Miles optimistic headed into 2010 football season

With fall practices just around the corner, LSU football coach Les Miles is currently embarking on his annual Tiger Tour to get fans excited for the upcoming season.

On his trip to Morgan City Thursday, Miles spent a few minutes with us to share his thoughts on a variety of issues.

SportsNet: Firstly, with our state in crisis, would you like to offer any words of encouragement for those people that have been affected by the oil spill?

Les Miles: I went out there today to try and get a feel for it. The only thing I can say is, anytime you have people who are so used to being productive and working hard but can’t, and then when the long-term effects of human error are significant, it’s certainly terrible. I’m going to tour again tomorrow, and the only thing I can say is there are a lot of people working awfully hard to right (BP’s) wrong, and hopefully it’s done with foresight and is managed correctly.

SN: Speaking in front of plenty of Tiger fans as a part of the Tiger Tour, what do you look forward to most about nights like these?

LM: I always look forward to the food. I think this is a great place to get a bite to eat. I don’t know what the affair is tonight, but I logged it in my mind as a place to get some really, really good food. I just enjoy the people. The people here, they’re a hoot. They so love their Tigers, they’re so heartfelt, and they so support us. I just enjoy being here.

SN: The scope of the college landscape is changing rather quickly. With the Big 10 and PAC 10’s expansions, what are your thoughts about expansion, possibly in the SEC?

LM: It’s really interesting. I think the Big 10 conference picking up a Nebraska and maybe a Missouri. Then there’s the PAC 10 maybe inviting the entire South division of the Big 12. I think it’s going to be a pretty interesting time in college football. I can tell you this: Our conference is in really, pretty good shape to either stand pat or expand. And I think there’s a want for the Big 10, certainly, and the Pac 10 to develop a scenario like the SEC, where they play a championship game, where the champion plays for a conference championship, then the highest-ranked from there plays for a national championship. I think that’s certainly what’s happened in the SEC, and now it will be interesting to see if in fact the powers that make these decisions might expand the SEC. There might be some teams that will be interested in joining us.

SN: Speaking of the PAC 10, what are your thoughts about the internal issues going on at USC currently? How different will it be to have a college football postseason with the Trojans sitting at home?

LM: The NCAA does and performs a very necessary, responsible piece to college football. You have to do the right thing. You have to adhere to the rules. You have to make sure that there’s an environment of compliance, and if you don’t, it’s their responsibility to right it and right the direction. I certainly feel sorry for SC. Those were some wonderful teams, and they had some very, very talented players, who are very innocent that did nothing wrong, who will now suffer some penalty based on their proximity to SC.

SN: The last two seasons were certainly not what LSU fans have become accustomed to. What are you telling LSU fans at speaking engagements like these to comfort them that things will get back to normal this year?

LM: I think our quarterback playing the back two years of his career will play his best football. I think there’s going to be great speed on the defense. I think you’ll love our secondary, love those defensive ends. I think we’ll rush the football better … I think our offensive line will play physical, and I think our young tailbacks will come to play, which will improve our quarterback play, because there won’t be long yardage situations repeatedly. We had the best special teams in the SEC, and we were third ranked nationally, so we’re not that far away.

SN: What about a local guy, Chase Clement? How has he progressed, and what do you expect from him in the fall?

LM: He moved from defensive end to tight end and has really had a great spring. We would expect him to play a lot of football, maybe as a more physical tight end and a very talented pass receiving tight end. As he develops, we’ll look forward to seeing him on the field a lot.

SN: Louisiana is widely regarded as one of the most talented states in the country in terms of prep talent in 2011. Your thoughts on the 2011 recruiting class so far?

LM: We have a great piece of that recruiting class committed and already up and running. The guys are very, very talented. There’s a number of guys who are right from very close by, just so you know. We think this: We think that if you finish this recruiting class the way that we started it, it will be one of the best recruiting classes in the country. It may not be one with a lot of the numbers, but it will be one full of the style of players, who will play long after college football.

SN: Would you then say that Louisiana is more talented this year in terms of prep talent, than in year’s past?

LM: I don’t think there’s any question. This class has the potential to be one of the best in the U.S.

LSU football coach Les Miles shouts instructions during a game in 2007. Miles said improved quarterback play will be among the many reasons the Tigers should see improvement in the new season. * PHOTO COURTESY LSU