HOUSTON – No. 20 LSU went through a spirited two-hour practice session at the Houston Texans Practice Bubble followed by the Depelchin scavenger hunt at the Children’s Museum of Houston as part of Day 2 at the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl.
Head coach Les Miles and 2015 team captains Vadal Alexander, Leonard Fournette, Deion Jones and Jamie Keehn attended the Texas Bowl prep rally along with Mike the Tiger and the LSU cheerleaders to end the day’s activities as the Tigers continue to gear up to face Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT.
At the scavenger hunt, the players teamed up with local children and their families to complete an obstacle course and search the children’s museum to find different items.
“Our players have partnered up with families and people touring the facility to complete a scavenger hunt. For our guys it allows them to see parenting and see children in a different light. Our guys enjoyed these young people and having a good time completing the hunt with them.
There is a lot of information that is passed right here that goes unsaid. It’s how important it is to be kind, loving and positive toward these young people.”
Among some of the popular activities during the scavenger hunt at the Children’s Museum were the Dance Dance Revolution game and the obstacle course. One section of the obstacle course contained a climbing apparatus that looked like leaves on a vine.
“Quentin Thomas climbed those leaves in the obstacle course, and THAT was entertaining,” defensive end Lewis Neal said.
Neal, Christian LaCouture and Anthony Jennings were among many players who enjoyed the game Dance Dance Revolution.
“One of the kids and I were getting into the dance game,” LaCouture said. “He beat me though, but it was fun to see the smile on the kid’s face.”
Overall, the players had a great time chatting with the children and completing the scavenger hunt.
“It’s been a good experience,” Kendell Beckwith said. “It’s always good when you are able to give back and volunteer to help out kids, make them smile and make their day. There’s nothing better than that. We are the people they see on TV, so just to be here and walk around with them is fun and special.”
“We want to make sure they have the best time, especially with them being off school,” LaCouture said. “We wanted to help them have fun out here.”
Davon Godchaux took it a step further by painting his face to the amusement of the children he accompanied on the scavenger hunt.
“The kids wanted me to paint my face, so I did it to make them feel good,” Godchaux said. “They liked it and thought it was funny.”
The excitement is building toward the bowl game that is nearly sold out. Texas Bowl representatives said only around 1,500 tickets remain to the contest between the Tigers and Red Raiders.
“You’ll find there is a strong and loyal contingent of LSU fans in Houston and this area who look forward to being at this game and rooting on the Tigers,” Miles said. “I would guess this would be the kind of bowl that the last 1,500 tickets should be yanked up because this will be pretty exciting.”
With kickoff only 48 hours away, the Tigers are putting in the final preparations for the matchup with Texas Tech.
“I’m very confident in the game plan,” Beckwith said. “I feel like Coach Steele is going to have us in position to make some plays. I think we are ready.”
The 10th-annual Texas Bowl will kickoff at 8 p.m. CT Tuesday in NRG Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans. It’s the first meeting between LSU (8-3) and Texas Tech (7-5) since 1957. LSU leads the all-time series 2-0.
The game will be televised on ESPN and online at http://es.pn/1TvRwug.