Miles projects success in 2015, announces return of Hilliard for bowl game
By Ethan Levine
Published:
LSU head coach Les Miles addressed the media one final time Friday night before his team departs for Nashville for next week’s Music City Bowl showdown with Notre Dame.
Miles discussed the team’s preparations for the game, but his most interesting comments of the night were regarding All-SEC offensive tackle La’el Collins’ recent decision to return for his senior season in 2015, and how that might affect his program moving forward.
The head coach said other underclassmen could follow Collins’ lead and choose to return for next season, and added that a number of underclassmen have already told him they’re considering returning for the 2015 season.
#LSU coach Les Miles: Several underclassmen have said they are considering returning.
— JimKleinpeter (@JimKleinpeter) December 20, 2014
LSU had more underclassmen declare for the draft the last two seasons than any other program in the SEC.
Miles also preached about what returning for a fourth year of college football can do for a player’s draft stock despite the risk of injury. He noted that many of the underclassmen that went pro early the last two years would have likely benefited from another year in college.
He even went as far as to say that had tailback Jeremy Hill returned for his senior season in 2014, he’d likely be a first round pick in this spring’s NFL Draft (Hill was a late second round selection by Cincinnati last year).
Miles: "There is reasonable expectation that some of these guys should return and benefit greatly." #LSU
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 20, 2014
Miles: "Those guys who return .. NFL advice has found opportunity to increase their draft status." #LSU
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 20, 2014
Miles on underclassmen who left lat year: "All three of those guys would have been drafted in a much more prominent position." #LSU
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 20, 2014
Miles was asked what the return of those underclassmen might mean for an LSU program that’s won at least eight games for 15 straight years, and the head coach didn’t shy away from embracing the success next year’s team might achieve.
Miles, again, touting 2015 team if JRs return: "This team coming back, minus the seniors, would be a pretty special football team." #LSU
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 20, 2014
In discussing preparations for the upcoming bowl game, Miles announced that senior tailback Kenny Hilliard will be back for LSU’s showdown with Notre Dame and will begin practicing in full capacity on Saturday. Hilliard was absent from Friday’s practice to attend his graduation, but Miles said he did some work with the team during the week, although he never completed a full practice.
In discussing X’s and O’s, the head coach admitted he doesn’t expect to see many new looks out of Cam Cameron’s offense against Notre Dame despite the tweaks made to the offensive game plan in the Tigers regular season finale against Texas A&M.
And on a day in which many of his seniors received their degrees from LSU, Miles proudly announced his entire team would be traveling to the bowl game without a single player facing academic restrictions.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
