BATON ROUGE — A senior class that has the chance to go down as the winningest group in school history will be honored prior to LSU’s game against Ole Miss on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
Kickoff for the LSU-Ole Miss game is slated for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on the school’s pay-per-view network, TigerVision. The senior ceremony begins at 6:49 p.m.
This year’s group of seniors goes into the home finale against Ole Miss with a five-year record of 49-13, which puts them just three wins shy of breaking the mark held by the 2005 senior class. The 2005 senior class had a five-year mark of 51-13.
The 2006 senior class includes nine players who have spent five years with the Tigers and seven players who are in the fourth season with the team. Two players (Chase Pittman and Sammy Joseph) transferred to LSU from other schools, while the remaining four players are non-scholarship student-athletes.
Some of the other accomplishments achieved by this year’s senior class during their career at LSU include winning the 2003 BCS National title, claiming the 2003 Southeastern Conference title, and being a part of what will be five bowl games by the time this season is over.
“We will take 22 seniors into Tiger Stadium for the final time on Saturday,” LSU coach Les Miles said earlier this week. “It will be an awfully important outing for those players. They have a really distinct opportunity that if they win two games, they will tie as the class with the most wins in LSU history. If they have three wins, they will exceed that class (2005 senior class) by one.
“We have a very, very good senior class and a group of men that we will really miss. We want to send them off with a victory.”
This year’s senior class includes 22 players, with nine of those being starters. Headlining the list of seniors include four-year starter and All-America safety LaRon Landry and the school’s record holder in touchdown receptions in wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.
Other starters who will play their final game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday include strong safety Jessie Daniels, punter Chris Jackson, defensive end Pittman, running back Justin Vincent, wide receiver Craig Davis, offensive tackle Peter Dyakowski, and offensive guard Brian Johnson.
“I’m not looking forward to it, but I know it’s got to happen,” Pittman said of playing in Tiger Stadium for the final time. “So, we’re going to get focused this week, try to keep our minds off it and focus on Ole Miss.”
“These fans, they are unbelievable. I love playing here. This is home. I’d rather play here in this stadium the rest of my life, but I can’t. Just knowing this is going to be my last time is going to be rough.”
Among the group of seniors includes Dyakowski, who is the first LSU scholarship football player from Canada. Dyakowski came to Baton Rouge five years ago, and after waiting his turn, finally worked his way into the starting rotation this year. Dyakowski has started all 10 games at right tackle for the Tigers this season.
“It’s crazy to think about,” Dyakowski said of his final game in Tiger Stadium. “To think about when I just got here, I couldn’t imagine actually getting to end of it so it is pretty amazing to be here. I haven’t thought about it too much though because this season has flown by. I think playing a lot helps that and it has kind of snuck up on me. I haven’t thought about it too much yet but I am sure I will be Saturday night, hopefully not too much though.
“This being my first season really playing it has been different from all my previous seasons and I think because of that it has really snuck up on me. It will be interesting being finished. We still have more games after that but this will be it in Tiger Stadium so hopefully we go out in a great way.”
Another reason Saturday night will be so special for Dyakowski is due to the fact that his dad, Tony Dyakowski, had made the 2,000-mile trek from Vancouver, Canada to see his son play in Tiger Stadium for just the second time. Tony was in the stands earlier this year to see Peter start in LSU’s 45-3 win over Arizona. Now, just two months later, the elder Dyakowski will see Peter play his final game in Tiger Stadium.
“I’m happy that they’ll be able to see me play my final game in Tiger Stadium,” Dyakowski said. “They have watched me play on television back home, but for my dad and my older brother to be here on Saturday night, it really means a great deal to me.”
2006 LSU Football Senior Class
No. Name, Pos. Hometown (High School)
80 Dwayne Bowe, WR, Miami, Fla. (Norland HS)
6 Terrell Clayton, WR, Shreveport, La. (Byrd HS)
31 Jessie Daniels, SS, Breaux Bridge, La. (Breaux Bridge HS)
3 Craig Davis, WR, New Orleans, La. (O.P. Walker HS)
59 Leo Desselle, DL, New Orleans, La. (Shaw HS)
77 Peter Dyakowski, OT, Vancouver, Canada (Vancouver College)
37 Daniel Francis, DB, Port Barre, La. (Port Barre HS)
39 Ryan Gaudet, PK, New Orleans, La. (Jesuit HS)
24 Keron Gordon, S, Tampa, Fla. (Plant HS)
78 Paris Hodges, OL, Vacaville, Calif. (Vanden HS)
41 Chris Jackson, PK/P River Ridge, La. (John Curtis HS)
75 Brian Johnson, OT, Tallahassee, Fla. (Godby HS)
14 Sammy Joseph, CB, New Orleans, La. (Colorado Univ.)
30 LaRon Landry, FS, Ama, La. (Hahnville HS)
94 Chase Pittman, DE, Shreveport, La. (Univ. of Texas)
85 Doug Planchard, TE, Baton Rouge, La. (Catholic HS)
50 Michael Ricks, LB, Amite, La. (Oak Forest HS)
33 Jason Spadoni, LB, Kenner, La. (John Curtis HS)
25 Justin Vincent, RB, Lake Charles, La. (Barbe HS)
69 Garett Wibel, OG, Metairie, La. (Rummel HS)
52 Ryan Willis, DE, New Orleans, La. (Holy Cross)
84 Andrew Wright, TE, Lake Charles, La. (Barbe)