I’m excited about the future of LSU football

I love college football and I love my Tigers, so obviously losing to Ole Miss sucks. But strangely enough, I woke up this morning not really that upset about it.

Actually, I was pretty damn proud of the way our guys fought back.

Think about where we are for a minute.

Lane spent six years building Ole Miss into what they are today. That success is a big part of the reason we wanted him at LSU in the first place. Then he leaves that program, comes to Baton Rouge, and basically has to assemble a new football team — new players, new coaches, new systems, new everything.

Ten months later he walks that team back into Oxford, into about as hostile an environment as you could possibly create for him, in a night game, gets down 24-7, and those kids don’t quit.

They fight all the way back and tie the damn game.

We didn’t finish it. Ole Miss made the plays at the end and deserved to win. But somewhere during that second half I found myself thinking, okay…we’ve got something here.

And here’s another reality of college football today: having a star quarterback will take you a LONG way.

Look around the country and look at the teams that make deep runs. Elite quarterback play changes everything.

Indiana had the Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No. 1 pick last year. Ole Miss had Trinidad Chambliss. We LSU fans certainly don’t need anybody to explain the difference Joe Burrow made once everything clicked in Year 2. Same thing with Jayden Daniels — Year 2 at LSU and he wins the Heisman.

Quarterback matters. A LOT.

I think the days when you could consistently compete for championships with a quarterback who simply “manages the game” are mostly behind us. You need somebody who can create when the play breaks down, extend plays with his legs, see the field and consistently hit open receivers downfield.

We have three mobile quarterbacks and I like all three of them. Sam is in Year 1 here, coming off the foot injury, learning a completely new offense with a completely new group around him. There are going to be growing pains. Hopefully he settles in, the game slows down for him and we watch him develop as the season goes along.

And if there’s one thing I feel REALLY good about, it’s this:

Who would you rather have recruiting and developing quarterbacks than Lane Kiffin?

That’s pretty damn high on the list of reasons I’m optimistic about LSU’s future.

Look around college football. Programs are searching the portal every offseason trying to find that guy. Sometimes you develop him. Sometimes you recruit him. Sometimes you go get him. But you’ve got to have him.

And Lane understands that position as well as anybody.

This season is probably going to have some ups and downs. Lane has basically told us that. When you’re replacing this much of an offense and putting this many new pieces together, it takes time. Add the injuries we’re already dealing with and there are going to be growing pains.

And man, I hope Trey’Dez is okay. Forget football for a minute — that’s a great young man and I hated seeing him go down.

But big picture?

I feel really good about where LSU football is headed.

Give Lane Kiffin six years at LSU to recruit, develop players and build his program the way he built Ole Miss, except now with the resources, brand, recruiting territory and expectations of LSU.

That’s going to be fun to watch.

And I think Lane himself is different than the guy a lot of people still want him to be. Listen to him instead of just reading the headlines. He talks constantly about his players, his coaches, his family, people who have influenced him and even his own mistakes. There’s a lot more self-awareness and maturity there than people give him credit for.

Does he attract attention? Absolutely.

GOOD.

Let the cameras follow him. Let recruits watch LSU. Let ESPN talk about LSU. Let the whole country have an opinion about LSU.

LSU football SHOULD be interesting.

And now we’ve got A&M coming to Death Valley.

Hell, maybe we should send A&M a thank-you card. ?? If they hadn’t embarrassed us in Tiger Stadium last year, we might still be doing the same thing and wondering when it was finally going to change.

Instead, we’ve got a 51-year-old coach who is relentless about recruiting, understands offense and quarterbacks, embraces everything that comes with this job and looks like he’s just getting started.

We’re three games into this thing.

Three games.

I’m highly optimistic.

So I’m going to enjoy it.

Enjoy the season. Enjoy watching this team develop. Enjoy college football. At the end of the day, it’s entertainment. We’re going to win some, lose some and probably have a few Saturdays that drive us completely insane.

But I believe there are some really sunny Saturdays ahead for LSU football.

Buckle up, Tigers.

Let’s ride.