On one of the feel-good days on the football calendar, one of the best feel-good stories occurred at Isidore Newman School.
A teary-eyed head coach Nelson Stewart thanked Kendall Bussey and Jay Tyler for “having the chance to coach you guys.”
A jammed packed room full of students, faculty, and staff cheered heartily.
And, the dads Kendall Bussey Sr. and Herb Tyler beamed. It was their dream to help their sons reach their goal of playing major college football.
And, on national signing day, Bussey signed with Texas A&M and Tyler signed with Stanford.
“He’s pretty ecstatic,” said Jay Tyler of his father. “He’s probably more excited than I am. He’s wanted this for me, all this to pan out. So, it is a great day to be a father.”
And, a grandfather.
88-year-old Jim Hotard beamed as his watched his grandson, Jesuit tight end Foster Moreau sign with LSU.
Moreau had LSU and Tulane fans checking their phones feverishly Wednesday morning.
Moreau got a call from Les Miles around 9 in the morning.
“I have dreamed about going to LSU my whole life. It is an opportunity I could not pass on.”
LSU was waiting on a couple of potential signees who chose other schools.
Moreau had his offer. He had to call Tulane offensive coordinator Aaron Price and deliver the bad news.
“It was tough. It was a tough decision,” said Moreau.
“For Tulane to have held that scholarship all the way up to signing day, it really speaks volumes for the type of University Tulane is. And, it was hard to turn it down.”
Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson said he wished Moreau well.
“I pull for all of the state schools,” said Johnson.
Johnson and his staff signed 17. Of those, 3 were from Warren Easton, and five were linemen.
Johnson said on both sides of the ball, his team has to get bigger to compete in the American Athletic Conference.
Tulane did not sign a quarterback.
“If we were to run an offense where the quarterback was a runner, you take more. But, I like the guys we have,” said Johnson.
“They are classic drop back passers. We like what we have.”
And, so did first year Nicholls State head coach Tim Rebowe.
Rebowe signed 26, all from Louisiana high schools.
“He and his coaches are very visible,” said Rummel head coach and Nicholls State alum Jay Roth.
The depth of metro New Orleans football was evident on every stop.
John Curtis linebacker Bo Wallace signed with Notre Dame.
Oregon landed Destrehan running back Kirk Merritt, who projects as a wide receiver.
And, Hahnville defensive tackle Fred Brown signed with Purdue.
Ponchatoula quarterback Christian Campbell signed with Georgia Tech.
The first Wednesday in February was proof, again, of just how good high school football in southeast Louisiana truly is.