The Importance of LSU Getting Derek Stingley Jr. Back for Start of 2021 Season

The LSU Football team will face a road test at UCLA to open the 2021 football season. It’s not the primary challenge this week, however, as Hurricane Ida will challenge every Louisiana resident. This is the type of moment when LSU leaders like Derek Stingley, Jr. must step forward.

How well will the Tigers be able to stay focused? Which players can step forward? In a time like this, the players with the most character need to be able to help their football brothers. This is a time when Derek Stingley, Jr. needs to make his presence felt more off the field than on the field.

With Hurricane Ida barrelling down on Louisiana and knocking out electricity for over 1 million residents, the LSU Football program needs as much leadership as possible. From everyone, but first there is a message that needs to be said before going into the role for Stingley during this trying time.

Thoughts and prayers go out to all the people throughout the region, as the hurricane is definitively impacting residents in Louisiana and Mississippi. It’s nature’s way of reminding us that humans are just renters of this land, and Mother Nature shall do with it what she desires. That being said, the Tigers still need to prepare for the UCLA game in Los Angeles, Calif.

Stay Busy, Stay on Task

Former college football coaching legend Lou Holtz once told college football writer Lou Somogyi of Blue and Gold Illustrated that (paraphrasing) “There’s nothing worse for a 18 to 22 year old man than idle time. The point of this statement was that young men often find trouble whenever they do not have definitive tasks to do. Well, with Hurricane Ida whipping through Louisiana, the thoughts of many of the LSU players can also be distracted towards situations that they simply cannot control.

This is a time when a player like Stingley, Jr. can make headway with his teammates, as well as his coaches, by being someone they can count on and to speak with. It’s time to be as focused as possible.

How can the Tigers stay focused with all that’s going on?

Count on One Another

As the game draws closer, Ed Orgeron and the LSU coaching staff will schedule team meetings and position meetings just like any other week. That’s part of the football routine that comes with the regular season. Stingley, Jr., and hopefully several other LSU upperclassmen that have experience with dealing with Mother Nature and her disasters, need to be ready to step forward and communicate with anyone feeling hardship due to Hurricane Ida.

It’s inevitable that some of the LSU players will be emotionally hit harder than some of the other LSU players. It just depends on the town and/or Louisiana Parish that a particular member of the Tigers roster comes from.

For any player that comes from the New Orleans area, or perhaps has family further south than New Orleans, it’s going to be quite difficult to stay focused during football meetings this week while waiting to hear about friends and loved ones. That’s understandable. That’s also why the team needs to count on one another to make sure everyone stays as focused as possible for the upcoming game with the Bruins.

Stingley, Jr. Must Lead the Way on Saturday

The final point of how Stingley, Jr. leads by example is when he places the purple and gold helmet on his head and takes the field in the Rose Bowl. He’s going to be counted on all week long from his teammates. At game time, it’s a chance for Stingley, Jr. to take center stage, be the player that ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit just named as his top overall player in the country for 2021, and be a show stopper.

Locked in, focused, ready to dominate. That’s the switch that Stingley, Jr. must turn on. He leads his team with communication throughout this week to help teammates, but he leads the Tigers into the Rose Bowl with the intent to completely take away the wide receivers he goes against.

By accomplishing both tasks, Stingley, Jr. earns respect from his teammates and coaches, and he will also be helping LSU win the football game against UCLA.