BATON ROUGE — Twenty-eight LSU student-athletes, including eight members of the football team that will compete for the 2008 BCS National Championship in January, were among the students who earned their degrees as part of commencement ceremonies on Friday.
Six starters from the No. 2-ranked Tiger football squad took a break from preparation for the Allstate BCS National Championship Game to participate in the graduation exercises, including quarterback Matt Flynn, linebacker Ali Highsmith, defensive back Jonathan Zenon, defensive end Kirston Pittman, tight end Keith Zinger and punter Patrick Fisher.
When LSU takes the field against Ohio State on Jan. 7 in the National Championship Game, 10 of the Tigers’ 25 seniors will be competing as college graduates. Along with the six starters, offensive lineman Will Arnold and tight end Mit Cole also earned their degrees on Friday, while fullback Shawn Jordan and defensive end Anthony Zehyoue earned their diplomas in previous ceremonies and competed their final seasons with degrees.
A first-team All-American and two-time Butkus Award Semifinalist, Highsmith is second on the squad with 93 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. In his first season as the starting quarterback, Flynn owns a 10-2 record as a starter and has thrown for almost 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns, the ninth highest total in school history.
Returning to the field this season after missing the last two years due to injuries, Pittman leads the Tigers with 12.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks, while ranking second with 14 quarterback hurries. In the SEC Championship game win over Tennessee in December that sent LSU to the national championship game, Zenon picked off a pass and returned it 18 yards for the game-winning score, one of three interceptions he has made this season.
A veteran tight end, Zinger has made his mark as key in the Tigers’ blocking, while also making two catches this season, including a career-long 27-yard pass reception in the SEC title game. A 2006 All-SEC selection and 2004 freshman All-American, Arnold has been hampered by illness and injuries all season and has not seen the field since the Virginia Tech game in week two. All six players earned their degrees in general studies.
In his first season as LSU’s starting punter, Fisher earned first-team All-SEC honors and leads the conference with a 43.9 punting average, which is also 12th nationally. Cole is a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the game against Tennessee in the SEC Championship game. Fisher earned his bachelor’s degree in mass communication, while Cole earned his degree in finance.
In addition to the football standouts, several other outstanding student-athletes earned their degrees this fall. Isa Phillips, a four-time All-American and NCAA National Champion in the 400-meter hurdles, earned his degree in political science. Phillips became LSU’s second national champion in the intermediate hurdles in the program’s storied history when he won the event in the 2007 NCAA Outdoor National Championships as the Tigers posted a runner-up finish at the meet.
A four-time All-American on the gymnastics team, Kristi Esposito graduated in elementary education prior to concluding her career this winter. A transfer from Nebraska, Esposito earned first-team All-America honors last season for LSU on the beam. While competing for the Cornhuskers, she also earned a pair of All-America honors on the beam and one in the all-around and was crowned the 2004 Big 12 bars champion.
Joining Esposito was former gymnastics All-American Nicki Butler. Having exhausted her eligibility last year, Butler earned first-team All-America honors in the vault and second-team All-America honors in the all-around for the Tigers in 2007. She earned her degree in general studies.
Football led the way with 14 current and former LSU players overall earning their degrees. Track and field followed with six student-athletes earning diplomas, while gymnastics had two. The baseball, women’s basketball, soccer, softball, swimming and volleyball teams each had one graduate.
In addition to those eight players previously mentioned, football players earning bachelor’s degrees included David Davis, Brandon Ledgister, Micah Metrailer, Renaldo Thompson and Cameron Vaughn, while Roman Starns earned his master’s degree in business administration.
Joining Phillips from the track and field teams were Angel Boyd, Jace Gohres, Marlon Greensword, Drew Haro and Jennifer Radecker. Baseball’s Steven Waguespack, former women’s basketball standout DeTrina White, Kate Ripple from soccer, Lauren Delahoussaye from softball, Ross Hebert from swimming and Lacey Galliano from volleyball all graduated in the fall ceremonies.
2007 LSU Student-Athlete Winter Graduates
Agriculture (1)
Jennifer Radecker, Track & Field, Nutrition Science
Arts & Sciences (14)
Will Arnold, Football, General Studies
Nicki Butler, Gymnastics, General Studies
David Davis, Football, History
Matt Flynn, Football, General Studies
Drew Haro, Track & Field, English
Ross Hebert, Swimming & Diving, General Studies
Ali Highsmith, Football, General Studies
Isa Phillips, Track & Field, Political Science
Kirston Pittman, Football, General Studies
Kate Ripple, Soccer, Geography
Steven Waguespack, Baseball, General Studies
DeTrina White, Women’s Basketball, General Studies
Jonathan Zenon, Football, General Studies
Keith Zinger, Football, General Studies
Business Administration (3)
Angel Boyd, Track & Field, Marketing
Mit Cole, Football, Finance
Jace Gohres, Track & Field, Marketing
Education (4)
Kristi Esposito, Gymnastics, Elementary Education
Micah Metrailer, Football, Kinesiology
Renaldo Thompson, Football, Kinesiology
Cameron Vaughn, Football, Kinesiology
Engineering (1)
Marlon Greensword, Track & Field, Industrial Engineering
Mass Communication (4)
Lauren Delahoussaye, Softball, Mass Communication
Patrick Fisher, Football, Mass Communication
Lacey Galliano, Volleyball, Mass Communication
Brandon Ledgister, Football, Mass Communication
Graduate School (1)
Roman Starns, Football, Business Administration