Link Gumbo: 1-25-18

Time to round up the Thursday morning news! LSU officially announced yesterday that Kevin Faulk would join the program. On the basketball court, LSU beat A&M again on Tuesday night. DJ Chark is at the Senior Bowl in Mobile this week where he spoke to reporters yesterday about LSU. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards spoke to The Advocate and made some comments that you might find interesting. Two of LSU’s gymnasts were honored by the SEC yesterday as their great season rolls on. Finally, It seems that former LSU OC Matt Canada has reached a deal with Maryland. Let’s take a closer look.

A few weeks ago it was reported that Kevin Faulk was awaiting approval from the SEC to join LSU’s support staff. Yesterday, Faulk was officially announced as the director of player development. In this position, Faulk will be able to work closely with players in their lives and help craft their football skills. LSU should benefit greatly from Faulk’s presence with the program. In Faulk’s career, he rushed for 4,557 yards and added 46 touchdowns. Anytime you can get a legend like Faulk to come back and work it is a boon for your program.

Tuesday night LSU handed A&M yet another loss. It was a big win for a Tigers team that had dropped three straight games. Duop Reath put out another good performance as he scored 21 points along with 8 rebounds. Tremont Waters did his thing as he scored 15 points while dishing out 9 assists. LSU has a grueling four-game stretch coming up that includes three road games against ranked teams and a home match against a solid Arkansas team. Hopefully, LSU can carry the momentum from this win into these games.

Players are getting ready for the Senior Bowl as practices have begun in preparation for the game on Saturday. Ross Dellenger of The Advocate was able to catch up with DJ Chark about Steve Ensminger and Matt Canada. Chark was also asked about some players at LSU who are expected to have an impact in 2018, including what he likes about the QBs on LSU’s roster and a possible return man for 2018. Dellenger also has a report on how Chark has performed at the practices and where his draft stock stands to head into the game.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards spoke with The Advocate about LSU Football. The highlight of the interview is the Governor describing college football coaching salaries as “obscene” and that there should be a salary cap. I personally agree that there should be a salary cap. College football is in an arms race right now and a salary cap would go a long way towards leveling the playing field.

LSU gymnasts Sarah Finnegan and Sami Durante were honored by the SEC yesterday. Finnegan was named the SEC Gymnast of The Week. As we talked about Tuesday, Finnegan posted a 9.90+ in three different events so this award was well earned. Durante was named freshmen of the week in the SEC. The highlight of Durante’s night was the outstanding 9.90 she posted on bars.

Finally, after it was reported Monday that Matt Canada was nearing a deal with Maryland to become the Terps offensive coordinator. The two sides have now reached a deal. According to ESPN, Canada is already at the school working and has signed a three-year deal. Canada will still get all the money he is owed by LSU.