In the college football coaching carousel, changes in latitude equal changes in attitude.
Making coaching chan ges, especially in the heart of recruiting season, could make or break a school’s signing class.
Despite losing former offensive coordinator Gary Crowton and gaining former Louisville and Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe, this is not the case for the Tigers, said Shea Dixon, managing editor of TigerSportsDigest.com.
“Losing Crowton is not a huge issue because he really wasn’t that active of a recruiter,” Dixon said. “I think [Kragthorpe] will talk to the new guys, but nothing in terms of having to convince guys to stay.”
Rivals.com recruiting analyst Mike Scarborough also called Crowton’s exit a “non-factor” with recruits and said he believes the Kragthorpe hire could have some immediate positive impacts.
“I think everybody on offense is going to be excited about a fresh start,” Scarborough said. “Who knows which guy is going to flourish under Kragthorpe? … I think it’s going to be good for all the offensive players.”
One of Kragthorpe’s most valuable characteristics is his experience at both the college and NFL level as a quarterbacks coach.
The former Louisville and Tulsa head coach spent four years as a QB coach at three different colleges as well as two seasons in the NFL as quarterbacks coach for the Buffalo Bills.
Kragthrope coached former Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe to 4,359 yards in 2002  — good for second in the NFL that season — along with 24 touchdowns.
“From a recruiting standpoint, at least with quarterbacks, you can advertise that you’ve got someone with some NFL experience and college experience that now will be working hands-on with you,” Dixon said.
LSU quarterbacks combined for 2,023 yards passing this season, ranking 102nd in the nation and last in the Southeastern Conference.
With highly touted quarterback recruit Zach Mettenberger, along with three-star prospect Stephen Rivers, Dixon said the Tigers were looking for someone to take quarterback play to the next level.
“I think [Kragthorpe] will be able to work hands-on with them in terms of the day-to-day grind,” Dixon said. “Hopefully, over these next couple years you’ll see … some actual year-to-year or week-to-week development of these quarterbacks.”
While he’s not typically known as a recruiter, Kragthorpe jumped on the opportunity to introduce himself to his future weapons.
“I had the honor to talk to Coach K for about 15 minutes last Thursday, and he seems like a great guy and I can’t wait to get him in,” said five-star wide receiver recruit Jarvis Landry.
Landry, who worried some Tiger fans earlier in the year with his public critique of the LSU offense, said he’s happy with the hire and voiced his admiration for Kragthorpe as a quarterback developer.
“I definitely see him bringing balance to the LSU offense, and you’re going to see a big change in the quarterback production,” said the Lutcher native. “He’s one of the greatest quarterback coaches … so you really can see the passing efficiency in the quarterback play go up a little bit.”
Kragthorpe hasn’t finished making the rounds yet, though.
Three-star wide receiver commit Alonzo Lewis said he hasn’t heard from the new offensive coordinator.
“I talked to some coaches [Tuesday], but we didn’t talk about that,” Lewis said.
Undoubtedly, Tiger fans will look for drastic improvement in the passing game by the time the season opener against Oregon on Sept. 3 rolls around.
With all eyes on the offense, Dixon said Kragthorpe’s first season in purple and gold could set the bar for future LSU recruits.
“I definitely think recruits look at LSU’s offense the past couple years and see that it has struggled,” Dixon said. “If they can make a run and get a lot better in terms of offensive production then they’ll look at Kragthorpe as someone they enjoy playing under.”
Overall, Landry said he believes Miles made the right hire.
“A few years from now a lot of people are going to say he was the right man for the job,” Landry said.
 
 
—-
Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]