Ryan Perrilloux

Ryan Anthony Perrilloux (born January 1, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), Arena Football League (AFL), and Ligue Élite de Football Américain in France.

He played college football at LSU and Jacksonville State.

Perrilloux had one of the most dominating prep careers in state history at East St. John High School in Reserve, Louisiana, totaling 12,705 yards of offense (9,025 passing; 3,680 rushing), which ranks second all-time for total offense.

His 9,025 passing are fourth on the state's all-time passing list.

In his four years at East St. John, Perrilloux had a total of 155 touchdowns (84 passing, 71 rushing).

He racked up a Louisiana high school record 5,006 total yards of offense as a senior, including 3,546 yards passing and 1,460 yards rushing.

In his final high school game in the state playoffs versus Evangel Christian Academy, Perrilloux accounted for 495 yards of offense.

He won the 2004 Hall Trophy as the nation's most outstanding high school football player and was named "Offensive Player of the Year" by USA Today.

He was also named National Offensive Player of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus, Ohio, Louisiana's Mr. Football and Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year as well as a PARADE All-American.

Perrilloux got invited to the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp as well as to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

A three-sport athlete at East St. John, Perrilloux also played small forward for the basketball team and centerfield for the baseball team.

As one of the nation's top football prospects, Perrilloux was heavily recruited during his high school career.

Very early, Louisiana State University and the University of Texas at Austin emerged as the frontrunners for his commitment.

On July 26, 2004, Perrilloux verbally committed to Texas, pairing with Colt McCoy as Texas's quarterback recruit.

Texas head coach Mack Brown had not been able to recruit quarterbacks in his past two recruiting classes, since some of the best Texas prep QBs – like Rhett Bomar and Kirby Freeman – committed to out-of-state colleges, which is why Brown was particularly interested in signing Perrilloux.

After remaining committed to Texas up to signing day, Perrilloux caved to local pressure publicly announced he would attend Louisiana State to much pomp and circumstance.

New LSU head coach Les Miles only had the job for a few weeks, and Perrilloux was considered the cornerstone of a relatively small recruiting class.

Perrilloux held a news conference on signing day and proclaimed he would win the Heisman Trophy as a true freshman.

A reporter asked him, "What about JaMarcus Russell?"

Russell was the current LSU starting QB at the time.

Perrilloux made the famous quip "Jamarcus Who?"

Perrilloux was considered the top quarterback prospect of the 2005 high school class alongside Mark Sanchez of Mission Viejo High School.

Some recruiting experts called him the most dangerous offensive weapon in the nation, noting his strong arm, quick release and pinpoint accuracy.

Despite claims of competing for the Heisman Trophy as a true freshman, Perrilloux redshirted the 2005 season in order to learn the complex Jimbo Fisher offense.

As the third-string quarterback for the 2006 Tigers behind juniors JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn, Perrilloux saw only limited playing time in 2006.

In a game versus Louisiana-Lafayette on September 2, he completed his only pass of the 2006 season.

It was reported by a Baton Rouge TV station on May 23, 2006, that Perrilloux desired to transfer to a junior college or Grambling State University.

The story was quickly refuted by Perrilloux and his family, as well as LSU coach Les Miles.

The Times-Picayune reported on January 11, 2007, that Perrilloux was a "person of interest" in a Federal investigation being conducted in New Orleans, Louisiana.

However, Federal representatives could neither confirm nor deny this story.

Although he had not been accused of any crime, Perrilloux retained the services of Baton Rouge attorney Nathan Fisher.

On May 22, 2007, LSU head coach Les Miles suspended Perrilloux from the football team indefinitely after the player was issued a misdemeanor summons by police when he allegedly tried to use his brother's driver's license to get onto the Hollywood Casino gambling boat.

Further, Miles told reporters they would not be permitted to talk to Perrilloux until he did something in a game that was worth discussing.

However, Miles reinstated Perrilloux in time for preseason practice.

Perrilloux was one of the candidates to replace JaMarcus Russell as LSU starting quarterback, but lost out to the more experienced Matt Flynn, a senior.

On September 15, Perrilloux had his first start at quarterback for LSU, because Miles decided to rest regular starter Matt Flynn, who had sprained his right ankle a week earlier and whose participation in practice had been limited since.

In a 44–0 rout against Middle Tennessee Perrilloux threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 20 of 25 attempts.

On October 25, Perrilloux, teammate Derrick Odom and others were involved in a fight at The Varsity, a Baton Rouge nightclub.

On October 31, 2007, Odom and Jeremy Benton were dismissed from the team.

Perrilloux remained on the squad, but was suspended for LSU's game against Alabama.