Gary Crowton Rumors; Recruiting News

Coaching Rumors

Thursday saw a ton of rumors flying around regarding the immediate future of offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.  The rumors have been out there all week that Crowton may not be back in 2010 but they really heated up Thursday.   Many sources, some very credible, reported that Crowton would not return in 2010.  One published report had Crowton returning to the NFL to become the Chicago Bears' quarterbacks coach.  But as Thursday was winding down, the Baton Rouge Advocate ran an article with quotes from Crowton claiming that he'll be back next season.  We'll have to see what happens. 

Included in the rumors were some rumored replacements, one of which came from several places.  Steve Logan, currently the running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Bucs, has surfaced as someone who may be interested in coming to LSU if the position opens up.   Logan was the head coach of East Carolina from 1992 - 2002.  He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Boston College in 2007 and 2008 where he coached Matt Ryan.  He also has some ties to LSU's staff.  At Boston College, he coached with Dan Yanowsky who is LSU's tight-ends coach.  He was also the running backs coach at Colorado when Les Miles was the offensive line coach there. 

RECRUITING

LSU doesn't have much room in the Class of 2010, but they continue to try and finish strong.

Junior College defensive end Ken Adams is very much in play for LSU.  Adams is originally from Alabama but was a Tennessee commitment earlier in the season.  It makes sense to me that LSU would look at a junior college defensive end for some immediate help, especially if Pep Levingston and Michael Brockers move inside to defensive tackle like I suspect they might.  LSU coaches visited Adams this week, and he's expected to make a decision soon between LSU and Auburn.  Adams is 6'5" 240 pounds and as a former tight-end, he's a very good athlete.  He'd be a great pick-up for LSU. 

Thibodaux athlete Trovon Reed, who is committed to Auburn, will take an official visit to LSU on January 23rd.  That's significant for a couple of reasons.  First, Reed is scheduled to visit Auburn on January 16th, so LSU will get the last crack at recruiting Reed.  Also, LSU is hosting most of their commitments and major targets for a big recruiting weekend on the 23rd.  New assistants Frank Wilson and Billy Gonzales have done a good job recruiting Reed. 

The US Army All-American Game is this weekend, and some of LSU's commitments and targets are playing in the game.  Commitments Spencer Ware (RB), Cassius Marsh (DT), and Eric Reid (S) are all playing in the game.  All three guys have drawn rave reviews at practice, especially Ware and Marsh.  Ware was named the starting running back for the East team.  Marsh has been one of the more impressive players on the West defense and could be another Kyle Williams type of bulldog at defensive tackle at LSU.   Unfortunately, some rumors sprung up about Marsh wavering on his commitment to LSU and considering UCLA.  Marsh squashed those rumors and said he was solid to LSU, but the rumors probably came from somewhere.  All three LSU commitments are starting. 

Also playing in the game is defensive end J.R. Ferguson who is strongly considering LSU.  Ferguson is very highly rated and is a guy who could play either strongside defensive end or defensive tackle in college. 

I wasn't able to mention it, but the Under Armor All-American game was last weekend and LSU wide receiver commitment Justin Hunter impressed the hell out of everyone there all week long in practice.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him shoot up the rankings.