By Ryne Hancock
SouthernPigskin.com

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Growing up in Baton Rouge, the decision for blue blood offensive tackle La’El Collins was easy.

When people think of Les Miles, the first thing that is always brought up is his zany playcalling, which sent LSU fans on a rollercoaster ride in 2010.

Success and recruiting acumen?

Always overlooked.

But in the tradition of his predecessors, Miles has managed to keep Louisiana’s best in-state and in the process, have a top 10 recruiting class year in and year out.

One of the best in the state, La’El Collins, an offensive lineman at Baton Rouge’s Redemptorist Catholic High, rated on Rivals.com as the #6 prospect in the Class of 2011, choosing to be an LSU Tiger wasn’t a difficult decision.

“When you grow up in Baton Rouge,” Collins said, “people here eat, drink, and bleed LSU football. It’s embedded into your DNA.”

The 6-5, 285-pound standout, who participated in the Under Armour All-Star Game in Tampa recently, chose the Tigers over Tennessee, Florida State, Auburn, and Florida.

“I chose the Tigers because of my faith in Coach Miles,” he said, “Players love playing for him and not only that, it’s a chance to play for the hometown team.”

Collins, when asked about Michigan’s second attempt at going after Miles, said wholeheartedly there was no way that Miles would have made the jump to Ann Arbor.

“With the talented class that he signed for this year, there was little belief that he was going to leave,” he said, “He and his family loves it here and I think for the most part he wants to be LSU’s coach for life.”

With several of his teammates heading to schools like Auburn and Florida, Collins said that the home games against the aforementioned schools are red-letter games for him personally.

“There are several local guys here in Baton Rouge that chose those schools over us, and with me being a local guy, I want to send a message to them.”