By Joseph Halm
VSN Correspondent
Newman offensive tackle Brett Bordelon woke up bright and early on Wednesday and secured his football future with one click of a button.
Bordelon signed to continue his football career at LSU during a National Signing Day ceremony at Newman.
“It’s really a dream come true,” Bordelon said. “I’ve been committed for two years, so I’m just glad to finally see if fulfilled. Now, it’s a whole different game. The recruitment process is over, and it’s time to prepare for the upcoming season.”
The 6-foot-4, 300-pound lineman started all four years with the Greenies, and the consensus 3-star prospect was ranked as high as the No. 15 overall prospect in Louisiana according to Rivals and No. 23 by On3. However, all of those rankings were less important to Brett than playing with his older brother, Bo, in Tiger Stadium.
“I played with my brother my freshman year, and ever since then, I’ve been itching to get back to playing with him,” Brett said. “That has been a big motivator for me. On my first play in high school, we called a double team, and we pancaked a guy. You can’t recreate that connection with anybody else.”
Family tradition
Brett is also keeping a long family tradition alive as his father, Ben, played football at LSU from 1993-96. Ben started 31 games on the offensive line and earned All-SEC honors as a senior in 1996 before playing one season (1997) with the San Diego Chargers in the NFL, appearing in 16 games with two starts.
“As a former player and a dad, I’m very excited to have the boys together. I’m fortunate that he picked LSU and made my wife’s and my life a lot easier,” Ben said with a sly smile. “It’s a dream come true as a parent. I’m excited that they’ll have two seasons to play together and push each other and get better.”
Ben said he encouraged his son to make his own path and find his own way. Brett visited several other schools before committing to LSU nearly two years ago.
“LSU was one of my first few offers, and I didn’t take that for granted,” Brett said. “I went and visited a few other places, and those places were awesome. For a while, I thought about going to one of those places, but quickly that ended up changing. I’m just blessed to be in this position.”
Ben said the entire recruiting process — which included more mail and phone calls in the early 90s — has changed since he signed with the Tigers.
“Brett started getting recruited at the end of eighth grade,” Ben said. “It’s pretty amazing to me that they have the ability to forecast how these kids are going to grow and evolve at a young age. It’s a different era, so I just tried to keep my kids grounded on the important thing, which is to have fun in college and respect the opportunity to play.”
Brotherly connection
Newman coach Nelson Stewart said one of the unique things about Wednesday’s signing is that two brothers will have two more years to play football together.
“I think what is really awesome to me is this is the first time that we’ve had two brothers sign to play with each other in the SEC,” Stewart said. “Brett is as fine a lineman as I have ever coached. This football program has been around for a long time, but he is certainly at the top of or near the top of the list. He really was the driving force behind our undefeated regular season.”
Stewart praised his four-year starter for a relentless work ethic that made him a leader in the Greenies’ program.
“You hear so much about our skill players over the years, but to have a lineman sign with a SEC school is special,” Stewart said. “He transformed what we could do up front. He’s been a key part of all of our success. He protected the blindside for two really good quarterbacks. He helped us become more physical. He has left an everlasting mark on the program. As long as I’m here, he’ll be the benchmark when it comes to talking about elite offensive and defensive linemen.”
Brett said his years at Newman were special.
“It’s been a blessing coming to Newman,” he said. “The first time I came to Newman, I instantly loved the place. This year, as a captain, I wanted to motivate the guys to win a state championship. We fell short, but the stuff that we accomplished off the field and the connections that I made the past four years have really been special.”
Now, he wants to contribute immediately at LSU, saying that football is his No. 1 focus in part because he only has two years with his brother.
“I just want to work. I’m fully locked in,” Brett said.
That’s music to his father’s ears.
“It’s fun being a dad,” Ben said. “People often ask me if I miss it, and I can honestly say that I don’t because I have an opportunity to watch my kids and enjoy watching their successes. Today is truly special.”