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“I think this is a very key hire and a great day for LSU football. I think there is an opportunity to add a very fine football coach and a quality man to our staff. They style of experience that Cam Cameron brings is of someone who has been a head coach in college and in the NFL. He’s called plays, really for a career. He has a great background. Not many times you can say that one guy played basketball for Bobby Knight and coached with Bo Schemblecher. I think he will bring a lot to the table. Personally, I enjoy that fact that he and I have a lifetime relationship. One that started at Michigan, where we shared an office, and continues to stay as our families are intertwined. I think that he comes in to do and add to us and builds on what we have accomplished.
“That is not take anything away from the very positive contributions that Greg Studrawa had in the last two years as offensive coordinator. But he returns to the line where he will give us the same strength and experience with what we’ve done in the past. Steve Kragthorpe, we are adjusting his responsibilities. He is still going to give us every opportunity at an administrative task. He has great experience with football. I think with the new rules that are changing in college allowing for differing style of responsibilities by administrative personal, he is a guy that can be invaluable to us as we look forward. This is a move where we are adding and not subtracting. We are thrilled.”
On the personal relationship between Coach Miles and Cam Cameron…
“It is interesting. Somebody asked if we have gone over that. No we haven’t gone over that or a bunch of stuff. What ends up happening when you talk football and personal life over years, you understand what is a common philosophy and a common theme. What a great experience two young coaches had at Michigan. Following Bo Schemblecher around and listening to everything that he said. Be a part of a team effort, do our part and end up being part of a time at Michigan where we won five straight championships. Shared or won. It is an amazing thing how well you know somebody, but did not talk about it. You just grew in a like position. I was all smiles because I realized what Cam Cameron will do for us.”
On bringing in Cam Cameron…
“I wanted to bring in somebody that was going to make us better. I just didn’t want to bring in a guy. I certainly knew that when Cam became available, that there was an outside chance that he might be available to us. I sent him a text immediately, which would not be uncommon anyway because of our relationship. It fell together exactly right. How it came together benefitted us. He’s made a real commitment to be here. He is not a short term thinker. He is a guy that gives vision to an amount of time.”
On the new position for Steve Kragthorpe…
“First of all, Steve is in an administrative role, a non-coaching role and an off of the field position. He is going to be able to share our offense with expertise with Cam. He turns over some of those responsibilities. It is also with new rules on the horizon; it appears that there is an opportunity for him to expand into some of those spots. It would be a little in front of me to tell you that I know exactly those rules. They are up to interpretations. We just had a head coaches meeting in Birmingham. It is obvious in the room that there is a lot of indecision. What they have done, the NCAA has not only change rules but they have changed the way college football can be done. How this interpretation will affect us, it is nice to have a guy like Steve Kragthorpe. A guy who has had head coaching experience, who has run major college programs and who could be in a position to help us administratively.”
On whether Coach Cameron will be on the field or in the booth…
“I think certainly that would be up to Cam. I think that for us he might do better for us with vision from the box, but that is something that Cam will have last word on. I don’t think it makes a great deal of difference.”
On the offensive improvements…
“I guess there are some strengths that we have and I think Cam spoke to personnel abilities. In other words, what a quarterback does and what a tailback does. There will be an ability for him to change and restructure. I think there is a need to serve the guy in our team that knows our offense. The disruption in our thinking is not something that we are looking to do. We want to use Cam’s concepts as it is appropriate and how it fits what we have done in the past. I guess what I am saying is that we have some inherent strengths. Reviewing our personal and being more efficient can rapidly make a difference offensively.”
On the state of the program…
“We’ve been pretty good. Minus a minute and a half in two games, we finish out maybe a team that played in the conference championship game and maybe a team that played in the national championship. With that being said, good is not good enough. We want to be a great team. We opened a meeting yesterday to the team, and I pointed to a championship ring. The last time there was a conference champion besides last Dec. was us. This program is designed for championships. We want to be in the last game. There was a lot of great time coming up in college football. Certainly a national opportunity to see a national championship next year, but then in two years with the tournament, I think there is an open eye to wanting to play our best football then. I think this is a next level opportunity for Coach Cameron to help us. Every year starts brand new. We just spent an hour and a half on what will be our coaches’ workouts. Our team has to come to life, develop leadership and take some of the steps that other great teams around here have taken. The process is a long one, but yes without missing steps and without skipping to the end of the year, this move is designed to put us in line with a championship.”
