After a 5-5 campaign last season, LSU football has big plans in 2021. Apart of the solution will be their incoming freshman.
LSU's star-studded 2021 recruiting class was ranked 3rd in the nation by 247 Sports and it includes a lot of Acadiana flavor.
Lafayette Christian safety Sage Ryan, Southside/Comeaux wide receiver Malik Nabers and St. Thomas More wide receiver Jack Bech are all expected to compete for early playing time.
For Ryan and Nabers, the biggest adjustment to college so far has been the mental aspect
"You gotta be mentally tough at the next level," Ryan explains. "It's not about your athletic ability. Everybody is good. You gotta put in the extra work to take care of your body. All the time, you gotta be on time for everything. It's like a business. If you're late for a job, they'll fire you."
"Just the speed of everything. They want you to catch on faster," Nabers added. "A lot of stuff gets thrown at you, like plays that you're expected to know. The plays are going to be different every day. So you really gotta go home, study the plays that y'all went over and the next day have your mind blank to learn some new plays. So you really can't be thinking a lot. Once you're in, you gotta know it, because its moving fast."
The fact that Nabers, Ryan and Bech are all starting this journey together is one thing that helps the move to Baton Rouge. But the trio are also roommates, along with former Catholic of Pointe Coupee safety Matthew Langlois. It's allowed them to learn each other in new ways, help with studying the playbook and hold each other accountable.
"Mostly we talk to each other every night," Nabers said. "Since we're all from the same city, we're like 'what if we turn up together? Representing our city together.' We talk about good times we might have at LSU. We keep each other on track. We watch out for each other. If one is off track, we help them to be on track."
"We be on each other about getting places early, getting places on time," Ryan added. "We're comfortable with each other, so we do things together a lot. Different activities. I'm glad I can do it with the guys that I know."
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