Category: LSU

Former LSU LB Marcel Brooks transfers to TCU

Brooks will join the Horned Frogs in 2020.

When former LSU linebacker Marcel Brooks entered the transfer portal in back June, there was still some hope he would reconsider and end up back in Baton Rouge.

On Tuesday, it became evident that wouldn’t be happening when it was revealed Brooks would be heading to TCU.

Brooks was a five-star recruit for the Tigers in 2019 and appeared in 11 games last fall in a reserve role. He recorded eight tackles and 1.5 sacks for the national champion Tigers.

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His departure at linebacker is a short-term concern for head coach Ed Orgeron and defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.

The Tigers lost Patrick Queen, K’Lavon Chaisson and Jacob Phillips to the NFL Draft in April. Brooks was expected to play a larger role in 2020.

Brooks is a massive addition for TCU. He must apply for a waiver if he desires immediate eligibility. If the request is not granted, Brooks will redshirt in the 2020 season and have three years of eligibility remaining.

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LSU Athletics lands two nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year

Will Harrold or Zwiebel take home the honors?

LSU Athletics landed two nominees for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award on Tuesday. Ruby Harrold of LSU Gymnastics and Anna Zwiebel of LSU Volleyball were listed as the school’s selections.

The NCAA Woman of the Year nominees come from all three division levels of NCAA athletics. The award was introduced in 1991 and recognizes graduating female student-athletes who represented their school in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Harrold’s recognition as an international student-athlete from Bristol, England gave LSU the chance to select her as a nominee. Usually, schools are limited to one selection.

Harrold became a star for the Tigers’ gymnastics team, especially in the vault, bars and floor lineup during her collegiate career.

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She was a three-time All-American, and helped lead the Tigers to five SEC Championships and two NCAA National runner-up finishes. She was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and was named to the SEC Community Service Team.

Zwiebel finished her Tigers volleyball career as a top-10 setter, and her 2,238 assists ranks eighth all-time in program history. She recorded a career-high 65 assists against High Point in 2017.

Zwiebel became the first Tigers volleyball student-athlete to be a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, as she earned a 4.046 GPA in the classroom.

Each conference will select up to two nominees from their list of respective schools before sending the list to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. The committee will then select the top 30 nominees with 10 selections from each division and the winner will be announced later in the fall.

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Ed Orgeron tells VP Mike Pence that ‘we need football’

Vice President Mike Pence was in Baton Rouge on Tuesday.

Vice President Mike Pence was in Baton Rouge on Tuesday participating in a forum discussing safely reopening colleges and universities while also resuming sports.

LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron also participated in the panel and told the vice president how much football was needed.

“We have our team back. They’re ready to go,” Orgeron said. “We need football. We need to play. This state needs it, this country needs it.”

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Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, United States Secretary of Education Betsy Devos, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward and a host of others, including politicians and medical experts participated in the discussion.

Orgeron noted that a number of players did test positive for COVID-19 once they returned to campus this summer, but all were recovered and doing well.

Pence acknowledged how important it was for all schools to reopen on time, but safely, per Sam Karlin of The Advocate.

“Getting our kids back into schools is the right thing to do academically, but it’s also the right thing to do for our children,” Pence said.

The vice president admitted the recent surge of cases in the South was a concern but expressed optimism that each of the states would get the outbreak of the virus back under control.

With around six weeks remaining until the opening of college football season, there is still time for the 2020 season to go on as planned.

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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey not giving up on 2020 season

There’s still hope for the upcoming football season.

There’s a lot of uncertainty across the 2020 college football season with the rapidly changing situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey made an appearance on the “Marty & McGee Show” on ESPN Radio earlier this week and expressed concern about the upcoming season.

On Monday, Sankey joined the “Paul Finebaum Show” and reiterated his concerns.

“My comments over the weekend on ‘Marty and McGee’ are an indication the trends are not what we desire, not what we experienced a bit earlier in the summer, very much in the wrong direction,” Sankey said. “That’s problematic. That doesn’t mean that’s the finish line and things won’t change. We’ve seen the news around COVID-19 alter itself in different ways over weeks.”

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Sankey made it clear that he wasn’t ready to make any decisions right now about the 2020 season, despite the Big Ten and Pac-12 canceling all out-of-conference games last week.

He noted the ACC and Big 12 were approaching the 2020 season much like he was, noting there was no need to make an immediate decision and will instead reassess the situation at the end of July.

“What we‘ve identified is an opportunity in late July for an important check-in to see what our public health reality is,” Sankey said.

With just over two weeks remaining in July, there’s still hope for college football this fall, especially in the SEC.

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Top LSU basketball target Moussa Cisse to announce commitment decision Wednesday

LSU basketball could add another star to its recruiting class Wednesday.

LSU basketball could add another star to its recruiting class Wednesday.

Moussa Cisse, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound center from Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tenn., announced on Twitter he would be making his commitment decision this week.

Cisse, who is ranked as the No. 9 overall player for the class of 2020, per the 247Sports composite rankings, is the top-ranked player remaining in the class who has not committed.

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Memphis is considered the leader for Cisse as the Tigers rarely let elite talent leave the city, especially since Penny Hardaway returned and took over as head coach.

However, Cisse has maintained a good relationship with several schools, including LSU, throughout his recruiting process. LSU was at one time considered the leader for Cisse, who delayed his decision in the spring.

Cisse, who is from West Africa and reclassified to the 2020 class, has only played one season in the United States.

A commitment from Cisse would be an amazing victory for Wade and his staff who already have the No. 6 overall class in 2020.

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Former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis returns to coaching

Chavis takes a high school gig in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis has returned to coaching, recently taking a gig at West High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Chavis played nose tackle for the University of Tennessee Volunteers football program from 1976-1978. Following his playing career, he became a graduate assistant at Tennessee in 1979.

He earned his first collegiate coaching position at Alabama A&M where he was the defensive line coach from 1980-1983. Then, Chavis went on to Alabama State and was the Hornets’ defensive coordinator from 1984-1985 and then returned to Alabama A&M from 1986-1988 as their defensive coordinator.

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Chavis coached the defensive line and linebackers at Tennessee from 1989-1994 and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1995.

Following the 2008 season, he accepted a position at LSU as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator. Chavis helped coach a number of great defenses during his time at LSU from 2009-2014.

During the time Chavis was leading the defense, the Tigers produced numerous NFL draft picks from the defensive side of the ball. Former players at LSU under Chavis include Tyrann Mathieu, Morris Claiborne, Patrick Peterson and Sam Montgomery.

Though the Tigers never won a national championship with Chavis leading the defense, the program continued to develop next-level talent at every position.

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In 2014, the Tigers put together 19 total sacks as a defensive unit in Chavis’ final year in Baton Rouge. The other five seasons combined, LSU had a total of 184 sacks under Chavis while he was the defensive coordinator.

The Tigers produced elite defenses every season that Chavis was leading the way. After the 2014 season, he moved on to become the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M from 2015-2017, and later held the same position at Arkansas from 2018-2019.

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Here’s what we know about the 2020 college football season in the SEC

What is the outlook for the 2020 college football season in the SEC?

The LSU Tigers just finished out arguably the best season in college football history, but how quickly will they get the chance to run it back?

The coronavirus pandemic has had a drastic impact on sports since it first began taking its toll on them in the United States back in March, and the postponements and cancellations have started to extend to fall sports.

The Ivy League has already called off football in the fall, and the National Junior College Athletic Association plans to announce its football season will be moved to the spring.

“We must adjust accordingly to support and sustain NJCAA programs,” NJCAA president Christopher Parker said in a statement. “The association as a whole is collectively working to provide the best opportunities to be successful on and off the field for our student-athletes.”

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The ACC has discussed moving to a conference-only football schedule, and both the Big Ten and the PAC-12 have decided to play only opponents within the conference. The Big 12 hasn’t made a decision about the schedule just yet, with commissioner Bob Bowlsby recently recently telling ESPN that his league is still “kind of on the same schedule.”

So, where does the SEC stand in all of this?

Commissioner Greg Sankey said last week his level of concern toward the issue was “high to very high,” and that the “direct reality is not good.”

He also said in the interview that there needs to be notable changes in coronavirus numbers and behaviors related to the pandemic before schools can think about playing the sport in a safe way.

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It will be interesting to see if the SEC follows suit in making changes such as cancelling the season, postponing the season or at least altering the schedule as the situation continues to evolve.

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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey expresses concern about 2020 college football season

An on-time and somewhat normal college football season continues look more unrealistic by the day.

There was reason for optimism as states across the country flattened the curve amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the general outlook has darkened as time has gone on.

And with that, so have the projections for a somewhat normal and on-time college football season.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey expressed his concern for the football season as “high to very high,” also saying that “we are running out of time to correct and get things right.”

In an interview on Marty & McGee on ESPN Radio, Sankey was asked about the decisions the SEC faces in regards to the upcoming season as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the South.

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“We put a medical advisory group together in early April with the question, ‘What do we have to do to get back to activity?’ and they’ve been a big part of the conversation,” he said. “But the direct reality is not good and the notion that we’ve politicized medical guidance of distancing, and breathing masks, and hand sanitization, ventilation of being outside, being careful where you are in buildings. There’s some very clear advice about — you can’t mitigate and eliminate every risk, but how do you minimize the risk? … We are running out of time to correct and get things right, and as a society we owe it to each other to be as healthy as we can be.”

This is hardly the type of confident response fans hope to hear as the start date of the season looms near, and it will be interesting to see how things continue to play out for schools like LSU.

The Tigers are set to begin their season with a matchup against the UTSA Roadrunners in Baton Rouge on Sept. 5.

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Louisiana names road for former LSU QB Joe Burrow

Louisiana continues to honor the former LSU signal-caller.

Former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow may be preparing to start his NFL journey with the Cincinnati Bengals, but the state of Louisiana hasn’t forgotten about the impact he made at the university.

On Saturday, it was announced that there was a Highland/Burrow intersection in Baton Rouge.

WAFB’s Scottie Hunter took to Twitter with a video of the road, which is near the LSU campus and Tiger Stadium where Burrow worked his magic.

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And, no, it’s not the “Burreaux” spelling that fans have given his last name, but it’ll do.

It will be interesting to see how Louisiana continues to pay tribute to the quarterback as time goes on. Many fans have called to see a statue of Burrow erected in the future, and he’s certainly earned the honor after winning the Heisman Trophy and completely changing the stereotype of the position at LSU.

In 2019, Burrow threw 60 touchdown passes and only six interceptions, competing 76.3 percent of his passes. He also started 28 games at LSU with a 25-3 record.

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Could LSU be a good landing spot for 2021 LB Prince Kollie?

LSU’s line of tradition and success has gotten the attention of 2021 linebacker prospect Prince Kollie.

The LSU Tigers have put several linebackers in the NFL in recent years.

In the 2020 draft, Patrick Queen and K’Lavon Chaisson were first-round picks, while Jacob Phillips was a third-round selection.

That line of tradition and success has gotten the attention of 2021 linebacker prospect Prince Kollie.

Kollie, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound athlete from Crockett High in Jonesborough, Tenn., is a bit of a fast-riser in recruiting circles.

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He didn’t receive an offer from LSU until May, but it did not take long for the Tigers to move to the front of the line with Kollie.

New defensive coordinator Bo Pelini took over and started evaluating 2021 prospects and Kollie was immediately a player who grabbed his attention.

His high school defensive coordinator, Kevin Ramsey, spoke with Billy Embody of 247Sports and went into detail on Kollie’s thoughts on the defending national champions.

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“They (LSU) loved how he played the game of football and how it translated to what they like,” Ramsey said. “Excitement level not only between him and us, but the entire high school and community of Jonesborough were so excited that No. 21 got a call from the national champions.”

Ramsey noted how Pelini talks to Kollie about how he will be used in his defensive scheme.

“Every time we’ve been on calls with him (Pelini), he just gets us excited the way he talks and he’s had plenty of times to talk with Prince,” Ramsey said.

There is currently no timetable for Kollie to make a decision as looks to complete in-person visits before coming to a decision.

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