Joe Barksdale, now in
his fourth year out of Cass Tech High in Detroit, Mich., said his career at LSU
seems like it has flashed by…
“It does. I was on the phone with my mom and this will be
the first game they have come to since my freshman year here. We were talking
about it last night how a couple of years ago I was just a freshman on the
bench, and not it’s my last home game. It definitely flies.”
What will he do
different before this game, which will be his final night in Death Valley?
“I am going to hug my mom before the game. I have never been
able to do that before.”
What he’s looking
forward to most…
“Trying to end with a win. My last high school game we lost,
and I am still thinking about that. I want my last game in Tiger Stadium to be
a win.”
His thoughts on how
the young guys have filled in for injuries on the line…
“They have done tremendously well. Even from being in that
situation, they did better than I did when I was called on to fill in for hurt
guys. I commend those guys for that. If it wasn’t for the Greg Shaws and Chris
Faulks, then we probably wouldn’t have won as many games as we did. People don’t
realize, but the line is a very integral part of the offense. If we aren’t
clicking on all cylinders, we can’t move.
How he knows they
have been better than he ever was…
“The preparation they have done, as well as looking at them
on film. They look like they have been there before.”
Does the Ole Miss
loss in 2009 still sting?
“A lot. I definitely haven’t forgotten about it. I didn’t look
ahead of the schedule to Ole Miss. I stay one week at a time. But now that we
are at Ole Miss, I saw the film from last year and I am looking to correct
mistakes.”
Was that loss more
painful than others during his time at LSU?
“Any loss is painful to me. It doesn’t matter if we lose by
20 or lose by 1. I don’t like losing.”
Barksdale said that
after the debacle in Oxford, Miss., the team and coaching staff has put a
greater focus on final-minute situations…
“We definitely worked a lot more on clock management drills.”
Barksdale said that
while a National Championship game appearance is far-fetched, the hope remains
alive with the players…
“In the back of our minds we (consider ourselves NC
contenders). We like to stay optimistic. If we don’t win this game, we aren’t contending
for anything. In the back of our minds we keep hope, just like 2007, but right
now we are just focusing on Ole Miss.”
In 2007, Barksdale
said that there was only one moment where he thought that a National
Championship was out of the picture…
“When we lost to Arkansas that was a pretty big blow to
everybody. Then I remember on the way back from the SEC Championship the pilot
announced that the teams that needed to lose lost. It was crazy.”