Completely willing to stand on my own on this one. If they wanted to hang the sign for internal team-based accountability, fine. But the fact of the matter is that it was permitted to be captured via camera and posted on the Internet for anyone and everyone to see. Not acceptable IMO.
The context of the sign is the NFL draft. Of the 10 guys on the list, 6 of them are not even draft eligible yet. In fact, 2 of them are true freshmen and 1 is a redshirt freshman. Of the 4 guys who are draft eligible, 3 of them are in their third year at LSU and 1 is in his fourth year. That one guy is Sam Montgomery, who is projected as a 1st round draft pick should he decide to go pro. So what exactly are they trying to accomplish here… to hurt a guy’s draft status who is slated to be a 1st round pick? To motivate underclassmen, 2 of whom are just out of high school?
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know the first detail behind any of these kids’ work ethics and levels of commitment to the program. Neither do you. And neither do we know what steps the coaches took prior to this action. But we both know that any D1 coach will not hesitate to sit a player who isn’t the best, most prepared player for that particular Saturday. And we both also know that in the SEC many coaches will not hesitate to not renew that scholarship. How many of these kids sat for games or even parts of games due to their lack of commitment? I know this: Sam Montgomery didn’t. And there’s a great likelihood that he’s going pro. So, it’s unacceptable to post something like this on the Internet when you’re not even willing to discipline the guy through his playing time. Bush league – you don’t risk his future like they’ve done when you don’t have the nuts to discipline him through PT. No integrity in that whatsoever. No leadership in that whatsoever. This has nothing to do with tough love or pampering kids.
Here are the 10 players:
Jonah Austin: Redshirt Feshman (3 Star) – not draft eligible
La’el Collins: True Sophomore (5 Star) – not draft eligible
James Wright: True Junior (4 Star) – 18 receptions, 242 yards, 0 TDs
Spencer Ware: True Junior (5 Star) – 91 carries, 358 yards, 1 TD
Anthony Johnson: True Sophomore (5 Star) – not draft eligible
Micah Eugene: True Sophomore (3 Star) – not draft eligible
Dwayne Thomas: True Freshman (4 Star) – not draft eligible
Tharold Simon: True Junior (4 Star) – 38 tackles, 4 INT
Kwon Alexander: True Freshman (4 Star) – not draft eligible
Sam Montgomery: Redshirt Junior (4 Star) – 32 tackles, 7 sacks