By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
Lane Kiffin and his LSU Tigers have been under fire for bringing out the stars for their pregame walk down Victory Hill before a 31-13 loss to Alabama. Kiffin pledged not to dial the star power up or down for the Tiger Walk ahead of the LSU-Texas game, and when he made the trek toward the locker room, he was joined by former Tigers standout running back Leonard Fournette and LSU legend Bert Jones.
Jones, the first All-American quarterback in school history, is set to have his No. 7 retired at the game. The No. 21 Tigers (6-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) host the No. 6 Longhorns (7-2, 4-2 SEC) at 6:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium on ABC Saturday night.
Fournette was a 2015 All-American and two-time All-SEC selection with the Tigers before being taken fourth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. He ranks No. 4 all-time in LSU history 3,830 rushing yards in 32 games.
Before the disappointing afternoon against the Crimson Tide, Kiffin was accompanied by Hollywood star Kevin Costner, and former Tigers Shaquille O’Neal, Angel Reese, Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne. The game day spectacles that also include basketball goals with the opposing team’s logo painted on the backboard to be dunked on after big plays and a fire extinguisher-turned smoke machine on the sideline became the target of many Tiger fans’ frustrations, but any criticism would not deter Kiffin from dressing up his program.
“I don’t consider not doing it,” he said at his Monday press conference following the Bama loss. “I don’t consider doubling down either. Who walks in doesn’t have to do with winning or losing games. We had won every game at home (before Alabama). Who walked in wasn’t the reason we didn’t execute in the red zone.”
What it does have to do with, Kiffin said, is creating a product fans and recruits have to keep their eyes on.
“You create a program that when people watch from far away and not just 12th graders (being recruited), but eighth and ninth graders,” Kiffin said. “They see that and say, ‘That place is cool. I want to go there.’ So, there’s a lot that goes into that.”
How many 13 to 17 year olds were able to recognize the “Field of Dreams,” “Bull Durham” and “Dances With Wolves Stars” is another question. The same could be said for Jones, an icon among the annals of Tiger history but an undeniable step down from the recognizability of Costner. Either way, Kiffin said who walks down the hill does not affect the LSU red zone operation. LSU fans will not have wait long for that question to be answered.
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