Failure is inevitable in all walks of life.
But it’s less about the act of being knocked down and more about how you get back up — or so the saying goes.
LSU was knocked down Saturday. The Tigers hung tough with the defending national champion No. 1 Alabama for three quarters of stalemate football, but victory ultimately slipped through their grasps.
Ed Orgeron’s “perfect” season and LSU’s playoff hopes officially ended, but the Tigers received a visit from Marcus Luttrell last week that put things in perspective, junior fullback J.D. Moore said.
Luttrell was a Navy SEAL sniper on a counterinsurgency mission in Afghanistan in 2005 when his four-man team found itself hopelessly surrounded and outmanned by Taliban forces. A grave battle ensued, killing three SEALs, but a badly wounded Luttrell made it to a nearby village and ended up the lone survivor.
“I knew the backstory on him, so knowing who that was and what it meant for him to be there standing in front of us alive was amazing,” Moore said. “Then, obviously, the words coming from him [were] about motivation — about your body being able to do as much as your mind will allow it to.”
Luttrell’s speech was primarily meant to serve as a motivator before the Alabama game, but his comments about failure and overcoming obstacles transcend that. Now, they apply to LSU’s upcoming three-game, season-ending stretch and even life beyond the field, Moore said.
“He’s literally been through life and death situations,” Moore said. “So it does kind of put a perspective on it that there’s guys out there every day fighting, literally risking their lives for our country. So it’s a blessing to even be able to play this game.”
Moore recalls Luttrell asking the players what their responses are to adversity.
For starters, senior defensive end Lewis Neal said the leaders on the team made sure spirits were high around the LSU Football Operations Center.
Neal said continuing to grieve Saturday’s loss will assuredly result in a poor performance against Arkansas this Saturday. He told players to put it behind them but not to forget, because defeat is a rich source of motivation.
“I truly believe that the amount of veteran leads that we have on this team and the talent that we have — although we’re disappointed with the outcome of Saturday’s game, we’re by no means down and out,” Moore said.
Junior left tackle K.J. Malone turned the page after assessing LSU’s performance against Alabama with roommate and senior center Ethan Pocic, immediately moving on to Arkansas film.
LSU has a two-game losing streak to the Razorbacks, including a 2014 matchup in Fayetteville that spawned a long ride home for the Tigers.
“We got shut out,” Pocic remembers.
If that’s not motivation enough, most Tigers have yet to defeat Arkansas — which is something senior tight end Colin Jeter wants to check off his bucket list.
“The two teams I’ve never beaten are Alabama and Arkansas,” Jeter said. “[Arkansas is] certainly on my list as far as things I want to accomplish, and they’re on a bunch of guys’ here.”