by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
As I look upon the message boards filled with angry comments towards a young minor, I stop and think "well...these people are irrational fools"....but then I remember that the young man they're going after is none other than Tackett Curtis, a high school junior at Many High....and the best overall defender of the 2023 class....my jaw drops in disgust...
The worst part for me to stomach?
All the harsh words were coming from people within Louisiana....
Tackett is one of them.....
Born and raised in Sabine Parish, Tackett's entire family are die hard LSU Tigers fans; his grandfather has season tickets, his Uncle Jess is a die hard Tiger, his brothers were enrolled at LSU, and one of them was actually Mike The Tiger...
There's an intense love for LSU within the Curtis family that has been twisted and used against them by certain people, all due to a perceived "disconnect" between the Curtis family and the LSU coaching staff:
Before bothering to investigate why there was ever a disconnect to begin with, many of these message board (or bored) warriors branded the young man "a traitor", "Bama lover", and much, much worse.....
Funny, because I was recently told by a source close to the family, "Tackett is not waiting on that offer, let's put it that way."
So....it looks like the overzealous, hyper-critical fanatics have the situation completely wrong....dragging a teenager and his uncle's reputation and names through the mud....
....but why?
The truth is....Tackett would love to play for LSU....but he is not feeling the love back from our fan base and worst of all, Curtis is feeling neglected from the Tigers' own recruiting staff.
His primary recruiter, LBs Coach Blake Baker, has spoken with Tackett for all of "30 seconds" according to a family friend, pointing out how LBs assistant Jake Olsen or young recruiting wiz Mason Smith are the two making the biggest push.
"There's an arrogance....they think they can get any player out of the state of Louisiana....just like what happened with Jack Bech, Matthew Langlois...they think that guys like Tackett will just wait for them and be there at the last second for Coach O to come over and seal up....Tackett's not like that....he wants to be shown a vision...."
At the moment, the line for Curtis is getting lengthier by the day....pushing LSU further back in the rearview mirror:
The Many state champion is bombarded daily from over 40 schools, all calling him on Zoom day and night, Clemson's Brent Venables on the phone, Notre Dame DC Marcus Freeman badgering the Many defender through text, phone or Zoom....Georgia's Kirby Smart (a big fan of stealing Louisiana talent), USC, Michigan and Wisconsin putting together highlight packages showing the kind of player they think Tackett will become....and yet, Blake Baker can only talk to Curtis for 30 seconds?
"We need to get you here to a game, man," was the most Baker told Tackett, handing the phone back over to Mason Smith & Jake Olsen to finish the call.
To be fair, in his first season as LSU's LBs Coach, Baker's debut SEC campaign, there will be plenty of pressure on the former Miami defensive coordinator's shoulders:
LSU's linebackers were woeful last year, and during his introductory press conference, the Texas-native said "the linebackers were playing with the wrong technique"...immediately putting a bullseye on his back if his LBs corps fail to improve; meanwhile, he's faced with the exceptional situation of 2022's #1 LB Harold Perkins, his signature igniting a war between LSU and bitter little bastards A&M....the Tigers' new LBs coach has a lot on his plate.
But every coach in his position has a lot on their plates....a call or a text, hell even a personal invitation to Boys From The Boot (rather than forcing Mason Smith to invite Tackett) wouldn't be hard, now would it?
Tackett's non-presence at Boys From The Boot was ripped on all over the message boards, fans complaining about his "love for Bama", when in reality....his future position coach didn't even have the time, patience or effort to personally invite him.
LSU haven't made Tackett Curtis a priority, before Blake Baker and since his arrival.....but while plenty of shade has been thrown around concerning the young defender's Uncle & Head Coach at Many, Jess Curtis, the real person who LSU's staff need to warm up to?
Tackett's father.
Mr. Curtis himself is close to shutting the gate on the Tigers....disgusted by the gossip, rumors and straight up lies being spread about his son....all while his extremely talented son is being ignored by the home state dream school.....
This situation has never been about Tackett's refusal to go to LSU or his disinterest....it's actually rooted in the Tigers' continued failure to establish a meaningful and lasting relationship with the #1 overall defender of 2023.
If LSU are to lose Tackett Curtis, they'll be allowing one of the most complete players to leave the state of Louisiana, the Tigers would be losing a player with the future potential of a LaRon Landry, Craig Steltz, or Tyrann Mathieu-level force.
There's still plenty of time for Baker and LSU's staff to change course, making Tackett one of their top defensive priorities for the 2023 class; but if we don't see enough movement by October-November, Tackett could already be committed elsewhere.......and he doesn't seem like a young man who will break his commitments.....for anyone.
CHECK OUT OUR PRIOR TWO INTERVIEWS
W/ TACKETT CURTIS BELOW:
by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
@LonnPhillips
Copyright 2021 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
SHOUTOUTS: RIP Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts....the greatest rock and roll band in the world are finally done....horrible, sad, shocking....but it had to end some time. It's just crazy how long the Stones took to end. An unforgettable band led by an unforgettable man...no, not Mick Jagger....Charlie Watts led the Stones....
Had Charlie died in 1972 instead of 2021, the Stones would've broken up then.