PALMER: Wilson’s future should be in Baton Rouge

By Hunt Palmer

Frank Wilson didn’t offer a comment on his future at LSU on Tuesday.

Here’s mine. Lane Kiffin should make Wilson’s return to staff a priority.

College football has undergone massive change over the last decade. Conferences look different. The playoff is bigger. Signing windows have shifted. The transfer portal has rocked rosters. Players get paid. First it was under the table from boosters. Then it was unlimited from collectives. Now it’s under review by the clearinghouse. Somehow or another, Indiana and Vanderbilt became great programs.

Amid all the change, one thing remained the same — LSU needs New Orleans.

Staffs pre-Wilson recruited the 504, and staffs will do the same long after he’s gone. Wilson doesn’t own the key to the city. He just knows everyone in it, and that shouldn’t be minimized. The native New Orleanian has spent a coaching career cultivating those relationships in the way that some coaches have developed philosophies on offense and defense.

Instead of Xs and Os, Wilson’s white board is neighborhoods and high schools. From the ninth ward to the Westbank, they know Coach Frank. That’s not to diminish Wilson’s football acumen. The man has been a head coach now at three different colleges. It’s the highlight of one of his greatest attributes and its importance to LSU’s program.

Try to imagine recent LSU teams without Leonard Fournette, Tyrann Mathieu, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Odell Beckham Jr., Trai Turnern or Donte Jackson.

Consider the talent pouring out over the last few years. The one’s LSU got in Richard Anderson, Aiden Hall, Jabari Mack, Harlem Berry and Aaron Anderson. And the ones that have gotten out like Jahkeem Stewart, Arch Manning and, well, Aaron Anderson.

The faucet never turns off, and Wilson has proven adept and funneling the production up the river to Baton Rouge.

He doesn’t do it all. LSU’s head coach, support staff and brand help. He doesn’t get them all. The allure of going off to college or big NIL figures sometimes win out. He’s not the only man for the job. Other running backs coaches can recruit.

But he’s a proven commodity, and he’s been in the building for 10 years with two staffs. And if he’s not retained, he’ll be in another building in short order. Some have suggested Ole Miss may call. He’s been there before and helped land players like Mike Wallace. Rumors are he could fill Texas’s vacant running backs slot. Does LSU want Wilson’s relationships to be backed by that Longhorn war chest a state over?

No, thanks.

Kiffin watched Wilson go get Anthony Johnson’s commitment in the short time they shared a staff at Tennessee. Johnson’s college and pro careers didn’t match his hype out of high school, but he was as big a recruit as any over the last 15 years, and Wilson had him packing his bags for Rocky Top. Jarvis Landry, from just up the road (or down the bayou), was probably next.

Some point to LSU’s lack of a running game and pin that on Wilson. I’m not buying that. He seemed to coach Jeremy Hill, Fournette and Darrius Guice rather well. LSU’s scheme and offensive line didn’t allow for the backs to get going. On the contrary, nearly every back under Kiffin gets going, so my doubts about running back development stop there. Jacob Hester, who knows a thing or two about running backs, often says, “You can either run it, or you can’t. Can’t teach carrying the ball.”

I’ll take his word for it.

Kevin Smith has been a trusted running backs coach for Kiffin for nearly a decade. He’s known as a great recruiter, and the Rebels have run the rock very well. I understand why Kiffin would want him in Baton Rouge. I also understand why Pete Golding would want him in Oxford. If Smith does take the job at LSU, I have no reason to believe he can’t recruit New Orleans or develop backs.

I would understand the move and disagree with it at the same time.

If Kiffin can’t land Smith and moves on from Wilson to conduct a search while potentially harming some relationships in the New Orleans high school ranks, I think it will be a mistake.

Many were ready to move on from Corey Raymond four years ago. We see how foolish that was now.

History shouldn’t repeat itself.