A Plea for the Status Quo

Regardless of what happens in the Grand Jury hearing the Jordan Jefferson case, I don't want the guy back. I know, that's not very PC or very nice. If he's innocent why should he be off the team? If he didn't do anything wrong, why should he be punished?

Because it's not about him, it's about the LSU football program. Ask yourself, would it be in the best interest of the LSU football program for Jefferson to be reinstated?

In my opinion, no it would not.

This team has performed very well thus far and has stayed focused on the task at hand. Lee has done a good job of running the offense and minimizing negative plays. He is the clear cut starter at the most important position on the team. How many times did we hear last season, "LSU is a very good team, but Jordan Jefferson is the quarterback..."?

Bringing Jefferson back would bring a plethora of distractions and internal divisions. If he came back the first question for Miles would be, "who is starting at QB?" No matter the answer to the question, there would be some negativity, externally and internally. Fairly or not, Jefferson has been a lightening rod for criticism on this team. Were he to be put back on the field I have no doubt many fans would have a negative reaction. Last season a caller to Miles' radio show asked the coach if Jefferson had naked pictures of him. Cat calls and general disgust would only increase. There would also be locker room division, some players and coaches supporting Lee and others Jefferson.

If Lee loses a game, no one will be saying, "had Jefferson been playing, we would have won that game." But should Jefferson come in and play poorly leading to an LSU defeat, you can be assured EVERYONE, LSU fans, the media and the players would be second guessing Miles decision.

Finally, the Shady's incident won't go away. There will be a civil suit that keeps this story alive throughout the season. Jefferson's presence will keep that cloud hovering over this team.

Maybe I'm not as worried about Jefferson being on the team as I am about him actually seeing the field. Maybe i just don't trust Miles' to make the right calls on this. I just don't think I could stand to watch Jefferson in all his incompetence run that option play one more time.