Perhaps the obituary on Travonte Valentine‘s career at LSU was written a bit prematurely.
A touted member of LSU’s recruiting class a couple of years ago, Valentine never played a down for the Tigers and ultimately left the football program for various reasons in July of 2015. Fast-forward several months, and the defensive lineman has his sites set on a return to Baton Rouge.
From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:The current Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College student still has LSU in his heart and is hoping that he can one day play for the Tigers. Valentine messaged NOLA.com on Tuesday to notify us that he is planning on visiting Baton Rouge this weekend. When asked what his intentions were, Valentine responded, “just to get away and go talk with Coach (Les) Miles face to face.”
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Valentine has touched base with LSU defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, who informed him that Les Miles will determine whether or not he can become a part of the program in the future.
The Times-Picayune adds that Valentine “is currently on track to be eligible to enroll at a Division I program in January of 2017, making him a 2017 recruit.” As a 2014 recruit, Valentine’s brief time in Baton Rouge was fraught with academic and other off-field distractions.
After signing with the Tigers in February of 2014, Valentine dealt with NCAA Clearinghouse issues — the player said another SEC program was the root cause — that forced him to miss the start of summer camp his true freshman season. While he was ultimately cleared to practice, he was not permitted to play in any games because of the lingering academic issues.
Then in April of last year, head coach Les Miles confirmed that Valentine had been suspended, with the specific reason being, again, academics. At the time of his departure from the program, it was reported that Valentine, in addition to the academic issues, had failed multiple drug tests.
A four-star member of the Tigers’ 2014 recruiting class, Valentine was rated as the No. 3 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 7 player at any position in the state of Florida. He had been expected to be an immediate contributor to LSU’s line rotation.