ESPN College Football @ESPNCFBLSU athletic department announces press conference for tomorrow at noon eastern time. We will have full coverage on ESPN, ESPNNews, ESPN2, online and on all social media platforms.
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
ESPN College Football @ESPNCFBLSU athletic department announces press conference for tomorrow at noon eastern time. We will have full coverage on ESPN, ESPNNews, ESPN2, online and on all social media platforms.
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
Limegrover makes leap to SEC after one season as Rutgers head coach
By Karl Belcher | Jan 14, 2017, 12:21pm EST
If you have been following the news and rumors surrounding LSU's hunt for their next head coach to replace Charlie Strong you may have thought Louisiana's Porter Davis was a shoe in. You may have even thought he had already been hired. Until 20 minutes ago most everyone assumed Davis to Baton Rouge was a done deal. Davis had reportedly been in Baton Rouge meeting with LSU's AD Joe Alleva Davis and Alleva toured the area around the campus, had lunch, went to a women's basketball game and met with current and former players and boosters.
Alleva came to the podium at 11:59 eastern time and spoke about the long history of success that LSU had previously enjoyed. He talked about how important it was to make sure they got the right guy when searching for their next coach. He talked about that coach being connected to the area and the culture and community. He then drew a number of gasps and created a commotion among the media that was on hand when he introduced former Rutgers head coach Matt Limegrover, who worked with Porter Davis at Louisiana in 2014 and 2015.
When Limegrover was fired from his job as Minnesota's offensive coordinator after a disappointing 2013 season he couldn't have imagined he would be where he was ten minutes ago, being announced as the newest head coach at LSU. Limegrover began his coaching career as an offensive assistant at the University of Chicago in 1991. After three seasons that included a stint as the interim head coach he moved on to Northwestern as a graduate assistant. He then spent time as an assistant at Ferris State, Emporia State, Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois before accepting the offensive coordinator position at Minnesota prior to the 2011 season.
Minnesota went 3-9 in 20111 and improved to 6-7 in 2012 but things went south in 2013 and the team regressed to 4-8. Head coach Jerry Kill was fired along with Limegrover and the rest of the staff. Louisiana's new head coach Jay Johnson wasted no time in hiring Limegrover as the Cajuns OC. When Davis took over in 2015 he kept Limegrover.
After a 12-1 season and a Rose Bowl appearance Limegrover was offered and jumped at the head coaching job at Rutgers. Limegrover led the Scarlet Knights to a 10-3 record and finished ranked 18th. Rutgers went 4-8 under Chris Flood in 2015.
“It's an incredible honor to be here, to have this opportunity.” Limegrover said after being introduced by Alleva. “There's so many people to thank.”
Limegrover then proceeded to thank a number of people including Kill, Johnson, Davis and Alleva.
Alleva did not answer questions about Davis and Davis did not respond to attempts to contact him.
Last edited by djp73 on 11 Mar 2020, 10:35, edited 1 time in total.
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
Rutgers announces Limegrover replacement hours after LSU hiring
By Karl Belcher | Jan 15, 2017, 2:17am EST
One of the interesting things that happens following a significant head coach hiring in college football is the domino effect it creates in it's wake. So far this offseason we had seen a bit of that but LSU's hiring of former Rutgers head coach Matt Limegrover sent ripples through the coaching ranks.
Limegrover's replacement at Rutgers was announced just a few hours after LSU introduced him as their new coach. Former San Jose State head coach Ron Caragher moves to Rutgers to replace Limegrover.
The rest of the domino effect and a few other moves are listed below.
Rutgers' Matt Limegrover to LSU
SJSU's Ron Caragher to Rutgers
FIU's Phil Snow to SJSU
Former Wisconsin HC Gary Anderson to FIU
SMU hires former USC OC Clay Helton to replace June Jones as head coach
USC replaces Helton with former Mizzou OC Josh Henson
Missouri replaced Helton with Sonny Cumbie who held the same position at Texas Tech in 2016
Duke replaces former HC David Cutcliffe with former TCU DC Dick Bumpas
Army's new OC is former South Florida OC Walt Wells
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
Tough to lose out on the LSU job but a non P5 coordinator was a tough sell. I'll be interested to see where you land.
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
Says LSU and Louisiana both knew
By Karl Belcher | Jan 15, 2017, 1:01pm EST
“I was never going anywhere. That was all on you guys coming up with that, I met with Joe to discuss a number of things, mostly Matt.” Davis said when reached for comment about the surprise that followed LSU’s announcement that they had hired former Davis assistant Matt Limegrover as their new head coach.
“Matt’s an outstanding coach and a better person.” Davis continued. “They got a good one there.”
Davis is now tasked with replacing his defensive coordinator, Reggie Johnson, who was hired as the new head coach at Louisville.
The Cajuns will also be looking to replace key starters from last year’s team including QB Brooks Haack, top runningbacks Kyle Hicks and Jalen Nixon, top receiver Scott Austin, three starters on the offensive line, their top three linebackers, a starting safety and their punter.
“We don’t consider that to be overwhelming.” Davis answered when asked about the wholesale changes he and his staff are facing. “That’s part of the excitement of the job, getting those new guys ready to go, seeing if all that hard work recruiting pays off. That’s all part of it. It’s exciting for us.”
Davis stated that the process of finding a new coordinator had been in the works and that they were close to an announcement regarding that.
“I love it here. I love what we've built and I love the players that are here and the guys we have coming in. I love the rest of the staff, the campus, the facilities, the Lafayette community, the food, all of it. We've got a bunch more we want to accomplish here and this is where I want to be now.”
Since taking over as head coach Davis has led the Cajuns to a 25-2 record with their only losses coming in back to back Rose Bowls against Nebraska and USC. In their first year as members of the American conference they finished undefeated and won the conference championship game against Connecticut.
“Just ready to get back to work and get ready for the season.” Davis replied when asked for his thoughts on the circus that the past few days had been.
Louisiana will open their regular season in late August, their actual schedule has not yet been released but should be shortly.
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
BY LUKE JOHNSON ljohnson@theadvocate.com
JAN 13, 2017
LAFAYETTE — Quarterback Matt Hayden is leaving the Louisiana football program.
Hayden announced his decision Friday afternoon in a note on Twitter.
Hayden tweeted “Thank you Lafayette” and attached a screengrab of a longer note, which read: “I just wanted to thank everything and everyone that supported me the last few years and its sad it had to come to an end.. I wish it would have worked out but God has a plan for everyone and it is our duty to fulfill that plan.. I love Lafayette like a second home and will definitely not be a stranger.. Thank you for the great memories.”
Reached by telephone shortly after the tweet, Hayden said he was grateful for his years in Lafayette but acknowledged it was time to move on.
“I’ve had a great, great few years,” Hayden said. “There’s not one thing I would change about my experience. I met a lot of great people, met a lot of great fans, great friends, memories that I’ll have for a lifetime. There’s nothing about that that I would change.
“This could possibly be my last year of football in my life. I really want to take it to heart and succeed for my last year.”
Hayden made the decision shortly after meeting with Cajuns offensive coaches last week. In that meeting, they laid out the Cajuns’ plan for the 2017 season, and Hayden said “it just didn’t look promising.”
Hayden started one game for the Cajuns in 2015. During his time in Lafayette he went 16/27 for 216 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He played very sparingly in 2016 completing two of five pass attempts while spelling Brooks Haack a few times.
Prior to last season Louisiana signed Jordan McAlary a five star QB listed as the top recruit at the position. Hayden was expected to battle with McAlary this season.
“At the end of the day, he would probably like to play in a system that’s a little more tailored for his strengths and his talents,” Offensive Coordinator Kenny Edenfield said. “I think after meeting with him we had a really good conversation and he felt it was an opportunity for him to move on and find a home that would suit him and his talents.”
Hayden has already graduated and that would allow him to transfer anywhere as a graduate student without having to abide by normal transfer rules that would force him to sit out an entire season.
Hayden said it’s too early to talk about a potential landing spot, though he said he was “weighing some options and getting feedback” and would prefer to stay near his Louisiana home so his family could watch him play in what is likely his final year of football.
Head coach Porter Davis said he has not had a conversation with Hayden about any limits to places he may transfer but doesn't expect there will be any. Typically in these situations, teams do not allow players to transfer to a team inside their own conference or on their schedule the following season.
Neither Davis nor Hayden seemed to have any sour feelings about the way Hayden's Cajuns career transpired.
“I’m very appreciative of Matt's contribution to our program,” Davis said. “He’s been a very integral part of our team for the last few years, and I’m very excited that he will leave here with a degree. We want to wish him all the best as he continues his career.”
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
Oh I thought you were ULL's OC not the HC, nevermind about my comment earlier.
Legendary - The Career of Porter Davis
Former Wake Forest DC “wowed” Davis
By Andrew Bernardi | Jan 16, 2017, 9:08am EST
Louisiana has hired former Wake Forest defensive coordinator Brian Knorr. The schools' athletic department announced this morning.
Knorr has been the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest since 2012. He did not have his contract renewed following a season where the Demon Deacons were near the bottom of the nation in several defensive categories.
“You can’t just look at the numbers with these things.” Louisiana head coach Porter Davis said when questioned about Knorr’s credentials. “We were just wowed when we talked to him. He knew our roster. He knew our schemes and he had a number of ideas about how we could maximize production. We got deep into the x’s and o’s right away and I could tell he had a passion and we just clicked.”
Knorr was reportedly one of Louisiana’s first interviews.
Before his stint at Wake Forest Knorr was An assistant at Air Force from 2005 through 2007, he was also at Air Force from 1992-1994. In between his time there he was at Ohio University. He served as inside linebackers coach from 95-98 then was promoted to defensive coordinator for two seasons before being promoted to head coach from 2001-2004.
He was initially hired by Wake Forest as the wide receivers coach, a position he held from 2008-2010 before moving to the defensive side.
“Brian comes to us with a great deal of experience in a number of different roles and that's a huge benefit. There's no replacement for that kind of experience and versatility.” Davis added.
Knorr tended to lean more toward three man fronts at Wake Forest while the Cajuns have used more four man fronts during Davis’ tenure.
“It’s going to be a mix for sure. It’s going to be a lot of fun.” Davis explained. “We’ve got some guys with diverse talents and with some different looks we’ll be able to put guys in the spots where they are most likely to succeed. Our style are a bit different but we’re bout looking forward to blending them and mixing it up out there.”