August 28, 2008

Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Football Staff Writer

Georgia Tech 41, Jacksonville State 14: Game recap | Box score | Photos

ATLANTA ? Almost nine months since the night he had the world at his fingertips, Ryan Perrilloux returned to the city of his greatest triumph.

Only this time, the stakes weren't quite the same.

Perrilloux must stay out of trouble and regain his SEC Championship Game MVP form as he responds to the fall from grace that has him quarterbacking Jacksonville State ? a mid-level Division I-AA team ? instead of defending national champion LSU. His future depends on it.

"I have two years left and I can still get my degree," Perrilloux said Thursday after Jacksonville State's 41-14 loss to Georgia Tech in the season-opener for both at Bobby Dodd Stadium. "I'm just trying to win ballgames and win a championship."

Perrilloux finished his first test with mixed results. The outcome underscored the Herculean task Perrilloux has in front of him. The lack of a supporting cast caused Perrilloux to throw the ball or carry it himself on 32 of the Gamecocks' first 37 snaps, including all seven plays in Jacksonville State's first touchdown drive.

And he made the mistakes characteristic of a guy trying to do too much. Perrilloux rushed for 67 yards and went 22 of 37 through the air for 136 yards, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Perrilloux's second and final touchdown pass came with 37 seconds left in the game.

"I (was) just trying to keep him from turning on himself, really," Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe said. "He wasn't blaming anybody, but he was extremely frustrated."

But he also never let his frustrations boil over while trying to lead an overmatched offense against one of the nation's top defensive lines. Although his teammates got involved in some after-the-whistle shenanigans in the fourth quarter, Perrilloux maintained his composure. He didn't start shoving or trash-talking after Georgia Tech linebacker Brad Jefferson hit him well out of bounds late in the third period.

Perrilloux's ability to keep his emotions in check didn't surprise his new teammates, who described a player far different from the troublemaker who spent much of the past two years at LSU making too many poor decisions.

"His leadership really showed through once he got here," Jacksonville State nose tackle Brandt Thomas said. "He took a lot of the younger guys, especially the young quarterbacks, under his wing and guided them a lot."

Thomas said he never had a concern that Perrilloux's history of off-field incidents at LSU would make him a distraction at Jacksonville State.

"With a lot of situations sometimes, things get blown out of proportion," Thomas said. "Sometimes it's just the people you surround yourself with. We felt a change of scenery would be good for him, and it turned out it has. He hasn't done one thing wrong. He's walked a straight and narrow line. We're pleased with him so far."

Perrilloux is going to have to maintain that attitude all season.

He never will play a college game nearly as big as the one he starred in last December at the Georgia Dome. He sealed his fate in that regard this spring when a series of transgressions got him kicked off LSU's team. Instead of leading LSU on its title defense, he's playing for a program that hasn't reached the Division I-AA playoffs since 2004. Yet he still boasts enough talent to turn this cautionary tale into a comeback story.

If he stays out of trouble and regains the form that once made him the darling of every college recruiter in the country, Perrilloux still might have an NFL future. If his Jacksonville State career concludes in the same humiliating fashion that marked the end of his LSU tenure, he might never take a snap after college.

Perrilloux arrived at LSU as the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback prospect in the 2005 recruiting class. But he was known more for his off-field woes before he filled in for an injured Matt Flynn and directed LSU to that SEC Championship Game victory over Tennessee. He was expected to take over the starting job this fall. Then he let the opportunity to quarterback the reigning national champions slip through his fingers.

LSU coach Les Miles dismissed Perrilloux from the team in the spring, though Perrilloux had begun his path out of Baton Rouge long before then.

He overslept and missed a mandatory team meeting six days after LSU beat Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game. He was involved in an off-field argument later in the spring, though Miles later dismissed that incident as overblown. He also had been questioned in a counterfeiting investigation and had used a fake ID to try getting onto a casino boat.

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports shortly after enrolling at Jacksonville State, Perrilloux disclosed that he was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder before the 2007 season. Perrilloux said his OCD caused some anxiety, but he has made no excuses for the behavior that resulted in his exit from LSU. Perrilloux's former teammates still believe in him.

"He's one of the best athletes I've eve been around," LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson said this summer at SEC Media Days. "As a person, he's a real good person."

Perrilloux is trying to put the past behind him. The only evidence of his LSU career Thursday was his purple-and-gold wristbands bearing the slogan "God Can't Fail." He didn't indicate any plans to watch his former team's opener Saturday against Appalachian State.

"That's not our focus," Perrilloux said. "Our focus right now is making adjustments and seeing what we've got to do to get better next week."

Perhaps he should watch the LSU game just to take notes on the Tigers' opponent. Appalachian State has proved just how far a quarterback with Perrilloux's skill set can take a I-AA program. Appalachian State won its third consecutive I-AA national championship last year behind Armanti Edwards, whose combination of running and throwing ability triggered the Mountaineers' 34-32 upset of Michigan last season.

Perrilloux isn't as polished as Edwards at this point in his career. He also doesn't have as much talent around him; Jacksonville State has gone 6-5 each of the past three seasons. But Perrilloux still just might be good enough to help the Gamecocks make the leap from mediocrity to playoff contention.

"I want to win a championship, and this team wants to win a championship," Perrilloux said. "From what I've seen tonight, we have an opportunity to win a championship."

No, it's not quite the same feeling as leading a team to an SEC title in the Georgia Dome. For now, though, it will have to do.

Steve Megargee is a national writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at smegargee@rivals.com.