LSU Keeps Hester Busy
September 11, 2006
By Glenn Guilbeau
gguilbeau@gannett.com
BATON ROUGE - Call him a median income man's Reggie Bush.
LSU fullback/tailback Jacob Hester may have been as tired Sunday morning as the New Orleans Saints' tailback/receiver/returner was this morning.
Hester, a junior out of Evangel, rushed eight times for 43 yards and a 28-yard touchdown in LSU's 45-3 win over Arizona on Saturday night. He also caught six passes for 53 yards and a 5-yard touchdown for 96 total yards. Hester also plays on some special teams when he's not catching his breath.
Bush accumulated 119 total yards in the Saints' 19-14 win at Cleveland with 61 rushing, 58 receiving and 22 returning punts.
"I hope I can keep staying on the field and not get too tired," said Hester, who is LSU's No. 1 fullback and No. 2 tailback between starter Justin Vincent and No. 3 tailback Alley Broussard going into Saturday's 2:30 p.m. CBS game at Auburn.
"There is a lot to remember and a lot of plays, and I'm running a lot," Hester said.
Hester is LSU's third leading rusher with 16 carries for 74 yards behind freshman Charles Scott (9-86) and Broussard (16-84), and he is the No. 2 receiver with eight catches for 54 yards behind wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (7-153). Hester leads LSU in touchdowns with three.
"He does a number of things really well for us, including special teams," LSU coach Les Miles said. "He may be the most all-around football player on our team. We'd expect he might get similar touches in other games."
Hester was second on the team in rushing against Arizona behind Scott, who gained 47 yards on four carries with a 38-yard touchdown. Broussard gained 30 yards on eight carries with a 17-yard touchdown, but he lost a fumble. Vincent gained 31 yards on eight carries.
Miles said he will likely continue to go with a tailback committee against Auburn on Saturday...
Miles said none of the tailbacks has yet stepped clearly ahead of the others to be a featured back.
"I want guys who are fresh, who are capable of doing what we ask them to do," he said, "and right now there's not been somebody that has said, 'I'm the guy.' I think you could look forward to a similar style of play with how we play our tailbacks."
So Hester will remain a committee of one.
"I really like it," he said. "High school definitely helped prepare me for this. I played five or six different positions."
Hester rushed for 868 yards and caught 47 passes for 523 yards as a senior at Evangel in 2003. He also played linebacker, safety and nose guard in addition to receiver, tailback and fullback.
"I was never really taught tailback here," Hester said. "I learned by watching Joseph Addai."
Hester carried the ball 45 times for 237 yards in 2004 and 2005 behind Addai and other backs and caught 13 passes for 84 yards.
"I'll be able to handle the double duty," Hester said. "I'm not on as many special teams. But if they need me..."