Perrilloux Suspended . . . Again

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, this is bad.

Ryan Perrilloux has been suspended from the team indefinitely for unspecified violation of team rules. No one seems to know any inside story about the length of the suspension, but it is rumored that the team rules he violated concerned going to class and attending team meetings.

Some observations:

• Someone once told me that LSU would be really good next year if Perrilloux can stay out of jail. I responded that Perrilloux, as far as we know, has never been in jail. He's been investigated for connection to a counterfeiting operation, but never charged. He's been cited for using someone else's ID to get into a casino. He's been in the news for a conflict outside of an off-campus club. He's been suspended for missing classes and team meetings. He has never been arrested. He's never assaulted or attacked anyone that we know of. While the kid has some apparent stupidity problems, let's not overstate his lawlessness.
  
• My God this is colossally dumb. Let's look at this logically. While Perrilloux is a big part of LSU's future, he needs us at least as much as we need him at this point. Granted, we need him quite a bit. With Perrilloux, we're on the short list of national championship contenders. Without him, we probably aren't, but we're still contenders in the SEC. With us, Perrilloux has the prospects of an NFL future. Without us, Perrilloux has a big uphill battle to make a living playing football. To use an analogy to hunting, LSU is the wolf and Perrilloux is the rabbit. The rabbit is running for his life and the wolf is running for his dinner. Failure at LSU will mean the virtual end of Perrilloux's prospects of wealth and stardom, but it will mean only a temporary dip in LSU's prospects.
• Let's be clear, Miles did not kick Perrilloux off the team. He is suspended, not dismissed. Miles has shown a willingness to "sacrifice until it hurts" when it comes to Perrilloux, having already given him one very long suspension, but he's also shown a willingness to welcome him back and in good graces after it has hurt.
• One has to wonder what (if anything) is going through Perrilloux's head. He has to know as well as anyone that he's paid his dues on the field and the way is open for him to play and to excel. He's the heir apparent to the QB position on a team with a ton of offensive weapons at the ready. He has to know that, production-wise, few quarterbacks are ever set up as nicely as Perrilloux is now. I don't know how a kid sees that and decides to risk it all.

I do not think this is the end for Perrilloux. I've heard too many stories recently of Perrilloux still being on campus, still being active and around. If he was gone for good, he'd be.. uh.. gone. If Miles wanted him gone, he wouldn't be suspended. He'd be dismissed.

Keep in mind also, Ryan Perrilloux recently lost his father. I mean VERY recently. It doesn't excuse violation of team rules of this nature, particularly if they occurred before the death of Mr. Perrilloux, but I sincerely doubt that Les Miles is going to pile onto the kid quite that bad.

Ryan is a special talent. I sincerely believe we've never had a quarterback with as much natural ability for the position as Perrilloux has. And yes, I include Jamarcus Russell, who is admittedly very close in talent to Perrilloux, but Perrilloux's running ability makes him superior (physically). This is a guy who is probably our best shot at getting a Heisman Trophy in my lifetime to this point.

It is my hope that Miles will suspend him just long enough to keep him on the straight and narrow through the season. After the 2009 season, he can go pro and save us the drama for all I care, but I don't want to enter the season with a transfer from Harvard and a redshirt freshman as our quarterbacks.