Ok so Chrome thinks the link to this bayoubengalinsider article is malware, so Im copying the text. The article is about Mett. Well written Hunt Palmer! PALMER: Mettenberger goes out a winner, a Tiger Written by Hunt Palmer, Senior Writer Friday, 29 November 2013 19:32 As the Golden Band from Tigerland readied to blare the victorious LSU alma mater, senior Zach Mettenberger crutched over to his head coach, put his arm around him and let the tears roll. The student section chanting his name, Mettenberger couldn’t hide those tears or the ice bag securely wrapped around his injured left knee. Trainers had to help him off the field with just under seven minutes left in his home career, and crutches had to help him through the tunnel he had run out of for the final time just hours earlier. His transformation from junior college prospect to NFL-ready quarterback took place on that sod, but that was hardly the greatest transformation Mettenberger underwent over his three years in Baton Rouge. The Georgia boy who walked onto the field during a recruiting visit wore a snow cap and tucked a dip under his lip. In three years he captured the hearts of a Louisiana-based student section that had turned on a quarterback or two over the last few seasons. He’d won over a locker room of players, too. “As time goes, you grow, and Zach has learned from his mistakes and had the ability to overcome adversity,” said junior wide receiver Jarvis Landry. “This year, for me, I saw him be as coachable a player as I’ve ever seen let him take his game to the next level.” Those tears streaming down Mettenberger’s cheeks make you fear the worst. His red, bearded face looked the part of a man who had played his final college snap. That information won’t come out for some time, but if that’s the case, it’s fitting that he finished with a strike to Landry, the guy he’s hit more than any other, for a big play. Mettenberger showed up a cast off from the program he grew up with and loved. Growing up, he spent fall Saturdays between the hedges in Athens pulling for his beloved Bulldogs, dreaming of a chance to play there. A youthful mistake stripped him of that chance. He needed a new home, and he found one in Baton Rouge. Many of the players in his huddle grew up much like he did, but in Louisiana, dreaming of playing for the Tigers. Same goes for the more than 90,000 fans who pack Tiger Stadium every week. Though that wasn’t Mettenberger’s dream, it became his reality. Saturday the reality that he won’t ever do that again hit harder than he could have expected. The even-keeled quarterback who generally lacked emotion became too emotional to surface from a victorious locker room to meet with the media. Instead he sent a messenger in a white hat. “(Mettenberger) said, ‘Coach I’m just afraid that I might be too emotional. Would you tell them?’” said LSU head coach Les Miles. “Okay I will. So, message from Zach Mettenberger: He said he enjoyed his time here tremendously. He has grown and matured, and he is a quality man. “ Sure, Mettenberger might appear sarcastic in tone when speaking with the media. He might log some time at a local watering hole. He might make a trip to Starkville on his bye week. He might also spend countless hours in the film room, work tirelessly with his fifth offensive coordinator in five years and take vicious blow after vicious blow to deliver the football and give LSU a chance to win every game on the schedule this year. Much was made of his crawl to the sideline in Tuscaloosa. The same should be made of his crutching to the locker room Friday night. He’d taken his last shot. His braced right knee had given in. So he passed the baton to another Georgian who sent him out a winner, but not before Mettenberger did what he could to help. “When I came off the field after the first drive he told me to calm down and get into a groove,” said freshman quarterback Anthony Jennings. “Zach is a tremendous teacher. He helps me, being a senior, and he helped mold me into a better quarterback.” Even if he never takes another snap, Mettenberger’s mark will still litter the LSU record books. His performance in Athens won’t soon be forgotten. Neither will Jennings’ 49-yard bomb to Travin Dural that gave LSU an improbable win Friday evening. But even after the hysteria of the heartstopping win, the student section singled Mettenberger out. His tears represented a symbolic thank you to a school who gave him a second chance. The conversion from Bulldog to Tiger happened years ago, but Friday cemented it. “The guy I (first) met, is not the guy that we have now,” Miles said. “He’s so much more important to us as a team and who he’s been for this club, the leadership and how he’s matured. I can tell you I’m a big Zach Mettenberger fan.” Les, you’re not the only one.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Nov 2013 19:04:38 +0000
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