2007 Recruiting - Kentravis Aubrey

Have you seen this man? He is Kentravis Aubrey, 4-star DT/DE out of Bastrop High School, 6'3 285#. The picture on the left reminds me of a certain defensive end who played a prominent role on the 2003 national championship team.

I have been dreading doing his profile for the simple reason that nothing is known about him. If I can get a little consciously meta for a second, let me just say that I have endeavored to make these profiles much more interesting than a simple biographical recitation of facts about a player. With every player, I have tried to find some kind of a hook to talk about, either to make him interesting or use him to discuss a broader point about football or recruiting. This has been impossible with Kentravis Aubrey. He is the most mysterious recruit LSU signed in 2007. How does a 4-star recruit at defensive line generate almost no interest among fans?

It starts with where he played. He played for a state power at Bastrop, where he was not the highest profile college recruit on his team. That honor belongs to DeAngelo Benton, the wide receiver attempting to get himself qualified to enter school in the Fall. He gave his commitment in the Spring of 2006, making him one of the earliest commits for the 2007 class, and never wavered on the commitment. With his recruitment ended early and his quiet but productive senior season, there has been very little attention paid to him and no one knows much about him. I couldn't find any kind of a hook. Even my attempts to simply ask people on the message boards about him got mostly a chorus of crickets chirping.

Then I realized that I have a hook. The hook to his profile is his utter lack of drama and pre-season attention. If Kentravis Aubrey had stunk it up his senior season after his early commitment, we would certainly have been talking about that. If Kentravis had decided to listen to overtures from Bama or Oklahoma or whomever, we would certainly have been talking about that. If he was in danger of not qualifying, we would certainly have been talking about that. None of that happened. He simply gave his commitment and then went about his business on the field and in the classroom.

I can think of a couple other people who committed early, never wavered, never created drama, never generated a lot of buzz, and had great careers at LSU. Curtis Taylor is falling into that category. He committed during the summer before his senior season and it looks like he'll be a starter this year. An even better example is Glen Dorsey, though Dorsey was more high-profile of a recruit. He didn't create a lot of drama, but he's a pre-season All-American now.

The point is, just because he didn't provide a lot of copy for the message boards and the recruiting journalists, don't think the guy isn't that good of a recruit. He excelled recently at an All-Star game between Texas and Louisiana All-Stars, and for all we know he could end up being better than the much more high-profile guys signed along the defensive line.

What started out as a profile I was dreading has, in all honesty, become one of my favorite profiles to write. I've grown a new appreciation for Mr. Aubrey, who has simply done everything right and everything that should be expected of a fan favorite. I still don't know much about him, but maybe that's for the best. It just means he hasn't been seeking attention, acting like a prima donna, or getting into trouble. He's just been doing his job, and I look forward to seeing how he looks on a football field.