LSU’S Miles leaves door open
BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU coach Les Miles on Tuesday declined to close the door completely on the possibility, however remote, of Tyrann Mathieu playing football for the Tigers in 2013.
“Tyrann can be a student at LSU,” Miles said after practice, adding that he is “not in any way speculating” about whether Mathieu could conceivably play for the Tigers again. “He will not be on this football team this year — I guarantee that’s a fact. So I have no idea beyond that.”
Miles indicated he was ready to put his emphasis back on preparing the Tigers for the upcoming season. He stressed that it was time to be concerned about getting the Tigers ready for the season-opener against North Texas on Sept. 1.
However, questions kept coming about the dismissal of Mathieu, an All-America cornerback and 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist.
“I certainly am rooting for Tyrann and whatever his future is. But I’m not focused on that,” Miles said. “I’ve got games to play and I’ve got 104 guys I have to be ready for. I know that this is a very key time in his life and I hope the decisions that he makes are in his best interest for the long-term. So we’ll help in any way we can.”
Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU team last Friday for what reportedly was the latest of several failed drug tests.
If Mathieu joined a program at the FCS level, the second tier of Division I, he could play this season before becoming eligible for the 2013 NFL draft.
Mathieu has already visited McNeese State, an FCS school in Lake Charles, La., and is expected to make a decision by Wednesday. Mathieu also has the option of sitting out this season and transferring to another FBS school.
“When schools call about Tyrann, I recommend him,” Miles said. “He’s a wonderful young man. I think he’s a team player. I think he has improved in his maturity and that’s kind of how I would speak about him — that he deserves every opportunity. ... His decision as to where he would transfer is not necessarily going through me. We’ve done what needs to be done up to this point.”
DEVELOPMENTS
Tulane loses three: Tulane coach Curtis Johnson says redshirt freshman quarterback Leon Blouin IV has decided to the leave the Green Wave and will transfer to another school, senior defensive end Brock Sanders has been medically disqualified from playing due to a foot injury and freshman walkon Ruston Pritchard has left the team for personal reasons. Sanders hurt his right foot near the end of spring practice.
Briefly: Sophomore starting offensive lineman Brian Thomas and sophomore safety Urell Johnson have left the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Coach Tommy Tuberville says Johnson was leaving to transfer to Southern Mississippi to be closer to New Orleans, his hometown. ... Former Miami safety Ray-Ray Armstrong has enrolled at Faulkner University and hopes to play for the NAIA team. Faulkner coach Brent Parker says Armstrong will practice Wednesday while awaiting clearance from the NAIA Eligibility Center.
Former Oklahoma quarterback and congressman J.C. Watts addressed the U of M football team. rived at Oklahoma to the starter and later to a successful career in the Canadian Football League. He was the MVP of the Grey Cup, the CFL’s championship game, as a rookie.
“He spoke to our team at OU when I was a player,” Fuente said. “You’re talking about a guy who was the definition of the student-athlete you want to play for you: good player, good student, good citizen.
“I’ve been very selective about who I put in front of our team. I have not put many people in front of them. J.C. Watts is indica- tive of the person I want in front of our team.”
After football, Watts was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, where he served from 1995 to 2003. He is currently chairman of J.C. Watts Companies, a lobbying and consulting firm in Washington.
“I played 12 downs my freshman year, and my second year I was redshirted,” Watts said. “I had two years for it to register: ‘What if I don’t go to the next level?’ I was a good student, but school became a lot more important.”