Even though the year is less than a month old, 2011 has been a wild and crazy ride for LSU fans.
The team’s recent activity in the past week and a half, though nearly nine months premature, will add to the way-too-early hype that LSU is a serious contender for the 2011 title.
But the hype is much more than mere homer-istic babbling by Tiger fanatics.
LSU’s performance during its dismantling of Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl was exactly what the LSU faithful have come to expect from Les Miles in bowl games. His team looked focused, prepared and more talented than its opponent.
The outcome of the game, however, is not the reason for the optimism. It was the performance of the team’s underclassmen.
Junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson set the tone for his senior campaign with a commanding performance. His passes were crisp, and he made good decisions all night long. If Jefferson can translate his bowl performance into consistent play next season, he has the talent to do great things.
LSU will lose junior running back Stevan Ridley to the NFL draft. While his absence will be obvious, rising sophomores Spencer Ware, Michael Ford and Alfred Blue are all returning, so its’ not a pivotal blow to LSU’s ground attack.
The defensive side of the ball has a bright future ahead of it, as well.
Simply put, Patrick Peterson cannot be replaced. He was a once-in-a-generation player whose ability has not been seen in Tiger Stadium since the days of the great Tommy Casanova.
But Peterson’s departure for the NFL draft does not leave the cupboard bare by any stretch of the imagination.
The Tigers’ trio of freshman phenoms — Eric Reid, Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon — showed their skills in Dallas and appear ready to step in the spotlight.
LSU is yet again looking at reeling in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. Headlining the new crop is transfer quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who is enrolled in school for the spring semester. Mettenberger is expected to give Jefferson a run for his money.
The Tigers then learned that their “Top Hat” turned down his alma mater, Michigan, to continue to graze on LSU’s greener pastures.
Though Miles has faced some criticism from fans in recent memory, he is without a doubt the right man for the job.
His 62-17 record at LSU speaks for itself, as does his 5-1 record in bowl games. In college football, winning is the name of the game, and Miles wins as much as anyone in the country.
LSU is, excuse the cliche, miles ahead with Miles at the helm than it would be with anyone else, should he have bolted for Ann Arbor, Mich.
And finally, the Tigers got wind of the most anticipated assistant coaching move in Baton Rouge since the commencement of the Lou Tepper era at the end of Gerry DiNardo’s tenure.
LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton announced Thursday he would be resigning from his post at LSU to take his imaginary talents to College Park, Md.
Following LSU’s 2007 national title season, Crowton
struggled to develop his younger talent, which led to a statistical free fall in the offensive ranks.
With Jefferson’s improvements, the entrance of a true pocket passer and a new offensive coordinator, the space for improvement on the offensive side of the ball seems to be limitless — akin to running the option to the wide-side of the field.
So go ahead and book your hotel rooms in New Orleans for early January 2012. It’s bound to happen.
With a solid corps of returning veterans, a great crop of recruits, a winning head coach and a new offensive coordinator, LSU is all but assured to make some noise on the national scene come fall.
Oh, and remember this: The BCS National Championship Game is in New Orleans next season. And the only team to win college football’s crown in the Superdome since the turn of the century has been LSU.
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]