Ex-LSU coach reminisces on 2010 fake FG
Win over Florida among notable triumphs for Miles.
When people describe Les Miles as the Mad Hatter, games such as the 2010 battle against Florida help describe his nickname almost perfectly.
Down three points with 35 seconds left in the game, he brought out kicker Josh Jasper to attempt a fake field goal with Derek Helton working as the holder. The play was reportedly called Tiger, according to Katherine Terell, formerly of NOLA.com.
Helton flipped the ball blindly over his head as Jasper ran behind him to catch it for a first down in a game the Tigers would go on to win with a touchdown that came with 6 seconds on the clock.
That October night in The Swamp would become one of the signature wins of Miles’ LSU career with the Gators ranked No. 14 and LSU ranked No. 12.
“All week we practiced it,” Miles recently told the Player’s Tribune, which put together an animated short film about the play. “We didn’t miss a flip, not one time. Well this one, he does a great job with the fake and he draws the rush.”
Even though Helton bounced it.
“After it happened we ran off the field and I didn’t realize what the refs were discussing for so long. I mean it took about 10 minutes,” Jasper said in the piece.
Under review, the refs wondered whether Helton’s toss over his head was a forward pass instead of the lateral. If it had gone forward, it would have been an incomplete pass because it bounced.
“I am as sick as I can be until I start hearing from the press box, ‘This is a lateral,’” Miles said.
He then gathered the team and said, “This is going to be a first down and we are going to drive and win this game.”
LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee threw two end-zone fades to Terrence Tolliver, but all the Tigers needed was the second one to be completed for a touchdown and secure a 33-29 victory.
It wasn’t the first time Miles did it, either, pulling off a fake field goal in 2007 against South Carolina and again in 2015 by calling it to the other side of the field.
Recruit vs. Saban’s age might backfire
The claims have been made since Nick Saban arrived at the University of Alabama in 2007.
He’s not going to stay. He’ll go back to the NFL. He’ll leave for another school.
None of that has happened.
The latest, of course, is that Saban won’t be coaching much longer because of his age. He’s 66 and again will celebrate his birthday during the Crimson Tide’s bye week, just after the midpoint of the 2018 season.
Opposing coaches started using that one in recruiting about three years ago — or in the Alabama football timeline, two national championships ago.
Yeah, he’s really starting to slow down (insert sarcasm font).
One of the reasons why there’s been such widespread speculation about how much longer he’ll coach is that any prospect who redshirts is obviously on a fiveyear enrollment plan, which means Saban would be in his 70s by the time that prospect is a senior. You don’t see too many successful coaches at that age.
Granted, just about every player Saban recruits is thinking three years and NFL, but that’s neither here nor there.
It’s about the only way opponents can negatively recruit against Alabama anymore. Yet, this year, in particular, it may be backfiring. Saban has revamped his coaching staff and is putting together another star-filled recruiting class. Plus, he also has a very easy counter to the age question.
He isn’t just the dean of SEC coaches, he’s the only one with strong job security.
Among the schools that now make up the SEC — keep in mind Missouri and Texas A&M didn’t begin play in the league until 2012 — there have been 30 coaching changes since 2008.
Arkansas and Tennessee have seen the most with four. Neither program has notched a win against Alabama during that time.
Every other SEC program has made at least one change at the top since 2013.
So, when the staff of a rival school plays the age card and its fans openly ask if Saban will still be coaching in five years, all someone from Alabama has to do is say, “Probably. What are the chances your coach will be there in five years?”
You don’t need to shake a Magic 8 Ball to know that the most likely answers are: Don’t count on it, outlook not so good or very doubtful.
Arkansas gets depth for offense
Kansas graduate transfer wide receiver Chase Harrell recently announced that he’ll be heading to Arkansas. He had been a target of the Hogs coaching staff for the last few months. He took an official visit to campus in early June before deciding that Fayetteville would be his new home. Harrell can play immediately and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
This isn’t an addition that is suddenly going to make Arkansas’ offense a juggernaut in the SEC. But it’s a vital addition nonetheless.