When the voice of Tiger Stadium, Dan Borne’, proclaims, “It’s Saturday Night in Death Valley… and here come your Fighting Tigers of LSU,” 15 Tigers will run out of the tunnel and take the field for their very last time in Tiger Stadium.
This number includes offensive players Vadal Alexander, Dillon Gordon, Brad Kragthorpe, Rob Snyder and Cody Townsend, defensive players Mickey Johnson, Deion Jones, Tommy LeBeau, Grant Leger, Lamar Louis, Jalen Mills, Christian Pittman and Quentin Thomas, and special teams members Reid Ferguson and Jamie Keehn.
“It’s going to be a pretty emotional game for me, knowing it’s going to be my last home game, my last time running out of the tunnel with my brothers—the players I’ve fought with for four years and got to know really well, “ senior linebacker Lamar Louis said. “It’s going to be my last time being on the field and having the fans roar on top of me. It’s going to be a pretty emotional game for me, but it’s definitely going to be fun.”
These 15 seniors were a part of two 10-win seasons, a 2014 Outback Bowl championship, Les Miles‘ 100th career win at Florida last season and countless other memories at LSU.
They watched Death Valley grow to become the second-largest stadium in the SEC with a 102, 321 seating capacity after the south end zone expansion.
They were part of a team in 2014 who pieced together 90 and 95-yard drives at the end of the second and fourth quarters, respectively, to come from behind and defeat the previously undefeated No. 3 Ole Miss Rebels.
They faced third-ranked South Carolina in Tiger Stadium in 2012 after coming off of LSU’s first regular-season loss in 18 games to defeat the Gamecocks by a score of 23-21, after gathering 406 yards, four sacks and two interceptions.
That may have been the first time these seniors saw the true Death Valley—“the place opponents’ dreams go to die.”
However, nothing for these Tigers will beat the memories from their first game in Tiger Stadium, a 41-14 victory over North Texas in 2012.
“Walking down the hill for the first time, seeing everyone on the Tiger Walk was just a crazy feeling,” said senior punter Jamie Keehn. “It’s nothing you could ever relate to.”
Senior linebacker Deion Jones echoed Keehn, “My first time running out of the tunnel — you have you experience it for yourself. That’s one feeling I will never forget.”
It marked a game of firsts for all of these Tigers, including senior long snapper Reid Ferguson, who saw his first collegiate snap sail over Keehn’s head. He has since collected 371 perfect snaps on the way to becoming one of LSU’s most efficient players at that position.
Before the last home contest against Arkansas, junior placekicker Trent Domingue noted that it was Keehn’s second-to-last home game in Tiger Stadium. Ferguson’s younger brother and backup long snapper, Blake, has been quick to remind Reid that he only had one game left at home.
The last home game hit the senior players much faster than they could have imagined.
“I don’t want it to be over,” Jones explained.
While the on-the-field experiences have surely pushed these Tigers to their limits, it’s the growing experiences outside of game days that will truly stick with them.
From the brotherhood to the growing pains of life, these 15 have watched classes before go ahead of them and come in behind them, forcing them to step up and show the younger players the ropes, just like older players had helped them become acquainted with the program.
“You get to know yourself from when you first get to college to when you graduate,” Ferguson explained. “So many things happen. You meet so many people. You go through so many experiences here that you really get to find out who you are as a person.”
Some of the most important life lessons come from outside of the lines and out of the huddle. The great Vince Lombardi once said, “After all the pomp and fanfare have faded, the enduring thing that is left is the dedication to doing with our lives the very best we can to make the world a better place in which to live.”
Louis elaborated, “We come here every day as players and brothers. We face adversity and have our ups and downs that we have to overcome. You’re here for four years, and it’s ongoing. You have to deal with football and school. Being a student-athlete teaches you about life and how it is after college.”
Running onto the field one last time to face the Aggies of Texas A&M will be bittersweet, of course. The last four years have been something remarkable for these seniors and will always hold a special place in these 15 Tigers’ hearts—Forever LSU.