Les Miles' latest trick: Crushing recruiting despite efforts to fire him
A little more than two months ago LSU's Les Miles was, in coaching terms, a dead man walking. He took the field at Tiger Stadium for the regular season finale against Texas A&M with some boosters and administrators set to buy out his contract.
Only they didn't, or couldn't, fire him. Their plan was outflanked by politics and popularity. After that night's victory, Miles' players carried him off the field, as fans cheered and chanted his name. He was then officially given a reprieve – a 12th season (at least) in Baton Rouge.
As satisfying as it all was, it was also bizarre and stressful and a sign of anything but a solid future. Historically, that kind of drama and speculation swirling around a coach and a program tends to scare off recruits. A public move on a headman usually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Except, this is Les Miles. And this is LSU. So nothing is normal.
Here we are, inside a week to National Signing Day and the Tigers are expected to land, if not the No. 1 class in America, then something in the top 3-5. Rivals.com currently ranks them No. 2, yet with a chance for a very strong close.
Even in the middle of a maelstrom, LSU and Les find a way to win.
"Even after the shaky situation with Coach Miles, I told my mother and father I wanted to be an LSU Tiger," four-star linebacker Michael Divinity of Marrero (La.) John Ehret High told The Advocate in early January.
It's worth noting that LSU's potential recruiting bonanza is not a complete surprise. It had Rivals.com's No. 1 class at the time Miles was nearly fired. Indeed, the fact he was bringing in such a highly touted group was an argument to keep him.
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Les Miles was carried off the field by his players after LSU's win over Texas A&M. (AP)
Les Miles was carried off the field by his players after LSU's win over Texas A&M. (AP)
And it's further worth noting that recruiting well is commonplace here. Since Miles arrived on campus in 2005, LSU has averaged about the eighth best class in America, per Rivals. Twice (2014, 2009), it finished as high as second.
That's what may make the LSU-Les combo recession proof.
LSU enjoys a unique advantage of being the only Power 5 school in a state that regularly produces tons of talent. Most instate kids dream of playing in the electric atmosphere of Tiger Stadium. It's even stronger in Baton Rouge, which is particularly recruiting rich for a mid-sized city – and it isn't your typical small college town that may only occasionally produce a recruit.
Moreover, LSU actually sits closer to virtually all of Southern Mississippi and even parts of East Texas than any major program in those states.
Factor in tradition, facilities, conference and campus and it's a great situation. LSU wants for nothing.
"LSU's home state advantage is one that can't be rivaled by any other school in the country," Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell said. "LSU is the only game in town in Louisiana and even with a coach on life support, they are reeling in top prospect after top prospect in state."
Still, proximity to talent isn't everything. This says something about Les Miles too, namely the reputation he's built during his 11 seasons with the Tigers. It's not just going 112–32 or winning one national title (2007) or playing for another (2011). It's not just churning out NFL talent.
It's that people still believe in him, especially people who have dealt with him on a daily basis for a long time. Young players he's recruited for years have shown a rare loyalty to him. High school coaches who know him as a friend as much as a recruiter saw what was attempted as an affront to what and who they believe in, a good man (almost) getting done bad.
"All credit goes to the man in charge," said J.T. Curtis, the head coach of powerhouse River Ridge (La.) John Curtis High School, which sits on the outskirts of New Orleans. All SEC schools and national powers recruit the John Curtis program. Offensive lineman Will Allen, who committed to LSU in late January, will be the fourth Curtis player to head to LSU just this decade.
Curtis is quick to note the myriad reasons for players to attend LSU – "a pretty special place to go."
Yet, these are all heavily pursued players, all of their options are good ones. You may dream of LSU, but Alabama isn't exactly a nightmare. And, if anything, the November soap opera caused other schools to pursue LSU targets even harder, thinking there was a greater chance of success.
Curtis notes that Miles is the one that held it together calmly during the bizarre stretch. He even withstood the loss of popular running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson, who was recently named head coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio.
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Les Miles celebrates with his players after LSU won the Texas Bowl on Dec. 30. (AP)
Les Miles celebrates with his players after LSU won the Texas Bowl on Dec. 30. (AP)
"Coach Miles presents himself at a place where he is going to be in charge of the program," Curtis said. "And it's going to be done efficiently and effectively. Once he was able to move past that bump in the road and get back to work, it allowed him to have a top recruiting class. Which is what he's going to have."
Whatever happened in November isn't such a big thing now – there's a reason LSU has picked up four commitments since the firing/non-firing.
One of them, four-star wide receiver Stephen Sullivan of Donaldsonville (La.) committed to LSU earlier in 2015, then decommitted as the situation deteriorated during the season. He re-upped in January though and is an early enrollee.
"Once Les Miles got the job back, I knew where I wanted to go," Sullivan told The Advocate when he committed. "I trust Coach Miles."
Anything can happen between now and the Feb. 3 signing day, but so far plenty of top prospects still trust LSU and its longtime coach. The Tigers are still in on cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen of Coconut Creek, Fla., and Kristian Fulton of Metairie, La., all-purpose athlete Shyheim Carter of Kentwood, La., and defensive end D'Andre Christmas-Giles of New Orleans, all four-star prospects. Then there is three-star quarterback Lindsey Scott of Zachary, La. among others.
LSU could very well end up at No. 1.
"It shows how beloved Les Miles is in state by high school coaches and prospects and how good his staff is at recruiting," Farrell said.
They couldn't fire Les Miles in November. They can't kill his Tiger program in February either.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/les-miles--latest-trick--crushing-recruiting-despite-efforts-to-fire-him-230709451-ncaaf.html
There are alot of kids that fit in this group that went on to be all conference and play in the NFL. I admit I would be mad when a kid wouldn't pick out hat at one of these all star games, but our class was pretty much locked up by these all star games. What concerns me a little about late recruiting is we do or we think we have all these silent commitments, but come Wednesday, if some of these 17-18 year old kids change their minds it is to late to go get the kid that wants to be a Longhorn. Those kids go to some other team that we play and alot of times can be a pain in our butt, because we didn't offer them and Texas Tech did and they want to show Texas that they made a mistake. Recruiting has changed so much even in the last few years, that the right answer to early vs late in probably somewhere in between. Schools are paying these coaches so much money now, that teams bring in young guys to run high flying offenses and have to win or be competitive pretty quickly or the coach is gone. Baylor, TCU, Houston, Tech, A&M are all out there trying to get the states best, plus all the out of state schools, ie LSU, Bama, Michigan, Okla, hell even Stanford now. Kids don't just grow up now dreaming of being a Longhorn. These kids have never heard of Earl Campbell or were in the 6th grade when Colt McCoy was rolling. I would never suggest how Charlie should run his program, but I hope moving forward that we don't have half the class left to fill with a couple of days until NSD. I am sure he know pretty much who he is getting and who he isn't, but for the fans like on this board it sure is nerve racking. Wednesday should be fun though.
