Ryan Perrilloux Sets An Example For Others Chasing Redemption

Ryan Perrilloux turned a story of failure and blown opportunity into one of redemption and triumph.

Perrilloux came to LSU in 2005 with all the fanfare and hype one would expect of a five star recruit. Rivals.com rated him the top prep quarterback of 2005 coming out of East St. John High in Reserve, La. He was to be the building block of the Les Miles era Tigers.

Instead, he became a cautionary tale of what happens when a blue chip recruit fails to balance his football with outside temptations. Yes, Perrilloux helped guide LSU to a BCS Championship as its a vital reserve quarterback in 2007. But after having already been embroiled in a counterfeiting investigation and arrest at a casino, still vague violations led to his ouster not long after the Tigers’ title game defeat of Ohio State.

His story was the quintessential example of an athlete having the world at his fingertips and letting it slip away. Emphasis on was.

This week, he earned his college degree in sociology. Less than a month ago, he was re-signed to the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

Perrilloux succeeded where others who have been down the same road have failed. He was given the ball of a new opportunity and ran with it. His is a blueprint other troubled players should follow.

While covering the Championship Subdivision for NCAA.com in 2009, I worked on a feature on then-Jacksonville State QB Perrilloux. JSU head coach Jack Crowe had nothing but praise for his play caller, both as an on-field leader and as a student with renewed focus.

One of the game’s most well tenured coaches, Crowe said he saw dedication in Perrilloux others weren’t ready to. Perrilloux met with JSU President Bill Meehan individually, and was given a very specific code of conduct. I spoke to Meehan, and he echoed Crowe’s praise.

Crowe said he held Perrilloux to a higher standard than any other player, exhibited in a suspension given Perrilloux for a violation the head coach said most players wouldn’t have sat for.

That combination of discipline and belief Crowe and the university exhibited Perrilloux to flourish. That ’09 campaign, he set the NCAA’s standard for quarterback efficiency across all divisions. JSU finished with Ohio Valley Conference’s best record.

Perrilloux’s is the example players like Dillon Baxter need to follow. Baxter transferred from USC after two seasons that failed to meet the high expectations recruiting pundits laid on him coming out of San Diego’s Mission Bay High. Compounding Baxter’s ineffective play were off-field problems, including a suspension for cavorting with an agent and a marijuana bust before ever playing a collegiate snap.

Baxter’s problems continued at San Diego State, where his stay was shorter than fellow troubled San Diegan’s Tate Forcier’s at San Jose State.

After issues at second stops, it would seem Baxter and Forcier have exhausted their opportunities. The coach that takes a flyer on either will be going far off the beaten path — further even than Crowe with Perrilloux, because each now has a second spurned program in his wake.

The FCS route is likely the only alternative left — or perhaps even D-II, as NFL bound Janoris Jenkins explored last season. Jenkins excelled at North Alabama after leaving Florida amid myriad troubles.

Stepping down in division requires a swallowing of pride that four and five star recruits may struggle with. Routes to the NFL still exist, but the path is much rockier. However, sometimes life out of the spotlight can be what a player needs to refocus.

Forcier’s own brother Chris succeeded this past season as quarterback at Furman. Chris did not have the same problems at UCLA Tate experience at Michigan. But Chris did have a less-than-amicable split from the Bruins that mirrors the manner in which Tate bid Ann Arbor adieu.

Chris threw 23 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, and was the Paladins’ second leading rusher. He’ll return to a Furman roster in 2012 that should compete in the deep Southern Conference.

The roads to redemption aren’t necessarily glamorous, but they do exist for those prepared to walk down them.