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LSU-Texas camp war continues as Longhorns prepare for event in Louisiana
The power struggle between Texas and LSU over the Longhorns participating in a satellite camp in the state of Louisiana has swung back in Texas's favor. Texas is scheduled to work a camp in Baton Rouge on Thursday hosted by Division III Belhaven University. But that result didn't come without the drama, local politics and tension that have hallmarked the standoff between two of college football's biggest brands.
Belhaven's camp appeared in danger early this week, as political pressure on a local high school coach threatened the stadium agreement. But Belhaven coach Hal Mumme, the former coach at Kentucky, confirmed to Sports Illustrated on Tuesday afternoon that the school signed an agreement to host the camp at BREC Memorial Stadium in Baton Rouge.
This is the third announced camp in Louisiana that Texas was scheduled to take part in. And it appears that it's the third camp that LSU has worked hard behind the scenes to prevent from happening. In a phone interview earlier on Tuesday, the local high school coach who initially helped facilitate the field for the camp expressed pessimism about it happening. “We're in LSU's backyard,” said Mike Roach, the coach at Madison Prep in Baton Rouge and the father of Texas player Malcolm Roach. “Louisiana home cooking may have played a part in it.”
Roach, who initially tried to help facilitate the camp, declined to go into details on what LSU may have done to attempt to prevent the camp from being held at Memorial Stadium. But Belhaven coaches linked up with Memorial Stadium officials, Mumme said, and agreed to pay them $500 for the use of the stadium to host the camp. Mumme said Roach began feeling pressure not to sign the documents. Instead, Mumme said the paperwork for the camp is now in his own name.
After camps affiliated with Texas got canceled at Louisiana College and Southeastern Louisiana in the past few weeks, Mumme acknowledged there's still a chance LSU or political officials in the state will attempt to thwart Texas' presence there. “Oh yeah,” Mumme said. “But it's only a day away now. I don't think there's a lot they can do. The only thing that can kill it is if it rains.”
This marks the latest maneuvering in a cat-and-mouse game between two of the highest profile programs in college football. LSU coach Ed Orgeron has denied the general perception that LSU's influence in the state has forced the earlier camps affiliated with Texas to be cancelled. But he adamantly told Sports Illustrated last month: “Protecting the state of Louisiana is always going to be my job as the coach of LSU.” (Orgeron did not return a call and text seeking comment on Tuesday).
Complicating matters is that Texas coach Tom Herman turned down the chance to coach at LSU in November. That failed courtship rankled LSU athletic department officials. Whether that's motivating them to keep attempting to box Texas out of working a camp in Louisiana is unknown. But Herman, who declined comment Tuesday, stayed persistent in landing an affiliation for a camp in Louisiana.
Local coaches have been critical of LSU's perceived role behind the scenes boxing out schools like Arkansas, Houston and Texas, as it has limited the exposure of high school kids in Louisiana. (Texas, Houston, Cornell and Belhaven are committed to Thursday's camp in Baton Rouge. Mumme said more coaching staffs could join). There's a feeling locally that LSU's vigilance to protect the state has hurt kids who aren't talented enough to get offered scholarships to an SEC power like LSU. Roach said three Madison Prep players in recent years ended up at Houston (Bryan Jones), Texas (Malcolm Roach) and Oklahoma (Troy James) that didn't get offered by LSU.
“I guess we let the optics of college football influence the ultimate goal, educating young men and exposing them to a better life,” Roach said in an interview on Tuesday. “The optics of college football has gotten in the way of what the mission of this thing is all about. I don't have any allegiance to anyone. I have an allegiance to these kids in my community.”
The reality of the camp scheduled for Thursday is that the perception of Texas taking part in a camp in Louisiana has obscured the reality. LSU likely won't lose any recruits it covets. And its just as unlikely Texas will sign a five-star player from the camp. The real value will be for prospects who aren't elite, as they'll show up to seen by the Texas coaches but in reality have a better chance to get noticed by the coaches at Houston, Belhaven or Cornell. “If you are the head coach at LSU, you should want the other kids in your state to have an opportunity,” Mumme said. “Ed needs to think about those kids that aren't going to get a scholarship to LSU. I've been in the SEC as the coach of the (flagship) university of the state. You have show respect to those other kids as well."
