Putting it on his shoulders – Jarvis Landry is ready to lead

Photos provided by LSU Sports information.

When Jarvis “Juice” Landry walks into the room, all the attention turns to him. The junior wide receiver from Convent, La., has an infectious, yards-wide smile. And yet, when it comes to football, that fun guy in the locker room turns into a confident and strong wide receiver who can make the play of the game.

Last year, he led the team in receptions and touchdowns and caught at least one pass in all but one game. This year, Landry is looking to give his stats and his team a little juice to get to the next level.

The 2013 season could be his breakout, and he doesn’t mind making a bold claim or two before it begins.

It started coming out of my freshman year, going into my sophomore year. A former player, Josh Dworaczyk, called me that. He’d been part of the program for six years. The energy that he said I brought to practice, the life that I brought to him, giving him that joy about coming out here every day … and I just gave him that energy. He called it juice. I just ran with it for a little while.

We’ve got to buy into the system. It’s a whole new system. We’ve got to trust in the guys who are around the program and on the field with us. We do understand that it’s not all on [offensive coordinator] Cam [Cameron]’s shoulders. Now that we’ve got an offensive coordinator, people feel like things are just going to change. We have to put in the work and the time to make Cam look good. In doing so, Cam makes us look good. It’s a “you scratch my back, I scratch your back” type of thing. We can only go uphill from here.

For me, being consistent basically means being able to make every play on the field. Being able to grant the chances from [quarterback] Zach [Mettenberger], Coach Cam, and the offensive staff, being able to come through. Last year, I wasn’t consistent enough early on. We struggled. I put it on my shoulders as a player. I took this offseason to get better, not only on the field, but in the weight room and in the film room. I think that’s going to pay off so much this fall.

That’s a great thing. I’m excited about this season. I can’t wait for it to come. It’s coming fast. At the same time, being underrated—a lot of people don’t understand, I feel, what’s behind these colors. We play for our state and our family, but every year, we’re going to contend for the national championship. I think sometimes when great players leave, it gets overlooked that there are still talented players in the program. I don’t have much to say about it, but just, this upcoming fall, we’re going to give you something to look at.

Anywhere from 12 to 15. I plan on scoring once or twice a game. That’s a guarantee. I’m not playing.