By Jake Terry
LSU Sports Information
There are certain characteristics that describe the make up of the type of football player that every coach in America wants. A few of these words include hard working, passionate and persevering. These words describe the character and makeup of LSU defensive tackle Leo Desselle.
Desselle was born Leo Paul Desselle IV, the son of Leo III and Isabelle Desselle. Growing up in Algiers on the Westbank, Desselle has always had a passion for football. Desselle’s father played football, so like the family name, football was passed down from father to son.
“My dad wanted me to play football, and he knew I would when I was little because he played a lot when he was little,” Desselle said.
The elder Desselle not only played football when he was younger, but he also performed well on the field. However, the financial situation at home kept the elder Desselle from playing in college, which only served as motivation for his son when the younger Desselle played at Archbishop Shaw High School.
“My dad played up through high school,” Desselle said. “He played at Shaw as well, and he wanted to come play in college. But he and his parents just didn’t have a lot of money. He had to work to pay for college, so that’s why he really didn’t have time to play.”
At 6 feet tall and weighing 261 pounds, Desselle played defensive tackle at Shaw. A hard worker who loved the game, Desselle was a starter at tackle for three seasons. Desselle shined his senior year as he finished the season with 78 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and nine sacks. Colleges began to notice. Desselle picked up scholarship offers from Louisiana Tech University, Tulane University and others.
“I had a bunch of letters written to me my senior year, mainly from smaller schools around Louisiana and a couple out-of-state schools, especially Army. They were really interested in me,” Desselle said.
Despite the attention, Desselle ultimately chose to play for LSU as a walk-on. One coach at LSU who made his presence felt in the Desselle household during Desselle’s recruitment was former coach Pete Jenkins, who served as defensive line coach from 1980-90 and again from 2000-01 when he recruited Desselle.
“Pete Jenkins talked to me a lot. He is an amazing coach. I loved him. He pretty much wanted me to come, and I liked him,” Desselle said. “I went to a couple of camps, and he was a coach. I loved his coaching style; I loved the way he coached.”
Dr. Sam Nader, who serves as Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations for LSU, helped Desselle and his family with the decision to attend LSU as well.
“Coach Nader called me to talk to my dad a bunch and said ?We’ll get him not necessarily as a walk-on, but as a preferred walk-on,’ which is a little above the status of a regular walk-on,” Desselle said.
A preferred walk-on is a player who is recruited to a school and expressly invited to join the team without receiving the aid of a scholarship. The invitation was too great to decline for Desselle. Because of his relationship with coach Jenkins and the challenge that playing for LSU presented, Desselle decided to make the trek from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.
His first year at LSU in 2002, Desselle was redshirted. In 2003, LSU’s BCS national championship season, Desselle did not receive any playing time, but he participated in practice as a member of the scout squad. In 2004, as a redshirt sophomore, Desselle again did not receive any playing time.
During his first few years, former LSU coach Nick Saban improved the level of athletes that he recruited to play for LSU. Year after year, many talented defensive line recruits chose LSU, guys like Marcus Spears, who was drafted in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2005 NFL Draft, and Claude Wroten and Kyle Williams, two All-American defensive linemen who were drafted in the third and fifth rounds of the 2006 NFL Draft respectively.
Through all of this, Desselle was unfazed. He continued to persevere.
“It’s really tough. You see the athletes when you come here, and it’s just amazing how good they are. For you to get to that level, it does take awhile unless you’re just an extraordinary person. If you come in with all the talent in the world, then they throw you right in to this thing, but that’s very rare. So I knew right away I had to work hard, and it was going to take awhile. But I had the help and support with my family and friends to help me get through it,” Desselle said.
Not only did Desselle, who is a general studies major, have to persevere on the field in practice, but like every other student-athlete he also had to keep up with his grades in the classroom.
“It’s hard. I switched majors a couple of times, but at the academic center, they really help us. They have tutors whenever you need help. They (the coaches) make sure you go to class by doing the point system they have, but it’s all you have time for really,” Desselle said.
Passion for the game of football is part of the makeup of Leo Desselle. With football and school dominating his life for the past four years, it has taken passion and love for the game to persevere.
“There’s no other time for extra-curricular activities and stuff like that. It’s just football and school. That’s it. You have to pretty much love what you’re dong,” Desselle said.
As a redshirt junior last season, Desselle finally received some playing time. Desselle saw action against North Texas, Appalachian State and Ole Miss. Against North Texas, with the game firmly in hand, coach Miles sent Desselle in for his very first play.
“The first play I ever played in I got a tackle,” Desselle said smiling.
Desselle finished last season with four tackles, two tackles for a loss and two quarterback hurries. For Desselle, this experience offered extra motivation for this season. Now that he has seen what it is like to play under the lights in Tiger Stadium, he is eager for more.
The 2006 season marks the final year of eligibility for Desselle, and he wants to make it count. Going into fall camp, Desselle knew he needed to work harder than ever because the defensive line was relatively thin at defensive tackle since the departure of Williams and Wroten to the NFL, so the chance for playing time in games this season was better.
“With Kyle and Claude, the two amazing tackles we had here gone, I knew I had a chance to step up and play way more than I did last year. Camp came in, and I had a good camp. The coaches were telling me how good I was doing, and I earned a two-spot on the d-line. So I am happy about that.”
Earning a spot on the second team defensive line is not all Desselle had to be happy about. Because of his hard work, passion and perseverance, he earned a scholarship for this season.
“It was a good present. It happened a couple of days before my birthday, so it was a good birthday present. It was amazing. Coach Miles just called me up to his office and told me, and there was a big smile on my face. He said, ?You earned this,’ and I knew that I did. It took awhile, and I was just really happy.”
A force to be reckoned with
Growing up, Desselle’s parents wanted their son to be involved with sports, and Desselle was intrigued by martial arts. At an early age, Desselle began to take Tae Kwon Do.
“My parents knew it was a good discipline sport. It was good to keep you busy and not getting into extra stuff that gets you in trouble when you’re younger,” Desselle said.
Desselle grasped Tae Kwon Do quickly, and he began to advance to higher belts in the art. However, a particular rule kept Desselle from moving on further up the ranks.
“From about 7 until 14 years old I took Tae Kwon Do, and that’s when I got a second degree senior black belt. They wouldn’t let me get third degree because I was too young, so I said ?All right, well I’m going to leave and go try something else,’” Desselle said.
Desselle was not ready to give up martial arts, so he decided to try something new, looking for a new challenge. He found that challenge in Judo and Jujitsu.
“So that’s when I went to this place in Belle Chase down there on the Westbank, and Vernon Schlief was the sensei there, the master. He’s a seven degree black belt. I went there the first day, and I put my gi (pronounced ?gee’, the official uniform) on and he put his on. He said, ?I want you to kick at me. Do what you would do if we were in the streets,’ so I did and he just took me down in a second and had me in a pin. I couldn’t do anything on the ground, and I said, ?I want to learn this.’ So I took that for another four years, until I came here (to LSU),” Desselle said.
From what he learned in Schlief’s class, Desselle won a world championship title in grappling, which is practiced in Judo. He also won the gold medal in the Junior Olympics for Judo. Desselle competed at the highest level and succeeded, something that he has been doing at LSU for the past four years.
Desselle saw the benefits of taking martial arts and how it would pay off for football, the sport in which he was passionate.
“Martial arts are good for athletics, too. It’s good for your flexibility and hip movement. They (the LSU coaches) have me as the most flexible guy on the team, stretching wise. It definitely does (help) because d-line is a bunch of hand and hip movement, and so you have to be flexible in everything and have good movement. I think it definitely helped me out on my pass rush with my hands,” Desselle said.
Using what he has gained from martial arts, Desselle has moved himself into contention for heavy playing time, but it has not been easy. It has taken hard work, passion for the game and perseverance for Desselle to get to the position he is in now, but through it all Desselle has kept a smile on his face.
“It was just a dream for me to come here,” Desselle said.
A dream that has come true.