LSU lost one quarterback in its 2012 recruiting class when headliner Gunner Kiel defected to Notre Dame at the eleventh hour. Now the Tigers are losing another incoming QB for an entirely different reason: According to the Biloxi, Miss., Sun Herald, three-star signee Jeremy Liggins is bound for junior college as an apparent academic casualty. Steve Campbell, head coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, confirmed that Liggins has signed with MGCCC and will enroll in summer school.
Liggins made headlines last winter for a) Spurning his hometown school, Ole Miss, in favor of the Rebels' SEC West rival in an announcement ceremony right next door to Ole Miss' campus, and b) His Lorenzen-esque size. Liggins' official LSU bio lists him at 270 pounds, more reminiscent of a defensive tackle than a quarterback, and recent speculation over his academic trouble was accompanied by rumors that he has swelled to 300 pounds.
As a senior, Liggins led Lafayette County High to an undefeated season and its second consecutive state championship in Mississippi's 4A classification, establishing himself as "a priority" for LSU in the process. Not that Les Miles is desperate for another young quarterback: Behind starter Zach Mettenberger the Tigers have a pair of redshirt freshmen, Jerrard Randall and Stephen Rivers – younger brother of ex-N.C. State star/current Pro Bowler Phillip Rivers – who arrived last year with higher marks than Liggins from the recruiting gurus, and they boast a standing commitment from Hayden Rettig, a big, highly regarded slinger from Los Angeles expected to join the fray in 2013.
But if Liggins' presence won't be missed on the depth chart, it certainly will be for fans who looked forward to the sheer spectacle of a colossus roaming the pocket. Why can't we have nice, absurd things?
Update, 2:28 p.m. ET. Lafayette County athletic director Anthony Hart has clarified that, contrary to the earlier report, Liggins can still qualify for LSU with a higher ACT score. "If everything turns out well, he'll be down at LSU," Hart told the Jackson, Miss., Clarion-Ledger. "If he doesn't qualify – we're still thinking he's going to qualify – Gulf Coast is one of his options. It's not 100 percent he's going to do that. That's one of his options right now."
Gulf Coast coach Steve Campbell also clarified that Liggins' scholarship with MGCCC is a backup plan. "He's still got a chance to make it (to LSU) and we're going to be here in case he doesn't," Campbell said.