Lunch with Les: Prepping for Georgia

Written by Richard Fischer

Tuesday, 29 November 2011 09:14

It’s a badly kept secret that press conferences aren’t among Les Miles’ favorite duties as LSU coach simply because he likes to keep information close to the program. But even the tight-lipped coach admitted during his Monday press conference that he enjoys meeting with the media leading up to the SEC Championship Game. That means his team must be playing in it. “I can tell you that frankly press conferences are not something that I overly enjoy, just so you guys know,” said Miles. “But the reality of it is, this is one that I really look forward to. The idea that we will talk about one game and the opportunity to win a championship, certainly the honors of the conference.” The champions of the East, Georgia, stand in the way of a perfect 13-0 pre-bowl season for the Tigers, but Miles said his team won’t let the possibility of a BCS National Championship on the horizon creep into his players’ minds as a distraction. “There was never a thought in our minds what the next game holds,” explained the seventh-year coach. “This is very specifically about this championship. This conference is where we compete year in and year out. We intend to make a great showing for ourselves and prepare to go in there and play well.” Defensively, the Dawgs play a 3-4, not unlike the front the Tigers faced against Alabama. Coincidentally, LSU had its worst offensive game of the season output-wise against the Tide with just 239 total yards and nine points, but that is likely because of the talent of Bama’s defense rather than the scheme they presented. “[Going against Georgia's 3-4] is an opportunity for us to really go against a couple of fronts there that we’re really pretty comfortable blocking,” said Miles. Offensively for Georgia, potential First-Team All-SEC quarterback Aaron Murray has led the Bulldog attack with 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. The practice week could be an opportunity for Murray’s former teammate Zach Mettenberger to play the role of the current Georgia quarterback for LSU’s scout team, but Miles said that duty will go to true freshman signal caller Stephen Rivers. “Stephen Rivers certainly could well have that opportunity to step in and throw some of those balls and move his feet like Aaron Murray. I think that will be a great challenge for him to step in and make some of those plays,” said the headman. On the injury front, defensive end Michael Brockers tweeted following the Arkansas game that he has a swollen knee, but Miles expects him to be a full-go versus Georgia. “The view of his knee by way of tweet is not as strong as kind of a one-on-one examination… [The one-on-one examination by the trainers] appeared to me that this would not be a serious injury, so I don’t imagine there will be any problems there,” said Miles. The coach added, “It appears we will have [Eric] Reid (quad) ready to play.” Running back Alfred Blue missed the Arkansas game with a hamstring injury, and Miles said, “We would think Alfred would be ready to roll.” However, the prognosis for true freshman back Terrence Magee isn’t so good although Miles said he was optimistic. “Terrence Magee really has a little lesser chance to play. We will run him today,” Miles said. It must be noted that all of the above injury reports should be taken with a grain of salt, because Miles has been quite misleading about when players will return from injuries all season long. On a different note, when asked if a non-conference champion should play in the BCS Championship Game (obviously referring to Alabama), Miles quickly retorted, “I’m not getting into that.” Finally, the coach was asked to address the news that former rival coach Urban Meyer has accepted the Ohio State job effective next season. “I wish him well,” said Miles, who was 3-3 against Meyer in LSU-Florida showdowns. “I agree that there are times where you can pause in your career and look and see what’s important to you and make quality decisions to re-enter a profession that I’m sure he loves and needs.” Rumors have surfaced that Meyer has contacted LSU offensive line coach and acting offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa to be his offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Miles implied that Meyer has not contacted him about Studrawa’s services, and he said he does not know if Meyer has contacted Studrawa. “I have visited with Coach Stud several times - at no specific time in relationship to Urban Meyer at Ohio State,” said LSU’s headman. “I think Coach Stud recognizes that he’s stepped in and done a great job, and certainly this is a place we’d love to have him stay. For me to be more specific about the details would be a little inappropriate.” LSU and Georgia will kick off in Atlanta at 3 p.m. (CT) for all the marbles in the SEC, and the game will be nationally televised by CBS.