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Lavar Lobdell has only caught three passes this season. And he's starting to get impatient.
By Jared Diamond
Posted: 9/25/08, 11:11 PM EST Section: Sports
A flashback to the last time Lavar Lobdell scored a touchdown. Local football enthusiasts may remember it fondly.
It happened at the Carrier Dome late in the fourth quarter of a game the crowd still had a reason to care about. After all, here was an opportunity to root against Ray Rice, a local enemy and former Rutgers star tailback, who had already scored three touchdowns.
With the score tied, Lobdell took the ball and scooted 27 yards to the endzone to give his team a 41-35 lead - the eventual final tally. "Finally, it shut Ray Rice up," Lobdell said.
It was a Syracuse fan's greatest dream: Lobdell scoring the winning touchdown to propel the Orange to a key win against Big East rival Rutgers, leaving Rice, now with the Baltimore Ravens, wishing he hadn't broken his verbal commitment to SU.
One problem, though.
The year was 2004. The game, the Class AA New York State championship. Rice played for New Rochelle taking handoffs from now Providence basketball standout Geoff McDermott. Lobdell was still a four-star wide receiver recruit at local Christian Brothers Academy, showing why Rivals.com ranked him the third-best prospect in the state.
"If someone had told me I would not score a touchdown since then," Lobdell said, "I would have laughed in their face."
Yes, it has been almost four years since Lobdell, now a junior for the Orange, last experienced the endzone. Despite all the hype, Lobdell's time at Syracuse has been nothing short of a frustrating disappointment. He has just 16 catches and no touchdown in his collegiate career. By way of comparison, Donte Davis has 12 receptions this season alone.
As far as Lobdell is concerned, there is an easy explanation as to why this year has not gone well: He isn't getting the ball thrown to him enough.
"We like to run the ball," Lobdell said. "I'll say that."
Then, less than a minute later in the same interview:
"How can I say this and be politically correct?" he said. "If the ball is in my hands a little more, you'll know. I'd like to feel that pigskin a little more."
It happened at the Carrier Dome late in the fourth quarter of a game the crowd still had a reason to care about. After all, here was an opportunity to root against Ray Rice, a local enemy and former Rutgers star tailback, who had already scored three touchdowns.
With the score tied, Lobdell took the ball and scooted 27 yards to the endzone to give his team a 41-35 lead - the eventual final tally. "Finally, it shut Ray Rice up," Lobdell said.
It was a Syracuse fan's greatest dream: Lobdell scoring the winning touchdown to propel the Orange to a key win against Big East rival Rutgers, leaving Rice, now with the Baltimore Ravens, wishing he hadn't broken his verbal commitment to SU.
One problem, though.
The year was 2004. The game, the Class AA New York State championship. Rice played for New Rochelle taking handoffs from now Providence basketball standout Geoff McDermott. Lobdell was still a four-star wide receiver recruit at local Christian Brothers Academy, showing why Rivals.com ranked him the third-best prospect in the state.
"If someone had told me I would not score a touchdown since then," Lobdell said, "I would have laughed in their face."
Yes, it has been almost four years since Lobdell, now a junior for the Orange, last experienced the endzone. Despite all the hype, Lobdell's time at Syracuse has been nothing short of a frustrating disappointment. He has just 16 catches and no touchdown in his collegiate career. By way of comparison, Donte Davis has 12 receptions this season alone.
As far as Lobdell is concerned, there is an easy explanation as to why this year has not gone well: He isn't getting the ball thrown to him enough.
"We like to run the ball," Lobdell said. "I'll say that."
Then, less than a minute later in the same interview:
"How can I say this and be politically correct?" he said. "If the ball is in my hands a little more, you'll know. I'd like to feel that pigskin a little more."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Matt
posted 9/27/08 @ 10:15 AM EST
Hey Lavar, if you "know what you can do"... then shut your mouth and do it. Sick and tired of the excuses, these football players should be happy any reporter even wants to interview them. (Continued…)
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