BATON ROUGE – LSU will have two No. 18s in 2017 as senior J.D. Moore was presented with the jersey at a team meeting on Sunday night.
Moore will join defensive end Christian LaCouture as the two No. 18s for the Tigers this year. LaCouture was presented with his No. 18 jersey during the spring.
“This team has a number of guys who would be a perfect fit to wear No. 18 for the Tigers and I am very proud that both Christian and J.D. will get a chance to do that,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “The leadership they have shown makes them both a great choice.”
On the field, Moore has been a mainstay in the LSU lineup, serving as the starting fullback for the Tigers for the past two years. Off the field, Moore carries a 3.995 grade point average in architecture.
LaCouture is one of the senior leaders on LSU’s defense as he enters his third season as a starter on the defensive front for the Tigers. LaCouture, who graduated in August of 2016 with a degree in sports administration, has racked up 86 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks during in his career.
LSU’s jersey No. 18 tradition was born in 2003 when quarterback Matt Mauck led the Tigers to their first national title in football since 1958. Mauck’s No. 18 became synonymous with success – both on and off the field – as well as a selfless attitude that has become the epitome of being an LSU football player.
Moore and LaCouture join an impressive list of previous No. 18s for the Tigers, including Mauck (2001-03), running back Jacob Hester (2004-07), tight end Richard Dickson (2008-09), running back Richard Murphy (2010), safety Brandon Taylor (2011), defensive tackle Bennie Logan (2012), linebacker Lamin Barrow (2013), running back Terrance Magee (2014) and cornerback Tre’Davious White (2015-16).
Opening statement…
“I think with Coach O coming in and changing things up, we wanted the offense and defense to have leadership and come together as one. Watching J.D. (Moore) work and what he does is something I admire and I love. He and I are pushing each other, and we’ve been doing it since we got here. We came in together, and now we’re leaving together. Coach O, (director of athletic training) Jack Marucci, his training staff, and I kind of talked about it, and we looked at it as something that would be very positive for the football team. When I took (over the number) in the summer, it was something that was a huge responsibility. I saw it as someone who was a great teammate, unselfish and hard-working, and all of those traits resemble J.D. I felt that J.D. deserved it. We talked it over and we announced it last night. I’m very happy for him, and we’re ready to have a great camp.”
On when he thought about the idea of sharing No. 18…
“When it came out, I knew it was kind of really down to J.D. and me. J.D. is such a class act that he came up and congratulated me. I was really humbled when I got it, but when Coach O came in and changed a lot of things up with traditions and stuff like that, I thought ‘Hey, let’s try another tradition.’ I thought about it over the summer. I watched how J.D. worked. He went through the same injury that I had last year. He had it in the spring, and he’s been helping me out through that. He’s such an unselfish guy. J.D. has all the traits that come with the 18 jersey. I thought he was the guy who was the most deserving. If I had to pick one person on this team, there’s no doubt it would be J.D.”
Fullback J.D. Moore
Opening statement…
“It’s a testament to who Christian is in the fact that he would share such an honor with me. Last night, I was blown away. I was not expecting that; it came out of left field for me, but it’s just an honor and I’m super-humbled by it. I think this might be a first in the tradition of the 18 jersey to share it, but I think it’ll be a really strong thing for our team to have that leadership on offense and defense. The task now is for both of us to carry on that tradition and legacy that jersey has with it: to be great leaders hopefully on a championship team. I feel extremely blessed. I’m still in awe of the goodness of God’s plan for me. When I (first) came in, I had a triple-digit number because I was a walk-on. My number has changed many times throughout the years, but I wouldn’t have it any other way to finish with the number 18.
“It’s a fraternity of very few people, but I’m honored to be a member of that now.”