagonists of these films float into a small town in the middle of nowhere for a short time, and they always save the day while winning the hearts of the townspeople along the way.
This western fantasy became a reality when LSU linebacker Devin White announced he that he will forego his senior season and enter the 2019 NFL Draft. White may not be a cowboy in the traditional, Hollywood sense, but he is certainly considered a hero to many Tiger fans.
His dominant career in the purple and gold culminated in a first team All-American and All-Southeastern Conference honor, and White became the first LSU player to earn the Butkus Award, given each year to the best linebacker in the country.
Statistically, White will be remembered as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, linebacker in Tiger football history, but the love he garners from LSU fans goes beyond his performance on the football field.
The fact that White loved the university was always evident, and he chose to play in the Fiesta Bowl despite the popular trend of skipping these games that are considered meaningless, and occasionally detrimental, to a player’s future in professional football. When it was time to announce his decision to enter the draft, White did so in a classy and uplifting fashion in a video on his Twitter account.
No one should ever resent a player for making a personal decision like foregoing a senior year to earn money, and it’s impossible to have any bitter feelings about White’s decision considering the type of person he is and the effort that he gave each time he stepped on the gridiron.
But, was the day saved? Did White save the townspeople from the clutches of the villain?
Here, the situation is a little more complicated. The Tigers never defeated Alabama while White was here, and the team certainly didn’t win a national championship. However, the weight of such demanding goals should never fall on the shoulders of one player.
Instead, fans should look at what LSU accomplished as a team and appreciate White’s role in the success. The Tigers finished the 2018 campaign with double-digit wins and a victory in a New Year’s Six bowl game despite so many believing LSU would finish with at least five losses this year.
While it would be great to see what the Tigers could accomplish with one more year of White at the linebacker position, he is by no means leaving his defense out in the lurk.
Cornerback Kristian Fulton, linebacker Michael Divinity and defensive linemen Breiden Fehoko and Rashard Lawrence all announced their intentions to return to LSU for their senior seasons. The return of these players plus the development of players like Jacob Phillips and Patrick Queen as well as the return of K’Lavon Chaisson from an injury bodes well for another dominant Tiger defense in 2019.
Given the expectations of a program on a seeming decline, the day has been won. The Tigers have finished the season as No. 6 in the AP poll, and the foundation to finally slay Alabama and the rest of the villains that fill LSU’s schedule has been laid.
The sun has found its home in the western sky of White’s career, but he can rest assured knowing that, as he rides towards the next chapter of his life on his trusty steed Daisy Mae, the townspeople of Baton Rouge and the people of the state of Louisiana will still be cheering for him when he returns.
