College coach doubted Ja’Marr Chase as receiver


Munich – Les Miles was considered one of the best college coaches of his time. He coached the LSU Tigers from 2005 to 2016, winning the 2007 national championship and two Southeastern Conference titles. By the end of his tenure at Louisiana State University, however, he was way off the mark with one assessment—on Ja’Marr Chase.

Reflecting on his early days in college, the pass recipient said, “Les Miles told me I couldn’t play receiver when I got out of high school. That was something I carried on my shoulders.” This conversation took place when Chase was still playing for Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie, Louisiana.

Ja’Marr Chase should act as a cornerback

Miles wanted to put Chase on defense instead. “Les Miles told me he thought I could play cornerback,” he recalled. Chase was not satisfied with the assessment of the coach, however. Rather, it was an incentive for him.

“I worked on my craft in the offseason. I got up early in the morning to train. I just stayed focused,” he says. The outcome is well known: Chase developed into one of the best wide receivers in college football and led LSU to the collegiate championship in January 2020 when he caught passes for 221 yards and two touchdown passes against Clemson in the finals.

However, Miles could no longer benefit from this as a trainer. Before Chase even played his first game of college, the coach was fired. Chase was the 5th pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 NFL Draft. With 1,455 receiving yards, he was one of the four most effective pass receivers in the NFL and also caught 13 touchdown passes.

On Sunday, Chase will play with the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs for entry into the Super Bowl (from 8:45 p.m., live on ProSieben and ran.de).

You want the most important NFL news, videos and data directly on your smartphone? Then get the new ran app with push notifications for the most important news in your favorite sport. Available in the App Store for Apple and Android.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *