Russell working to stay No. 1 at LSU

Posted 1:27PM on Tuesday 9th August 2005 ( 19 years ago )

BATON ROUGE, la. (AP) LSU quarterback JeMarcus Russell knows all about being a hot college prospect. Russell was part of what the experts dubbed the No. 1 college football recruiting class in the nation back in 2003. He hit Baton Rouge as a high school star, but didn't get on the field until last year. And even then, success was hard to come by. This fall Russell is penciled in as the Tigers' starting QB. But he has a couple of other hot prospects Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux breathing down his neck. ``I was always confident,'' Russell said. ``It's just about me being confident in what I'm doing and knowing what's going on with our team.'' That confidence was important during the year Russell spent on the sidelines and last year when he and Marcus Randall split time. ``As he mastered the offense, he still believed in himself,'' said offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said. ``You worry that when a guy is learning something and struggling with it he might lose that inner confidence. The really good ones keep that confidence and know it's just a matter of time, to know that they've got to keep grinding to get it right.'' Russell did not gain much confidence in his first college start. Last year against Florida, Russell threw two first-quarter interceptions that quickly dug LSU a two-touchdown hole. Randall bailed him out and led the Tigers to a last-minute 24-21 victory. ``Anytime a guy experiences failure, you always wonder,'' Fisher said. ``You've got to put him back up on the horse after it throws him off and see what happens. We did, and he gained that confidence back, and I think at the end of the year when he really played well in the bowl game, it came out, and it showed.'' Russell started three more games, all victories, with Randall coming off the bench in a role that suited him often throughout his LSU career. Russell's health is better than at any time during his LSU career. Soon after the bowl game, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his long-bothersome right elbow. Fisher said he couldn't be happier about Russell's fitness level. ``He looks good,'' Fisher said. ``He's been between 245 and 250 here now even less when he sweats it out during practice. I think he's in really good shape.'' And Russell's game is shaping up as well. ``The little things he does that I see, things the fans might not see, are so much better now,'' Fisher said. ``Little things. He calls plays. He manages the game, manages the clock, manages the players, the signals, the checks.'' Information from: The Advocate, http://www.theadvocate.com (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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