LSU is in the Southeastern Conference, so obviously no LSU players would be at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Media Day – or so you’d think.
There were plenty of familiar faces in Birmingham Friday, including former running back coach Mike Haywood. 
Haywood coached under coaches Gerry DiNardo and then Nick Saban from 1995-2002. Now, he is starting his third season as head coach at Texas Southern. But he’s not a lone LSU Tiger in Houston.
Haywood hired former LSU offensive coordinator Morris Watts to do the same job for Texas Southern. 
“I tell everybody all the time,” Haywood said. “Coach Watts was my mentor.”
Haywood and Watts are also joined by former LSU basketball head coach Johnny Jones. Jones was fired from LSU in 2017 and will start his first season at TSU this year. 
Although LSU is physically only placed in Baton Rouge, it’s influence spans much farther than the Bayou.