jason
10-30-2007, 09:51 AM
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3085557
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Ryan Perrilloux's off-field troubles have taken him out of LSU's quarterback rotation again, this time for at least a week.
Perrilloux and reserve linebacker Derrick Odom are being punished for their involvement in a nightclub brawl over the weekend, LSU head coach Les Miles said Monday.
They sat out practice Monday while the third-ranked Tigers prepared for a highly anticipated showdown against former coach Nick Saban at No. 17 Alabama, and Miles said he didn't expect the two to play on Saturday.
"We will prepare to play without these guys," Miles said.
That had to be good news for Saban, a defensive mastermind who apparently no longer has to concern himself with the option threat Perrilloux has posed this season when Miles has subbed him for starter Matt Flynn.
Miles said backup quarterbacks Andrew Hatch and Jarrett Lee could play Perrilloux's role.
Regardless, it's bad timing for Miles, who needs to beat Alabama (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) to give LSU (7-1, 4-1) the inside track to win the SEC West.
As for Perrilloux and Odom, missing what may be one of the biggest games of the year should be the least of their worries.
Both players' status on the team had already been threatened by troubles with the law.
Miles suspended Perrilloux from the team for three months this year after police cited the 20-year-old for using his older brother's ID card to get into a Baton Rouge casino, where the minimum age of admission is 21. Perrilloux has also been listed as a "person of interest" in a federal counterfeiting probe.
Odom was arrested in September, accused of damaging another LSU student's vehicle. Miles suspended Odom for three weeks in August, after the linebacker was arrested after allegedly damaging another student's vehicle and threatening the student.
No one was arrested in the fight early Friday near the LSU campus.
The scuffle began when Perrilloux and Odom got into a shoving match with a group of bouncers, according to a Baton Rouge police report. Brent McClellan, owner of the Varsity nightclub, said Perrilloux and Odom refused to leave at the 2 a.m. closing time, and the scuffle began when bouncers forced them outdoors, into a parking lot, according to the report.
Perrilloux and Odom gave a different account, saying the bouncers were harassing them and their girlfriends. The two players "began fighting off the bouncers in an effort to protect themselves and their girlfriends," Odom told police.
Miles sidestepped reporters' questions about the matter in his Monday news conference, instead focusing on the game coming up in Tuscaloosa.
"From this point on, if you don't mind, I want to talk about Alabama," he said.
Miles also avoided questions about the hype surrounding his matchup against Saban, who won a national championship at LSU in 2004. LSU fans continued to hold Saban in high regard after he left to coach the Miami Dolphins, but the once-beloved coach became a traitor in the eyes of many in Baton Rouge after he left the NFL to take over one of the Tigers' oldest SEC rivals.
Alabama hired him this year with a $32 million deal that made him college football's highest paid coach.
Miles said he understood fans' interest in the coaching matchup, but wasn't interested in discussing it.
"This will be a great game, but it will not be about the head coaches," Miles said. "I appreciate coach Saban's past, in passing through Louisiana, and certainly respect what he was able to accomplish here."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Ryan Perrilloux's off-field troubles have taken him out of LSU's quarterback rotation again, this time for at least a week.
Perrilloux and reserve linebacker Derrick Odom are being punished for their involvement in a nightclub brawl over the weekend, LSU head coach Les Miles said Monday.
They sat out practice Monday while the third-ranked Tigers prepared for a highly anticipated showdown against former coach Nick Saban at No. 17 Alabama, and Miles said he didn't expect the two to play on Saturday.
"We will prepare to play without these guys," Miles said.
That had to be good news for Saban, a defensive mastermind who apparently no longer has to concern himself with the option threat Perrilloux has posed this season when Miles has subbed him for starter Matt Flynn.
Miles said backup quarterbacks Andrew Hatch and Jarrett Lee could play Perrilloux's role.
Regardless, it's bad timing for Miles, who needs to beat Alabama (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) to give LSU (7-1, 4-1) the inside track to win the SEC West.
As for Perrilloux and Odom, missing what may be one of the biggest games of the year should be the least of their worries.
Both players' status on the team had already been threatened by troubles with the law.
Miles suspended Perrilloux from the team for three months this year after police cited the 20-year-old for using his older brother's ID card to get into a Baton Rouge casino, where the minimum age of admission is 21. Perrilloux has also been listed as a "person of interest" in a federal counterfeiting probe.
Odom was arrested in September, accused of damaging another LSU student's vehicle. Miles suspended Odom for three weeks in August, after the linebacker was arrested after allegedly damaging another student's vehicle and threatening the student.
No one was arrested in the fight early Friday near the LSU campus.
The scuffle began when Perrilloux and Odom got into a shoving match with a group of bouncers, according to a Baton Rouge police report. Brent McClellan, owner of the Varsity nightclub, said Perrilloux and Odom refused to leave at the 2 a.m. closing time, and the scuffle began when bouncers forced them outdoors, into a parking lot, according to the report.
Perrilloux and Odom gave a different account, saying the bouncers were harassing them and their girlfriends. The two players "began fighting off the bouncers in an effort to protect themselves and their girlfriends," Odom told police.
Miles sidestepped reporters' questions about the matter in his Monday news conference, instead focusing on the game coming up in Tuscaloosa.
"From this point on, if you don't mind, I want to talk about Alabama," he said.
Miles also avoided questions about the hype surrounding his matchup against Saban, who won a national championship at LSU in 2004. LSU fans continued to hold Saban in high regard after he left to coach the Miami Dolphins, but the once-beloved coach became a traitor in the eyes of many in Baton Rouge after he left the NFL to take over one of the Tigers' oldest SEC rivals.
Alabama hired him this year with a $32 million deal that made him college football's highest paid coach.
Miles said he understood fans' interest in the coaching matchup, but wasn't interested in discussing it.
"This will be a great game, but it will not be about the head coaches," Miles said. "I appreciate coach Saban's past, in passing through Louisiana, and certainly respect what he was able to accomplish here."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press