NCAA Football

LSU is much, much better off without Perrilloux

So, Les Miles finally stopped giving QB Ryan Perrilloux chances and kicked him off of the team, just four months away from LSU’s season opener against Appalachian St.

Perrilloux, a redshirt junior, was set to take over for Matt Flynn under center for the national champion Tigers, but now, the job is likely up for grabs between redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee, Andrew Hatch, and potentially Jordan Jefferson, a highly-touted incoming recruit.

Personally, I was a little surprised that he hadn’t been kicked off a few months ago, when Miles suspended him indefinitely for multiple reasons, as it was the second time that he had handed him such a punishment - but certainly not the second time that he’d gotten in trouble since his arrival at LSU.

But, he gave Perrilloux one final chance to get himself and his priorities straight, and lo and behold, he swung and missed, and he’s out.

I won’t say too much about him wasting his talent, because that’s pretty obvious. Well, it may not be to him, and if that’s the case, then Miles, or someone else close to him, needs to dispatch Floyd Mayweather to knock some sense into him.

Perrilloux had only starts while at LSU, both of them last season when Flynn was sidelined, but he performed well in both of them, going 20 of 25 for 296 yards and three touchdowns against Middle Tennessee St., and in the most important game for the Tigers up to that point, he started in place of Flynn in the SEC Championship Game against Tennessee and led LSU to a win that not only secured the conference title, but catapulted them into the BCS title game.

So, we know he’s wasting his talent. But, is he hurting the team as much as he’s hurting himself?

It’s certainly a little unsettling for LSU, because anytime you lose your most experienced quarterback, it’s not a good position to be in. And when your starting QB has the kind of talent and potential that Perrilloux has, it definitely does take something away from your team.

At the same time though, in this case, it also relieves a negative distraction, and having the right people on your team is every bit as important as talent, and talent isn’t an area that LSU is light in, at QB and everywhere else, which is why they’re still in a pretty good position, despite having to replace starters on both sides of the ball.

The only thing that it does is put Lee or Hatch (or Jefferson) in a position to step up, and you can be sure that someone will. It certainly helps that both Lee and Hatch got plenty of reps in spring practice while Perrilloux was suspended.

Will there be bumps in the road? There almost always are bumps when you have to break in a new, inexperienced starter at any position.

Fortunately for the Tigers, the schedule sets up somewhat favorably, to where Miles can get his QB situation settled, and know where the rest of his team stands, by the time the SEC campaign gets underway. We know what Appalachian St. can do, and if they weren’t intimidated by going into Michigan Stadium, they shouldn’t be intimidated by going into Baton Rouge.

But, that season-opening test should be passed, and after that, Sun Belt teams Troy and North Texas come into Tiger Stadium before LSU starts conference play at Auburn, a team also breaking in a new starting QB, on Sept. 20. After that, they host Mississippi State the next week before making a big trip to Gainesville to face Florida on October 11.

Just like Matt Mauck stepped in for Rohan Davey in the 2001 SEC Championship Game to lead the Tigers to a win over Tennessee, just as Flynn stepped in and succeeded after Russell’s departure, and just as Perrilloux himself stepped in for Flynn at a key time last season, someone will step up for LSU this season, and it won’t be long before the legend that wasn’t will soon be forgotten.

Related posts on The Red Zone Report

• Who gets the call for LSU at QB? (0)
• Perrilloux signs with Jacksonville State (0)
• Results from talented defense are the key to Florida’s national title hopes (0)
• LSU (12-2) 38, Ohio State (11-2) 24 - LSU wins BCS title. (0)
• Is there a leader in LSU quarterback derby? (0)