LSU's Perrilloux staying put
By SCOTT RABALAIS
Advocate sportswriter
Published: May 23, 2006
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</td> </tr> <tr><td class="photoboxbold" align="right"> Advocate file photo </td></tr> <tr><td class="photobox"> Highly touted quarterback Ryan Perrilloux will try to make his mark. </td></tr> <!-- Requested ad type: In-story --> <!-- Used script instead of ad placement? false --> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!--endclickprintexclude-->
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A broadcast report LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux was considering a transfer was quickly refuted Tuesday night by his mother, his high school coach — and Perrilloux himself.
WAFB reported in its 6 p.m. newscast Perrilloux was contacting schools with the intent to transfer from LSU, where he redshirted last year and still ranks No. 3 on the Tigers quarterback depth chart behind juniors JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn.
While Perrilloux’s mother said her son didn’t like sitting on the bench, she, Ryan and his high school coach, Larry Dauterive of East St. John, all said he is happy at LSU.
“This the first I’ve heard of it,” Perrilloux said of the report in a statement through LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette. “There’s no truth to it. I’m happy here and I don’t plan on going anywhere. I’m excited about working out this summer and getting ready to compete in the fall.”
The WAFB report quoted Grambling coach Melvin Spears as saying there had been contact on Perrilloux’s behalf with the program there.
Spears told the Monroe News-Star on Tuesday that Perrilloux’s uncle had called to gauge potential interest in him. But Spears said nothing more has happened and that there has been no personal contact with Perrilloux.
A player may transfer from an NCAA Division I-A school like LSU to a Division I-AA school like Grambling without sitting out a year.
Perrilloux already sat out last season and will be a redshirt freshman this fall with four years of eligibility remaining.
Perrilloux’s mother, Barbara Breaux, characterized the TV report as “just a rumor.”
“I just heard it today,” Breaux said. “I talked to Ryan about it and he said, ‘Mama, it’s my first time to hear about it.’ It hasn’t been discussed in our home.
“He spent the night here (Monday) night and he didn’t appear unhappy to me. As far as I know he’s happy at LSU. I don’t perceive any problems. He doesn’t like sitting out, but he seems to be OK.”
LSU coach Les Miles was at a speaking engagement in Dallas on Tuesday night. Bonnette said he attempted to contact Miles for a statement regarding Perrilloux but was unable to reach him.
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Dauterive said Tuesday he hadn’t spoken to Perrilloux since Ryan attended East St. John’s spring game last Monday, but that the quarterback seemed “perfectly happy” at the time. Dauterive also said the report was the first he had heard of Perrilloux considering a transfer.
“There’s no way that kid or his mom would think of transferring without going through me,” Dauterive said.
“He said (last week) he’s happy as can be and can’t wait to get back. He had a good offseason and a good spring.”
With Russell recovering from shoulder and wrist injuries sustained last season, Perrilloux split most of the spring practice snaps with Flynn.
Signing Perrilloux (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) was a coup for Miles’ first recruiting class last year. Perrilloux was committed most of his senior season to Texas, but signed with LSU in February 2005.
Rated the nation’s No. 1 prep football prospect last year by ESPN, Perrilloux racked up a Louisiana high school record 5,006 yards total offense his senior year (3,546 yards passing, 1,460 rushing) and 67 touchdowns. In his high school career, Perrilloux threw for 9,025 yards and 84 touchdowns and rushed for 3,680 yards and 71 TDs.
