Larry Brown Sports

Eventually, doctors in the maternity ward are going to be asking college coaches like Nick Saban and Les Miles to give mothers a little space when their sons are coming out of the womb. Yes, that’s an exaggeration. But how young is too young for an athlete to be recruited to play a sport in college? For many coaches, the answer to that question is younger than 13 years old.

On Saturday, the defending national champion Crimson Tide extended a scholarship offer to an eight-grader from Baton Rouge named Dylan Moses. If you feel as though Saban should not be offering children who are that young a scholarship, you have an even bigger bone to pick with Miles. Moses received an offer from LSU last summer.

“For Dylan, excitement spilled over,” the boy’s father, Edward Moses Jr., said according to ESPN.com. “When he heard those words from Coach [Nick] Saban, ‘We’re offering you,’ you could see him light up. It was shocking because we were going in thinking we were just going to get a tour of what Alabama has to offer.

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LSU announced on Wednesday that Les Miles will remain at the school as head coach of the football team, and that he will receive a raise and contract extension.

The new contract and raise comes a day after it was reported that Arkansas was heavily pursuing Miles to be their next head coach, offering him $27.5 million over five years. LSU Director of Athletics Joe Alleva confirmed that the interest from Arkansas played a role in the timing of the extension and raise.

“Our intent was to address his contract following this year’s bowl game, but speculation about other job opportunities accelerated our process a little,” Alleva said in a press release. “I think we have accomplished the important step of securing Les Miles as our head coach for the long-term good of the program.”

Miles confirmed in a news conference on Wednesday that he did speak with Arkansas.

“Our conversation were very preliminary and fell short of any major major interest,” Miles said. “I kind of recommended other candidates. I spoke with [athletic director Jeff Long]. I did not speak to Jerry Jones.”

Miles also said the reported $27.5 million figure Arkansas reportedly was offering him was incorrect.

“I’m an LSU head coach and will be an LSU head coach as long as I can be.”

Terms of the contract extension and pay raise are still being negotiated, and will be announced at a later date, the schools says.

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Saturday night’s game between Alabama and LSU was everything it was hyped up to be and more, as Nick Saban’s team further proved that they are the best team in the nation by pulling off a fourth quarter comeback on the road. The game had fans on the edge of their seats, but none more than radio host and notorious LSU supporter Bobby Hebert.

According to Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune, Hebert was ejected from the press box for cheering LSU too enthusiastically.

“An LSU spokesman said Hebert was warned repeatedly that his cheering was creating a disturbance,” Duncan wrote on Twitter Saturday night. “He was removed by security in the (fourth quarter).”

Those of us who are familiar with Hebert’s history are not even a tiny bit surprised by this news. The former Saints and Falcons quarterback is a huge LSU fan. His son, center T. Bob Hebert, played for the Tigers last season. He has a history of acting unprofessionally and not being able to remain objective, as evidenced by this epic rant he went on during Les Miles’ press conference after the BCS National Championship Game last season.

Those who sit in the press box are supposed to make an effort to remain neutral. Some cheering, moaning and groaning is to be expected, but I’m sure Hebert took it to the next level.

Tyrann Mathieu reportedly had interest in returning to LSU’s football team next year after being dismissed from the team last week, but that will not happen. The Heisman Trophy candidate is permanently ineligible to play football for the school.

Mathieu, aka the “Honey Badger,” was kicked off the team last week for reportedly repeatedly testing positive for marijuana. Though Mathieu was exploring his transfer options, a report from ESPN said the defensive back was considering sitting out the season and enrolling in classes in hopes of being reinstated for the 2013 season. But that won’t be happening.

“He’s permanently ineligible to play football at LSU,” LSU senior associate athletic director for NCAA compliance Bo Bahnsen told USA Today Sports. “That’s definite. That’s what was said Friday.”

LSU’s substance abuse policy reportedly states that a third violation of drug use will result in “permanent ineligibility to participate at LSU.”

Mathieu can continue as a student at LSU, but he has lost his scholarship. It looks more and more like transferring is his only option if he wants to continue his collegiate playing career.

Some may think LSU’s actions are an overreaction to a minor problem, but it sounds like Mathieu was given many opportunities to change and he didn’t. Maybe this sort of punishment will teach him some discipline and respect for rules.

Championship rings are supposed to be a fond reminder of the success you and your teammates accomplished in a season. And that’s exactly what these LSU SEC championship rings are intended for. Rightly so; these days an SEC title is definitely something that ought to be celebrated with more than just a pizza party.

But when said rings also read “#2 NATIONALLY,” reminding you of the bitter disappointment you were dealt in the BCS title game after being undefeated and the clear favorite the rest of the season, it kind of sours the whole point. What Debbie Downer designed these things?

Here’s another look at the bling:

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Knowing how big Mardi Gras is for the people of Louisiana, I can’t imagine there were too many happy faces looking at this parade float. A group of people — clearly Alabama fans — had to have spent a ton of time putting together the float you see above, which is loaded with one-liners, portraits, and numbers that completely rip LSU for their loss to the Crimson Tide in the BCS National Championship game.

The masterpiece ripped on LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee for having to watch from the sidelines as Jordan Jefferson and the Tigers offense did absolutely nothing for 60 minutes. As you see below, another section showed a Bama elephant protecting the 50-yard line so no Tigers could get across.

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LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson had a miserable showing in the National Championship Game against Alabama. The senior went 11/17 for 53 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. The team amassed just five first downs and fewer than 100 total yards in the 21-0 loss. There were cries for Jarrett Lee to replace Jefferson at quarterback.

So what does Jefferson think went wrong? He shared his opinion during an interview on WCNN in Atlanta.

“I think we should’ve spread them out a little bit more, put the ball in different passing areas, use our talent on the receiving side,” Jefferson said. “We had that in as far as play-calling, we just didn’t get to it. It’s a learning situation for us, a learning situation for the LSU football team and I definitely expect to see us back in the championship next year.

“We have great guys in those areas and sometimes we just wonder why we don’t use those guys. But we’re not the one calling the plays. We still have to go out and execute what the coaches and coordinators are calling. We can’t complain as players, but sometimes we do question that.”

Jefferson also says the team failed to make any halftime adjustments.

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