Story and photo courtesy of LSU Athletics
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The LSU football team faced the media Friday as the top-ranked Tigers spent an hour with 500 members of local, national and regional media at BCS Media Day here on the floor of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
LSU coach Les Miles drew the largest audience as the head coach was peppered with questions for nearly 60 minutes. Questions for the coach ranged from game-related topics, to his favorite type of grass to eat and, of course, his popular white hat. Miles took it all in stride and had his usual good time when facing the reporters.
"That was fun," Miles said moments after leaving the podium. "You never know what you are going to get asked or what to expect when you have a group this big. I enjoyed it. I think this (event) provides a great opportunity for me as a coach to represent our football team and our great university."
LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, known as the "Honey Badger" by many fans, drew the largest crowd among the players. Mathieu, a Heisman Trophy finalist and winner of the Bednarik Award as the defensive player of the year in college football, was questioned about his nickname, his large number of Twitter followers, and his newfound friendship with Alabama running back Trent Richardson.
Mathieu said he and Richardson hit it off in New York at the Heisman Trophy weekend and have become friends. Mathieu is also one of the most followed collegiate athletes on Twitter with more than 86,000 followers.
The Tigers followed media day with the annual bowl game team picture.
Following the team picture, the Tigers went through a two-hour practice in the Dome. Friday's workout marked the final practice session for the Tigers in the Superdome as they will workout on Saturday and Sunday at the Saints Practice Facility in Metairie.
Members of the LSU team started Friday morning taking part in the FCA Breakfast at the Hilton. Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden was the guest speaker and LSU offensive guard Josh Dworaczyk gave a testimonial to the group.
The team capped Friday with a dinner at Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse in the French Quarter.
LSU and Alabama will square off for the BCS National Championship on Monday night at 7:30 in the Superdome. The game will be televised on ESPN with pre-game coverage starting on the network at 6 p.m.