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Back in the Day..........Carl Otis Trimble
Posted on 7/21/07 at 1:52 pm
Posted on 7/21/07 at 1:52 pm
I didn't know Carl Otis very well, but well enough to know he was a class act. I talked to him shortly before he drowned while tubing the Tchefunta and he told me he was getting ready to enter LSU Law School.
Carl Otis played back in the day when freshmen were not eligible to play so all SEC schools had freshmen teams that played each other. To say Carl Otis was a phenom at RB was an understatement. As word of his exploits traveled around the SEC he became sort of the Pistol Pete of football. Usually when only hundreds would turn out to see a freshmen game, thousands would come to see Carl Otis play. I remember when LSU played Tennessee in Knoxville, they set records for the largest crowd to ever see a freshmen game.
Carl Otis was like Gale Sayers. He could run one way, completely reverse field, faking out everybody and just walk in for a score.
Unfortunately when he got to the varsity Coach Mac switched him to QB. Carl Otis was like a fish out of water. He wasn't a very good passer and you could see he was uncomfortable playing QB. Coach Mac just felt Carl Otis was too light of build to take a season of punishment at RB it the SEC. I know several coaches who begged Coach Mac to switch him full-time to RB. They tried to tell Coach Mac that Carl Otis would survive because of the simple reason nobody could get a clean shot on him.
Seeing his unbelievable electrifying exploits as a freshman RB I wonder till this day how he would have made out if he would have played as a full-time RB.
Carl Otis played back in the day when freshmen were not eligible to play so all SEC schools had freshmen teams that played each other. To say Carl Otis was a phenom at RB was an understatement. As word of his exploits traveled around the SEC he became sort of the Pistol Pete of football. Usually when only hundreds would turn out to see a freshmen game, thousands would come to see Carl Otis play. I remember when LSU played Tennessee in Knoxville, they set records for the largest crowd to ever see a freshmen game.
Carl Otis was like Gale Sayers. He could run one way, completely reverse field, faking out everybody and just walk in for a score.
Unfortunately when he got to the varsity Coach Mac switched him to QB. Carl Otis was like a fish out of water. He wasn't a very good passer and you could see he was uncomfortable playing QB. Coach Mac just felt Carl Otis was too light of build to take a season of punishment at RB it the SEC. I know several coaches who begged Coach Mac to switch him full-time to RB. They tried to tell Coach Mac that Carl Otis would survive because of the simple reason nobody could get a clean shot on him.
Seeing his unbelievable electrifying exploits as a freshman RB I wonder till this day how he would have made out if he would have played as a full-time RB.
Posted on 7/21/07 at 2:03 pm to Fairhope Tiger
Didn't Charlie Mac move him back to WR after he junked the Veer offense?
Posted on 7/21/07 at 2:28 pm to Godfather1
I think you may be right about WR. All I know is when he got out in space as a defender you were in big, big trouble. He could fake you out into complete embarrassment.
I remember when The Pistol started down the court on a fast-break the entire crowd would rise to their feet because you never knew what he was going to do. It was the same thing with Carl Otis. When the ball was pitched out to him the crowd would stand up because you never knew what he was going to do and he could take it to the house from anywhere on the field.
There have been some great, great, RBs at LSU but he had a unique running style that is hard to compare with anybody. He had some moves like Hilliard but then kind of glided like Casanova did when returning punts.
I remember when The Pistol started down the court on a fast-break the entire crowd would rise to their feet because you never knew what he was going to do. It was the same thing with Carl Otis. When the ball was pitched out to him the crowd would stand up because you never knew what he was going to do and he could take it to the house from anywhere on the field.
There have been some great, great, RBs at LSU but he had a unique running style that is hard to compare with anybody. He had some moves like Hilliard but then kind of glided like Casanova did when returning punts.
Posted on 7/21/07 at 2:31 pm to Fairhope Tiger
I lived in Baton Rouge when Carl Otis was a freshman. I attended as many of his games as possible. The first time I saw him play he ran for over 170 yards in that game. I always thought it was one of the stupidist coaching moves Charlie Mac ever made by switching him to quarterback. He had moves a lot of running backs today don't have. I would also compare him to a Gale Sayers or a Barry Sanders. He also had the extra gear when he needed it. The other was not playing Trey Prather because he was a true passer not an opition quarterback like Mac seemed to favor. We all know the fate of Trey Prather. I always wondered if he had got more playing time just maybe he woudl be alive today. He left LSU early and ended up the service.
Don't get me wrong Charlie Mac was one of the best defensive coaches LSU ever had but when it came to offense he fell way short.
Don't get me wrong Charlie Mac was one of the best defensive coaches LSU ever had but when it came to offense he fell way short.
Posted on 7/21/07 at 2:47 pm to miketiger48
quote:
The other was not playing Trey Prather because he was a true passer not an opition quarterback like Mac seemed to favor. We all know the fate of Trey Prather. I always wondered if he had got more playing time just maybe he woudl be alive today. He left LSU early and ended up the service.
Don't get me wrong Charlie Mac was one of the best defensive coaches LSU ever had but when it came to offense he fell way short.
First, Trey Prather played before Carl Trimble did. Several years before.
Second, the only reason Carl Otis was playing qb was the Coach Mac installed the veer to suit the unique talents of Mike Miley. Miley BEGGED coach Mac to put in the veer so he could run AND throw out of it. Miley was a DYNAMITE athlete and would have run circles around the opposition from the veer. Too bad he signed a baseball contract 2 months before the start of the season and that left LSU with a new offense and no qb to run it. Enter Carl Otis Trimble who did well until he had to throw. It was a bummer. Had Miley stayed instead of leaving LSU high and dry LSU may well have been a powerhouse for several years.
Miley died tragically a year after signing the baseball contract in an auto accident.
Posted on 7/21/07 at 2:54 pm to rtgr
Carl's cousin, Warren, is the head coach at Richwood High outside Monroe, FYI.
Posted on 7/21/07 at 2:55 pm to rtgr
You are right about Prather playing before Trimble but is does not change the fact that Charlie Mac was no offensive genius and it still does not change the fact that any slow moron could see that Carl Otis was not a quarterback.
I played in high school and college at runnig back and receiver and was a head coach in high school. So I am just not talking from a stand point of just some average football fan.
I played in high school and college at runnig back and receiver and was a head coach in high school. So I am just not talking from a stand point of just some average football fan.
Posted on 7/21/07 at 3:10 pm to rtgr
quote:
Second, the only reason Carl Otis was playing qb was the Coach Mac installed the veer to suit the unique talents of Mike Miley. Miley BEGGED coach Mac to put in the veer so he could run AND throw out of it. Miley was a DYNAMITE athlete and would have run circles around the opposition from the veer. Too bad he signed a baseball contract 2 months before the start of the season and that left LSU with a new offense and no qb to run it. Enter Carl Otis Trimble who did well until he had to throw. It was a bummer. Had Miley stayed instead of leaving LSU high and dry LSU may well have been a powerhouse for several years.
Miley died tragically a year after signing the baseball contract in an auto accident.
That's how I remembered it
Posted on 7/21/07 at 3:15 pm to rrboy
All three gone,,way to young, Prather, Trimble, Miley, such a shame! RIP 
Posted on 7/21/07 at 4:35 pm to Godfather1
quote:
Didn't Charlie Mac move him back to WR after he junked the Veer offense?
Well actually the position Carl Otis played was "Split back." This was a position which was apparently unique to Mac's offense. It was a hybrid position...something of a combination of slit end and running back. Perhaps it could be compared to the wing back position in the Wing T.
For whatever it is worth...I thought it was a good way to take advantage of Carl Otis's many skills. He as an exciting player, and as a "split back" he was used in may ways in the Tiger offense.
As the Score board often said..."YOU'LL NOTICE OTIS!"
Posted on 7/21/07 at 4:48 pm to jbs780
Oh Did you notice Otis. In those days it was a miracle LSU has a black QB. A previuos writer said that Mike Miley ran the veer. If he didn't sign withthe Angels. Also, your so right All gone way too early
Posted on 7/21/07 at 6:02 pm to jbs780
I thought it said something like "Have you noticed, it's Carl Otis"
Posted on 7/21/07 at 6:09 pm to Red Stick Tigress
I attended many of those games as well. Carl Otis was a great running back but had issues as a quarterback.
The scoreboard and announcer would often say "you'll notice Carl Otis."
The scoreboard and announcer would often say "you'll notice Carl Otis."
Posted on 7/21/07 at 7:14 pm to tiger 56
Played against him in high school. One of the best athletes to ever play the game. The kids coming out of high school these days get a lot more hype, but he was the real deal.
Posted on 7/21/07 at 7:21 pm to tiger 56
I forget the year he was a freshman playing on the freshman team, but I do remember listening to that game played in Knoxville on the radio in Baton Rouge. I was a young kid, but I do remember the annoncer going crazy over Carl's runs. His stats for that game were unbelievable. It would be interesting to look them up. As a high school kid, I used to enjoy going to the freshman games and getting a look at the future stars. Wasn't Robert Dow and Terry Robiskie also in that class? Carl's loss was so tragic. God Bless!
Posted on 7/21/07 at 7:24 pm to Red Stick Tigress
quote:
I thought it said something like "Have you noticed, it's Carl Otis"
I am sure they used that version too. It was a recurring theme I think.
In one game he makes a good play and the score board reads "YOU'LL NOTICE OTIS." Couple of plays later he makes an even bigger play and the board goes..."YES YOU'LL NOTICE OTIS!"
I'm sure there were several version of the same thought, and some of them used his whole name.
This post was edited on 7/21/07 at 7:29 pm
Posted on 7/21/07 at 7:28 pm to copiah tiger
quote:
I forget the year he was a freshman playing on the freshman team, but I do remember listening to that game played in Knoxville on the radio in Baton Rouge. I was a young kid, but I do remember the annoncer going crazy over Carl's runs. His stats for that game were unbelievable. It would be interesting to look them up. As a high school kid, I used to enjoy going to the freshman games and getting a look at the future stars. Wasn't Robert Dow and Terry Robiskie also in that class? Carl's loss was so tragic. God Bless!
He was a soph. in 1974...my first year attending LSU, so he would have been on the 1973 freshman team. I think Robiskie was a junior in '74...could be wrong about that.
Posted on 7/21/07 at 8:51 pm to Fairhope Tiger
I loved the bumper stickers: Did You Notice Otis?
Posted on 7/21/07 at 9:15 pm to LSU Tiger
I remember the opening game in 1974 against Colorado when John Ferguson was calling Carl KO as a nickname. After a great run he said "OK KO"
Posted on 7/22/07 at 3:45 am to CHAS
Mike Miley didn't die a year after signing with the Angels...it was longer than that.
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