Sources: Dismissed LSU QB Perrilloux failed drug test
ESPN.com news services
Updated: May 2, 2008, 1:43 PM ET
BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, who had legal and disciplinary problems throughout his college career, was kicked off the defending national championship team Friday after he failed a drug test.
What's Next For LSU?
Now that Ryan Perrilloux's never-ending troubles are once and for all in LSU's rear-view mirror, the next question becomes: What will the Tigers' offense look like next fall?
For starters, whoever wins the starting quarterback job will be taking his first meaningful snaps at LSU. Redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee will likely get first crack at the job. He and junior Andrew Hatch, who played on the Harvard freshman team before transferring to LSU, split reps in the spring while Perrilloux was suspended.
Lee has the stronger arm, whereas Hatch is a better runner. The real problem for the Tigers, though, is what happens if either QB is injured. Remember, Perrilloux filled in for the injured Matt Flynn last season in the SEC championship game win over Tennessee.
The good news for the Tigers is that nobody on the team should be shocked when preseason practice resumes in August. Lee and Hatch took all of the snaps in the spring, and senior center Brett Helms said then that they were preparing as if one of those two guys would be the quarterback in the fall.
Look for LSU to lean even harder on its offensive line. Four of the five starters from last season are back, and several other promising younger players are pushing for time.
"We've got to be leaders up front and lead by example," Helms said. "It's going to be a lot of hard work, leading by example, and hopefully we can get everybody to come along with us. But that's where it all starts, up front."
In short, don't look for LSU to make as many plays at the quarterback position now that Perrilloux is gone. But any hint of a distraction is also gone ... for good.
LSU coach Les Miles did not offer details, but sources within the program told ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach and ESPN's Joe Schad that Perrilloux failed a drug test.
The drug test result led Miles to dismiss Perrilloux on Friday morning, two sources close to the situation told Schad.
Perrilloux, who had been suspended three times in his college career, "didn't fulfill his obligation as an LSU student-athlete," Miles said in a statement. The school said Friday that Perrilloux is expected to finish out the spring semester.
"Ryan was given every opportunity to be a part of this football team," Miles said.
Perrilloux was a backup to Matt Flynn for the Tigers, who defeated Ohio State to win the national title.
Miles suspended Perrilloux, whose father died Feb. 7, in mid-February after he missed a team meeting, skipped some classes and was late for a handful of conditioning workouts.
Perrilloux had to meet academic requirements and do extra conditioning work before he was reinstated April 6, in time to go with the Tigers to meet President Bush at the White House.
Perrilloux was not allowed to play in LSU's spring game.
A person close to Perrilloux told Schad that the quarterback hopes to transfer to a school in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), where he would have two seasons of eligibility left and could play immediately. Were he to transfer to a Bowl Championship Subdivision (I-A) school, he would have to sit out a season.
Perrilloux's lawyer, Nathan Fisher, declined comment Friday. Phone calls to the home of Perrilloux's mother in LaPlace, La., went unanswered.
Before his last reinstatement, Miles said Perrilloux had been doing better with his classwork. During the spring, redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee and junior Andrew Hatch split time as the quarterback of the Tigers.
In 12 games last season, Perrilloux completed 51 of 75 passes for eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He led LSU to two victories -- including the Southeastern Conference championship game -- when Flynn, a senior, was injured during the 2007 season.
Now, the Tigers will need to defend their title with either Hatch, a former transfer from Harvard, or Lee, who reminds some of Flynn.
Perrilloux, who also was suspended by the Tigers last summer, was on the fringe of a counterfeiting investigation and was caught trying to enter a Baton Rouge casino with false identification. He also was involved in a fracas at a nightclub in November, but was cleared of wrongdoing.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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