Last year quarterback Ryan Perrilloux proved to have a very important role in the LSU Tigers winning the national championship. Perrilloux, the backup LSU quarterback, stepped in for injured starter Matt Flynn in the SEC Championship game. In only his second start of the year, he calmly led the Tigers to a 21-14 win over Tennessee to allow LSU to go on to win the national championship.
Perrilloux was named MVP in the SEC Championship game, going 20-for-30 in the passing department for 243 yards with one touchdown.
Earlier in the season in his only other start for the Tigers, Perrilloux led his team to a 44-0 rout of Middle Tennessee. Perrilloux was impressive, throwing for 298 yards and three touchdowns on a 20-of-25 performance.
While Perrilloux’s performances on the field were highly impressive, behavior off the field was questionable. Suspensions led to LSU Coach Les Miles dismissing Perrilloux from the team on May 2, 2008, and on May 14, Perrilloux came to Jacksonville State University.
Without doubt, the addition of the heralded quarterback is the reason why JSU has been picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference. Never has a recruit drawn so much attention for the Gamecocks, especially on a national level.
Being in the national spotlight is nothing new to Perrilloux. In 2004, while still in high school, Perrilloux was awarded the Hall Trophy as the nation’s most outstanding high school player. He was named Offensive Player of the Year by USA Today, Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year and Parade magazine All-American.
His 12,705 total yards while at East St. John High School in Louisiana won him the Scout.com Player of the Year in 2005.
Many have named him one of the finest college quarterbacks in the nation, comparing him to Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Yet, for all of his athletic abilities and potential greatness, Coach Miles felt it best to let him go – to try to get a better start at another university.
Going down in division, Perrilloux would not have to sit out a year and his final choices came down to Alabama A&M and Jacksonville State. Perrilloux liked what he saw in the program at Jacksonville State and has come here to hopefully help himself personally and help out the team.
In direct opposition to the way Perrilloux has been described by the media in the days following his dismissal from the LSU team, a quiet, soft-spoken athlete spoke at JSU’s media days earlier this month.
Perrilloux talked about how much he liked Jacksonville; liked it because it was a “small town, good people and great barbeque.”
A very big part of Coach Jack Crowe’s football program this year will be based on character, and instilling character in the team. When questioned, Perrilloux replied that he felt character was based on decision-making.
“That is what this program is for,” replied a thoughtful Perrilloux. “You have to realize that before you do anything you need to think about the consequences and think about the rewards. You need to think about what you want to get out of doing it.”
That’s reflective thinking for someone who has obviously had to do a lot of reflective thinking about past events.
From the moment that Perrilloux takes the field against Georgia Tech on Thursday he will be a marked man. Perrilloux doesn’t seem to mind.
“I don’t think there is any added pressure,” he said. “I think this is a good opportunity for me to go out and play ball and just win ball games. Winning ball games; everything else will just take care of itself.”
Most would think that the offensive line would feel the burden of the heralded quarterback in the backfield drawing attention. Not so according to senior offensive guard Al Jefferson.
“The addition of Perrilloux has been a real blessing for us,” Jefferson said. “Hopefully this year he’ll make my job a whole lot easier. Perrilloux is able to read defenses really well. He can pick out a scheme really easy and try to hit it the best way possible for the offense.”
Senior wide receiver Maurice Dupree, who figures to be on the receiving end of many a Perrilloux pass says the coveted quarterback is as good as reported.
“He’s not overrated at all,” smiled Dupree. ”He’s a real athlete, real smart; he’s the real deal. What makes him so good is his ability to read the defense at the line. He’ll change the play from what he sees before the snap.”
Perrilloux has been impressed with the program at JSU, impressed enough to feel that the Gamecocks not only have the opportunity to win the OVC Championship, but a national championship as well. He should know what it takes to win a national championship, he’s already been there.
“There’s pressure on any football club going into the season,” said Perrilloux. “Their goal is to win their conference championship and win the national championship. For people to expect us to do that it should be a great honor; just to have them look at our football team and say, ‘that’s a good football team.’ ”
There’s not much question that Perrilloux has what it takes to be a winner on the field. The question remains as to how he will conduct himself off the field. He seems to have a plan for his extra time.
“In off time I would like to spend time with kids, throw a little ball, and talk to them a little bit about decision making,” he said.
“With everything I’ve been through I’ve been talking to kids and want to talk to them about decision making, what to do, what not to do. I’ve been living it so it would be a great thing to do.”
The Jacksonville State football program is hoping that the second chance for Perrilloux is going to be the one that makes a difference.
