LSU kicker Cole Tracy talks Assumption, Florida crowd

LSU place kicker Cole Tracy lines up to send his third field goal of the day through the uprights. The 42-yard attempt is good to put the Tigers within one point of the lead, down 14-13.

And it is loud in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The Florida student section is unlike any other. It’s practically an arm’s length away, and in the end zone, you can hear every word that comes out of their mouths.

“After experiencing Auburn, I thought ‘oh, this is gonna be a walk in the park’ or at least the same as Auburn, but it was different...you can hear clearly what they’re saying,” Tracy told me.

Among the obscenities and harsh words that fill the air, the senior hears someone yell, “go back to Assumption!”

Interestingly enough, those words really mean something to him. What is meant to be a nasty insult, Tracy takes as a compliment.

“You know, they were just trying to chirp at me and stuff. But the fact that not only LSU fans, but Florida fans too, know the name Assumption College is crazy,” he said. “That kind of puts it in perspective for me that I am able to bring awareness and attention to the school that made me.”

If you were among those shouting in the student section, you’d be wise to steer clear of Pam Tracy the next time you attend an LSU game.

“I was telling my mom about it.” he said. “I was like ‘yeah mom, they were saying some pretty bad things’. And she was like, ‘oh my god, I’m gonna get them’ and I told her, I was like ‘oh yeah, you’re gonna get all 90,000 of those Florida fans?”

Many people believe Tracy deserves special recognition after tying the school record with a 54-yarder in the Tigers’ 33-17 win over No. 8 Miami. You can’t forget about the 42-yard field goal he notched against Auburn to send LSU to an overall record of 3-0, either.

Tracy’s plenty okay with flying under the radar, though.

“I’m not really into the whole naming thing,” he said.

But the Greyhound graduate transfer does have a couple of other names in mind that he believes deserve more recognition than he does.

“A lot of people don’t know that Brian Kelly actually went to Assumption too,” he said of the current Notre Dame head coach. “So I think the stadium needs to be named after him. My former coach Bob Chesney... I think the field should be named after him.”

As for Tracy, something much more simple will do.

“But I guess for me the goal post would be cool,” he shrugged.

Tracy’s performance has had quite the impact on his former school, bringing in thousands of dollars of donations in the short time he’s been in Baton Rouge.

“Tim Stanton is the guy who’s kind of running the whole thing. He sends me an update, and it’s kind if slowed down, but that’s alright,” he said. “We’re hoping to keep it going a little bit.”

Tracy and the Tigers will look to improve to 6-1 as they take on No. 2 Georgia in Tiger Stadium on Saturday.