Bill77379

Piggy Barnes 330# threw Apple Saunders 310# out of a window in the Pentagon when those were the athletic dorms in the 40s. Saunders was the center and Barnes was an OG. When those guys spoke up in those days people listened. Barnes was an All Pro Guard for the Eagles for a number of years. Someone told me he won the NCAA wrestling title and Olympic Wrestling Title in his weight because no one would fight him after his first few matches. Nobody wanted to get hurt.

I have a bigger concern with the D for a number of reasons. It is mostly because of the starting from scratch in everything. If Aranda gets it installed and we have the players to do the job I will be much relieved. Everything is just so new. Getting Valentine back will help also.

Or go somewhere else.

Aranda is terrific at evaluating personnel to fit his scheme. at Wisconsin he did have a rich group of players from which to select, but he always found adequate talent for a good defense. He also talks well to the players and they rspond to him. Evidently LSU players feel he is really smart and listen to him. I think he will be a really good recruiter when they come on campus and talk to him on the phone after they meet him. He doesn't have to be the field contact guy to be an important cog in recruiting defensive players.

He will not be a closer for awhile. He might pitch against a left handed batter now though.

IMO he doesn't have the official stats or hasn't had time to digest them as the media meet is immediately after practice. So he wings it. They are mostly correct and he just is really trying to give them the feelings he felt while at the practice.

The best thing I liked of all his comments was that the QB were playing with confidence. That is not a word I have heard him use in the past several years when discussing QB. This makes me think that he believes they can execute the passing game. If he thinks they have "confidence", then he and the coaches will have confidence in the passing game which IMO is what is needed to make it work.

IMO the big problem with the passing game the last few years is that no one, coaches or players have had confidence that it would work against a good team with a strong run defense. IMO they are thinking with trepidation, "My God, we have to pass to win". It just seems like on pass plays everyone grabs their "left one" and prays.

I think what he means is if schools like IMG proliferate and create a group of super teams interest in local HS football will decline. Texas HS football is also structured on the premise that HS teams can't recruit.Therefore IMG is anathema to UIL rules and philosophy. The only place to which a HS athlete can transfer in TX without intense scrutiny in TX is a private school, Private schools cannot participate in the UIL competitions.

UIL (University Interscholastic League is the governing body of TX public school competition, including academic. For example they were the body that ruled against Dee Anderson participating his senior year at DeSoto High School after he had transferred to that school.

Probably still in fantasy land.

I think you will see it, depending on other things.

We should be more worried about Western KY. They are at least feisty. They were slaughtering NTSU last nite and had a sign in the stands saying, "LSU, you are next." I am not too concerned but they have a little fight in them,