Signing Day

I spent the morning at the Satellite Center in St. Charles Parish. Nine players from Hahnville and Destrehan signed this morning, making it official.

Destrehan
LSU: Jordan Jefferson & Tim Molton
Arkansas: Jerico Nelso
Tulsa: Damaris Johnson
Louisiana-Lafayette: Chris Richard

Hahnville
Miami: Laron Byrd
Ark.-Monticello: Andrew Bonvillian & Blake Prince
Southeaster-La.: B.J. Young

A few things.

-- The coaches, for one, are likely happier this day is over. Both Stephen Robicheaux of Destrehan and Mike Silva of Hahnville seemed relieved, for different reasons.

Robicheaux said the week is hectic. And I can't imagine having Mardi Gras give the school's a week off helps. Silva, on the other hand, said he is relieved that he'll have time now away from the recruiting process. He said the toughest part is trying to keep a good relationship with coaches when he knows the player isn't going to a certain school.

-- Nelson's switching from Purdue to Arkansas wasn't so surprising after all. According to Robicheaux, at the time Nelson said yes to Purdue, it was the only big-time school offering him a scholarship. Arkansas and forever mobile head coach Bobby Petrino came on late in the game, and obviously did enough to sway Nelson, who said a big part of the decision to change was that his mother would be able to drive to Fayetteville, Ark., instead of flying to West Lafayette, Ind.

-- Jefferson is a soft-spoken dude. But he knew for sure by this morning that LSU was the right place. It came down to Alabama and LSU, and the people of Louisiana and their support for Jefferson made the difference, he said.

-- Byrd could have gone to Auburn where he likely would have had a chance to start right away. The Tigers do, after all, have a brand new offensive coordinator, and that means Byrd would basically be on the same football with the receivers at Auburn now. But Byrd has always wanted to go to Miami. Silva recalled talking with Byrd during his freshman season and asking about where, if he could go play college football, he would want to go. The answer: Miami.

-- Destrehan won't be done having players sign scholarships. Players can sign from here on out, and expect Ramal Ellis to sign possibly with Southern, but definitely somewhere, Robicheaux said. And don't count out Joel Banks, who possibly has some opportunities if the cards fall right.