Panda Watch: Valentine Update (7/16/16)

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Travonte Valentine, the 345-pound former Tiger defensive tackle, visited campus and met with coaches Friday, multiple sources confirmed to The Advocate. The meeting comes three weeks before LSU begins preseason camp – another sign that the Miami native is on track to rejoin his former team.

The Advocate in May reported that LSU received assurances from the Southeastern Conference this week that Valentine would be eligible for the 2016 season if he did, in fact, rejoin the program. LSU requested a ruling from the league on the once highly touted high school star who was dismissed from the school last summer.

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Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College defensive tackle Travonte Valentine continues to make strides in the classroom and off the field, as he completed two summer courses, both resulting in B grades, with just two more to go, according to a source. Valentine remains focused on his return to Baton Rouge, stating that he is 330 pounds right now, which we verified with trainers and coaches, signaling a shift in the talented player's off the field efforts to revitalize what was a promising career.

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His arrival is projected as the first week in August, giving him roughly a month of working with the team prior to the season's start against Wisconsin on September 3. The thought is that Valentine, who is a disruptive force and gifted football player, would immediately push for playing time, and likely an insertion into the LSU starting lineup, assuming he does everything he is asked to do.

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When a source was asked what he thought the chances of Valentine suiting up for LSU this year, he simply replied, "it's going to happen."

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