A member of the media handed head coach Les Miles a pair of coconuts as a gift Wednesday for his decision to call a deep pass on fourth and 10 in the fourth quarter that resulted in a touchdown pass to Early Doucet.
“I may have to give these to someone else,” was Miles’ reply.
Minutes later, punter Chris Jackson walked out of the locker room holding both.
Jackson earned them on the first LSU drive when he faked a punt in the endzone for a 12-yard completion to Ronnie Prude for a first down.
Miles gave the coconuts to Jackson because the punter called the play himself.
“It was a play of opportunity,” Miles said. “It’s certainly something that he can do. He has the wherewithal to do that. It’s a concern when we are backed into our own endzone. The reality is I want him to take that advantage. It’s like leaving a net untended and you’re supposed to pass, but damn you got to take a shot. Certainly represented what we wanted to happen.”
Jackson found the opportunity early in the game, and in a dangerous position on the field. The past high school quarterback did not have any of the possible negative outcomes in mind, though.
“When they leave that guy open out there, that’s in our play to throw it to him,” Jackson said. “It just so happened to be the first punt of the year. I was lucky that I saw it, and Ronnie Prude knew it was coming too. I saw [the defender] creep in, and I was thinking about it, ‘If he rushes, then I’m going to throw it to him.’ As soon as the ball was snapped, he was rushing and I threw it to [Prude]. I just saw the opportunity and took it.”
Despite Miles’ immediate reaction to television viewers, Jackson made it back to the sidelines in time for him to cool off.
“He just said ‘Good job – it wasn’t very expected,'” Jackson said. “Everybody seemed happy about it. He said maybe we should call it next time, but he was happy about it.”
The sudden play call did not result in Jackson losing time on the field. Miles already had decided to use punter Patrick Fisher in some situations and walkon kicker Colt David for PATs.
“David will kick PATs and short field goals,” Jackson said. “I will be doing long field goals, all kick offs and situational punts. I was going to kick all backed-up punts and all pooched punts. Pat and I will alternate open field kicks.”
David walked onto the team last season without getting an opportunity and redshirted. The Texas native watched from the sidelines as Jackson and Ryan Gaudet fought for not only the starting position but also consistency.
“It was great. I felt more part of the team this time,” Davis said. “It’s different for a whole year of being told things. I was happy to be there to support them, but now it’s great to have a chance.”
A consistent kicker would add to the improvement of special teams, which includes a gutsy punter in Jackson and a new special teams coach, Bradley Dale Peveto.
“He’s just a guy who proves to be consistent and performing pretty well,” Miles said. “I’m not making any long-term decisions, but in short terms, he’s going to be doing a lot of kicking.”
Contact Tabby Soignier at [email protected]