Nearly a dozen LSU football standouts will be headed out of the country later this month.
The program is participating for the first time in a study abroad program developed for student-athletes, with 11 Tigers players set to travel to Dakar, Senegal for eight days.
The list of players includes:
- RB Noah Cain
- WR Chris Hilton
- OT Emory Jones
- WR Malik Nabers
- LB West Weeks
- RB Josh Williams
- DT Mekhi Wingo
- OL Bo Bordelon
- WR Javen Nicholas
- DL Fitzgerald West
- LS Slade Roy
“One of the things that I have tried to do since coming to LSU is to not only set the standards and the process of building a program that graduates champions, but to help our players establish an identity outside of football,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said. “To get the opportunity to study abroad is an experience that student-athletes really don’t get the chance to do so for our players to be able to participate in this unique educational program is something that I think will have a lifelong impact on them."
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Kelly continues: “I want our players to have the opportunity to see things from a different perspective and to really take ownership in their studies and to understand that there’s much more out there than just being a football player."
The group of LSU student-athletes will be led by LSU's Senior International Officers Samba Dieng and Dr. Sarah Becker, director of CCELL and associate professor of sociology and women’s, gender, & sexuality studies.
The goal of the program is stated as "to implement global and in-state service learning elements to their coursework."
The initiative is a new one for LSU, but it does follow the student-first mindset and dedication to the classroom that Kelly often trumpets as a head coach. It appears to have resonated thus far, with the Tigers surprising many with a run to an SEC West title in his debut season. The program has high hopes for Year 2, which will be pinned on the performances of several of the team leaders headed overseas this month.
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