LSU football is a way of life for everyone in Louisiana. But for players, football season extends far beyond tailgate parties and four quarters.
Members of the 2007 BCS National Championship winning team had to move on after graduation. The Tigers beat Ohio State 34-28 to take the national title in January 2008.
Quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn went on to the pros. But for the rest of the team it was a life-changing time.
“It was hard to see the big picture and why things play out the way they do,” 2006-2009 linebacker Ace Foyil said of the months after he stepped off the field and into the next chapter of his life.
Though their time in Tiger Stadium has ended, alumni find skills gained on the turf helped them find direction.
Foyil struggled at first.
“I wasn’t scared or intimidated to join the workforce,” he said. “Reality hit me pretty regrets.”
Hitt got married and found a job less than a month after graduation. He is now pursuing his long-term dream — a medical career.
Unlike Holmes and Hitt, fullback Joey Stutson never set foot in a game. Stutson sees this seeming failure as an eventual victory.
“I was chasing significance. It wasn’t what I was called to do,” Stutson said. “I’m so thankful that Coach Miles was a man of character, because there were reasons he didn’t let me play. I needed happy.”
These championship team members shared the same training, ingrained in them as second nature.
“Although the way you achieve a large part of your goal in football is through physical work, the mentality of working hard for anything stays etched in your personality,” Foyil said.
 
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Contact Kaci Yoder at [email protected]