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The article is even more in depth......for those interested.

Through all the disappointment of seeing someone waste so much God-given athletic talent, the one constant for Valentine has been his determination to grow from his mistakes and succeed.

"The only thing Travonte kept talking about is, "I want to get back (to LSU), I'm not that kind of guy (that gets thrown off teams), I just want to do what I have to do,'," Drummond said.

"He's not that type of guy. He's a teddy bear ... except when the ball is snapped."

And then?

"The hype is real," LSU starting offensive guard William Clapp confirmed of Valentine.

Wearing No. 75, the jersey number of his idol of former University of Miami nose tackle and five-time Pro Bowler Vince Wilfork, Valentine knew what he did best.

"He (Wilfork) stuffs up the middle and that's what I like to do – play nose and stuff up the middle," Valentine said in an interview two weeks before signing day. "I love double teams. I love triple teams. I just swat 'em (blockers) and I get tackles."

Minnick kicked Valentine off the team after his disorderly conduct arrest. It seemed like harsh punishment, but Minnick said he doesn't give third chances to someone using their second chance.

Minnick said Valentine began being led astray after Valentine convinced Minnick to also sign Trey Lealaimatafao, a fellow former LSU defensive tackle.

Lealaimatafao was tossed from the Tigers' program just before Valentine in late June 2015 two weeks after Lealaimatafao punched a girl in the face outside an off-campus bar while he was rifling through the pockets of her unconscious boyfriend. He was arrested for simple robbery and simple battery.

"That's probably a mistake on my part bringing both of them in last season," Minnick said. "When Trey got here, that's when stuff went sour for Travonte.

"They were at the same position, always in meetings together and coming here from down there they knew each other.

"He and Trey just got up in that stuff (leading to the arrest). Travonte just needed to get away from Trey. I think if Travonte had been by himself, he would have been a lot better."

"Travonte worked hard, and he stayed all summer. Other schools like Ole Miss, Auburn, Kentucky and Baylor came to recruit him. It started getting to the point when Travonte thought, 'If I do what I have to do, can I go back this season?'

"He's got a person in Baton Rouge he trusts as a mentor to see what the rules are. That person started inquiring about it, and told Travonte it's a possibility if he did his academic work. Once he saw that, he really pushed for it. His main goal was to get back on the field this fall at LSU."

The first thing Valentine did in his initial LSU team meeting upon his return was apologize for his poor behavior that originally got him tossed from the program.

Once back on the practice field, he became re-acquainted with many of the faces he butted heads with as a member of the scout team in his first stint with the Tigers.

"For him being so big, he's got an absurd get off," Pocic said of Valentine's explosive first step. "He's hard to handle even with a double team and that's been since he was here as a freshman on the scout team."

Junior Greg Gilmore, who is sharing time with Valentine at nose tackle, said his new teammate impresses on a daily basis.

"We're running sprints and he's just blasting through them .... It's crazy," Gilmore said. "He's a double-team taker. It would be foolish to single block him. That's just not recommended."

One of Valentine's characteristics has improved since his first LSU experience.

"You can see his whole attitude has changed," senior defensive end Lewis Neal of Valentine. "I've got a feeling he's about to be great."

If a guy is thinner, I think that's something that shows you that he can have a self-discipline," Miles said of Valentine. "And he's done a good job in the classroom.

"When you don't make mistakes and you're going to class and you're doing the right things, it's awfully easy to smile. He's got that little extra pep in his step and he's got a smile on his face most of the time."