by Ryan Rogers
LSUsports.net
As the LSU Tigers carry through the 2001 season with high aspirations, senior leadership is their best attribute. One of the seniors whom LSU will look to in times of success and in times of adversity is senior captain Robert Royal.
LSU has the SEC’s deepest tight end corps, and Royal leads that stable.
One of the most athletic players on the team, Royal has exceptional speed, size and great hands. Add to his repertoire that he is an excellent blocker, hard worker and great team player, and Royal has stepped into the spotlight and become the envy of many coaches.
Royal’s rare combination of size, speed and athletic ability brings a major asset to LSU’s offense. Having a player like Royal in the offense causes problems for defenses and leaves opposing coaches sleepless at night trying to figure out how to account for the star tight end.
Whether the defensive scheme calls for a linebacker or a defensive back to cover him, he causes a mismatch. Linebackers are usually too slow and defensive backs too small for the 6-5, 240-pound tight end.
“Linebackers are usually suited for stopping the run or dropping into the flats, while I’m usually running routes down the seam and across the field which presents problems for linebackers to cover me,” Royal explained. “Defensive backs usually have the agility and the speed, but my size is to my advantage. My eyes sometimes light up when I see a mismatch about to happen.”
LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher utilizes Royal well in his scheme.
“When you’ve got a few guys who weigh 260 pounds, can block well and are fast enough to run down the field and cause mismatches that’s a luxury,” Fisher said. “We have that with so many great tight ends here.
“Robert is a great player whom I really like a lot. He allows us to do so many different things offensively.”
Last year, Royal accumulated 22 receptions for 340 yards, a whopping 15.5-yard average per catch. Not too shabby for a tight end who starts every play in a three-point stance. Royal caught five touchdown passes in 2000, none bigger than the game-winner in overtime against Tennessee.
“Catching the game-winning pass against Tennessee last year was great,” Royal said. “Growing up you dream about catching that game-winning pass. I couldn’t believe that it actually happened. Right after the play I wasn’t real joyful because we still had to play defense. Once the game was over it hit me that I had just caught that pass in Tiger Stadium.”
The win over Tennessee turned LSU’s season around. Royal later caught two touchdown passes against Alabama en route to LSU’s first win over the Crimson Tide in Tiger Stadium since 1969. He went on to earn first-team all-SEC recognition from the league’s coaches.
Royal points toward his talent in another sport in assessing his football skills.
“I was always basketball-oriented growing up,” he explained. “It really helped me have quicker feet, better hands and more coordination.”
Royal was a star basketball recruit at Karr High School in New Orleans.
He joined John Brady‘s LSU squad last year to try and help out in the Tigers’ thin frontcourt. He appeared in a few games, but a foot injury didn’t allow him to contribute significantly.
There is no doubt that Royal is an incredible athlete, but it may be a different component of his game that separates him from the average player.
“My awareness of the game helps me,” Royal said. “I don’t just think about my assignment, I take a look at the defense and I adjust to see if the man I should block will affect the play more than the one next to him. I block the defender that needs to be blocked to make the play work. By looking at the defense, I can tell if the ball is coming my way. Knowing how to read a defense really gives me an edge.”
It’s not surprising that Royal is a smart player. He is an outstanding student in the classroom and boasts a college degree to prove it. This past August, Royal wore a cap and gown and graduated from LSU with a degree in kinesiology.
Royal’s future will likely exist in the NFL. He is a projected first-round pick in the 2002 NFL draft, but Royal is not concerned about pro football. He is more worried about dedicating himself to his teammates by playing hard and helping LSU have success.
“It makes things easier knowing I have a degree to fall back on,” Royal said. “I can go out and play free and not worry about having an injury that would stop my chances of going to the NFL. I’m only worried about this year. I want to be better than we were last year and win a championship. I want to walk away from LSU knowing we accomplished great things.”
Royal’s counterpart at tight end, Joe Domingeaux, has also graduated. The two have developed special bond on and off the field as friends, teammates and classmates.
“The whole tight end class means a lot to me,” Royal said. “Joe Domingeaux, Kyle Kipps (now a defensive end) and myself have been here together for five years. Joe and I have developed a relationship to where if he’s not around me it’s hard to play because we’re so used to being around each other.”
LSU Academic Center Assistant Director Karla Lemoine enjoyed watching the duo receive degrees.
“It is really fulfilling to see a student-athlete that we worked with graduate,” Lemoine said. “This year, to see Robert Royal and Joe Domingeaux graduate was just wonderful. That is the highlight of all the work we do with the kids.”
Ironically, Royal came to LSU as a partial qualifier, and he was forced to sit out of competition his freshman year. He was later granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA due to his progress in the classroom. Since his arrival at LSU, Royal has been on a mission to prove his doubters wrong.
“It was really important to me to graduate,” he explained. “I wanted to show people who thought I couldn’t make it here at LSU that I could make it. There was never a doubt in my mind that I could graduate. It was always my main focus to graduate.”
Royal is graced with the love and support of two very special people in his life, his father, Robert Sr., and his mother, Anette.
“My dad is one of my biggest supporters,” Royal said. “He comes to every game with my mother by his side. He thinks he embarrasses me because he calls me by my nickname ?Da-Dee,’ but he doesn’t. I love the support that they show for me, and they have always shown for me my whole life.”
Royal loves his parents dearly and never takes them for granted.
“It’s been real special to have my parents involved in my life,” he said. “If you think about all the people who don’t have their parents to support them, I’m really lucky. I look at (LSU linebacker) Bradie James, whose parents passed away. God bless him and his parents, but if you look at Bradie, he is really strong. Right now this team is his family which is also my family, but when you can also have your parents around, it’s even greater.”
Royal has never regretted his decision to attend LSU.
“I had a coach (Al Ott) at Karr High School who played here at LSU on the 1958 national championship team,” Royal explained. “He would tell me stories about how great LSU is, and when the time came, I felt it wasn’t too close to home and wasn’t too far away, so I chose LSU. I know I made the right decision. I have had a lot of support from the administration, academic personnel, coaches and everyone here at LSU. Everyone is very positive around here. That’s the type of people I want to be around for the rest of my life.”
Royal is on pace for another big year in 2001. He already has caught nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Statistically, Royal has been very sound, however, he isn’t pleased with his game just yet.
“I’m not satisfied with the way I’ve played so far,” he said. “I need to improve on blocking and making big plays for us when we need them.”
Heading into today’s game with Florida, Royal would like to rekindle some old memories from his true freshman season.
“When we beat Florida in 1997, the excitement on the field was incredible,” he explained. “I didn’t play in that game, but I’ll never forget the adrenaline rush from that experience.”
Robert Royal is another shining example of the exemplary LSU student-athlete. It’s no coincidence that Royal’s attitude in the classroom and on the field carries over into life. He is a great person who treats everyone with the same generosity. He is a pleasure to be around, and LSU fans should be proud that every Saturday he wears Purple and Gold.