re: Top 5 Greatest Athletes LSU has ever had...

1. Mike Miley

Fill in the rest but Mike should be at the top of every list.

"Athlete" as that term is commonly used would likely restrict this list to track and field competitors. However, I do not believe that was your intention.

If you mean "sportsmen" - outstanding competitors in their respective sport, you ignored a 3-time All American (Casanova) in favor of the best player on the best LSU football team, who also won the Heisman (essentially a popularity contest) - although Cannon does rank way up there in LSU's football pantheon.

I maintain that Cannon, Casanova and Faulk were the best all around "football players" LSU ever had, although Patrick Peterson is right there as a fourth now. Down linemen are often excluded from these lists, but guys like Faneca, Andolsek, Dorsey and others might warrant mention here, as well. And Jones? No QB is even remotely in this discussion - limited to positional lists only. The only great athletic specimen, Russell, passed on his immortality for $40 million. Had he stayed and led the 2007 team to a championship (in place of Flynn), LSU would have named something after him by now.

With Basketball - really you have Petit, Maravich, Macklin, Jackson and Shaq - of those, Maravich and Shaq obviously stand out, with Petit maybe third.

Baseball - Furniss and McDonald

Track and Field - Glenn Hardin (old school), Walter Davis, Xavier Carter and Richard Thompson all stand out.

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Any list without Chad Jones is dumb. The dude was dominant in 2 sports

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Chad Jones threw a grand total of 6.2 innings in his LSU Baseball Career. Is he more dominant than someone like say, Trindon Holliday who broke the SEC 100m record with 9.98 seconds and was a U.S. Olympic team alternate in track, and is still in the NFL making players look like theyre standing still during playoff games?

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1. Mike Miley

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No kidding. Its amazing the names that are being bantered about in this thread with little mention of Mike Miley. Starting QB of a team that could have won an NC with a little luck and a number 1 draft pick in baseball. Mike made it to the Majors almost immediately and was the Angels starting SS at the time of his death.

Its sad how little LSU fans know about the school's athletic history.

I think it was Cox Sports, but some NOLA station replayed that game a few years back and I had it on my DVR but lost it for some reason. If I recall correctly, Pete fouled out or he could have hit 70+. Anyway, I had a blast watching it.

"List should include Glenn "Slats" Hardin. Won the Olympic gold medal in 1936 ( the only LSU athlete to hold an individual gold medal) in the 400 meter hurdles. Held the world record for 19 years."

Dang! That is super-impressive for it to stand that long.

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He was before my time as well but my father insists that no other LSU athlete comes close to Mike.

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The guy was a phenomenal athlete. Guys like Miley and Johnny Robinson seen to go unremembered when these threads come around.

Robinson was a two way starter on an NC team and Miley was arguably the best athlete to ever wear an LSU uniform IMHO.

If Athlete is measure : Cannon wins going away.
He won 3-4 events in major track meets in the SEC.
100, 200 Yard Dash, Shot Put and Relay (s). Alvin Roy said if he would have bulked to 275 in college he could have been an Olympic Weight Lifting Gold Metalist and likely been world's strongest man. Johnny Lynch, dean of SEC officials said in all his years on the field and off Cannon was the best football athlete he ever saw.

He did play basketball and baseball at lsu