Open letter to Ryan Perrilloux

May 11th, 2008 by Vince Mullins

Ryan, I have dogged you in the past, and I hate being right on these things. But I am not counting you out yet.

Follow along with my 11-month action plan, seek out the mentors I place before you and you could get your life and career back.

If you have had your eyes open for the last couple of weeks, you should have seen that you still have one shot left to salvage your career.

Despite sinking to the bottom of the public relations ocean with your dismissal from the National Champion LSU Tigers, despite a career so far mimicking that of Jimmy Dix and some self destructive behavior similar to Robert Downey Jr you still have eleven months to get your head right and enter the NFL Draft.

That may seem shocking to you during these dark days, but likely even this series of incidents failed to shake your self-confidence. Stick with me and ignore the sycophants that surround you.

Despite counterfeiting investigations, fake ID stings and an overall bad attitude you still have all the physical talent in which pros like to invest. They are worried about your head, moreso than Les Miles was when he finally dismissed you from the team. Obviously, some fans rejoiced at your departure.

I don’t know how close you were to your father, I am guessing by your reaction to his death on February 7 quite close so thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I do know some people you should talk to for some perspective on unfulfilled careers.

Adrian McPherson. Quincy Carter. Akili Smith.

A-Mac was a plus-athlete who blew any opportunity to play at FSU by stealing checks in 2003. Granted, he ripped off 80 TDs in the Arena League the next year, but has languished since then. Yo, P, you ready to suit up for the New Orleans VooDoo? Right now this looks like your likely career path.

Carter took the reins of the Georgia Bulldogs as a freshman and the Dallas Cowboys drafted him in the second round. He had some success including leading them to a playoff appearance, but was released under spurious circumstances in 2004. Since then Carter has been cut by numerous teams, most citing a drug dependency, and is now on an AFL roster. Seeing a pattern here?

Wait it gets better.

Akili Smith couldn’t hit a curveball so he dropped baseball and put together one big year as QB at Oregon in 1998. On athleticism and that one year wonder performance the Cincinnati Bengals selected Smith at #3 overall. Granted, he did absolutely nothing as a pro, but he did get a big contract which I think any reader would call a victory in and of itself. Certainly you want to have a meaningful career and a lasting legacy – you just don’t want your current legacy.

Track these guys down, I would bet they would love a chance to impact your life and in some way make their struggles seems worthwhile.

Finally, may I suggest an action plan? Find a school far away from Louisiana because you need to break free, geographically and from current social structures. Granted, you tried that with Texas but you were so full of hubris that it would never work – four Heismans? Really?

I have read that many think you should head to an historically black college and that would allow you to play this fall – but go to Florida for one of the many choices there. Check out Tennessee Tech who had tons of QB problems in 2007 – oops, Mack Brown’s brother Watson coaches there. Maybe Portland State or Northern Iowa where they have strong and successful programs. If you can’t stand being out of the spotlight, maybe sit a year and go to Michigan or Oregon? It really boils down to who wants to risk your attitude versus the reward of your physical gifts.

Keep your ears open and your mouth shut. Go to school, pass your classes, eat your fruits and vegetables. Go to meetings, get 400 yards of total offense and go undefeated. Watch how many new people will have your back.

Let me wrap this up – you have thrown away more opportunities than most college athletes ever get presented to them. But you still have a lifeline. Don’t look for someone to save you anymore, you need to save yourself.

Make the right choices and one year from now you will be a rich man. Make the wrong choices and you are destined to be a bitter old man who will blame everyone else for your lack of success.

UPDATE: Perrilloux signed at Jacksonville State and is immediately available to play.

(Photo courtesy of 2005 US Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, TX: Darren Carroll/Icon SMI)

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