Coach Brian Kelly said Friday that the arrest of LSU running back JT Lindsey should serve as a reminder for his players to “keep your circle really close.”
Lindsey, a freshman from Alexandria, is suspended from team activities because he’s facing one charge of accessory after the fact to second degree murder. He is not accused of partaking in the alleged crime — only housing the two suspects who are. The tailback’s lawyer, Kris Perrett, has said that Lindsey was not aware the two individuals were wanted by law enforcement when he allowed them to stay in his on-campus apartment in July.
“Well, this is all about who is in your circle, right?” Kelly said. “I'm not concerned about our university and the security and such. This is about who you give access to in in your circle, right? I mean, your circle of influence has gotta be based upon people that you trust, people that know you and you know them. And that circle needs to really be evaluated by some players and some individuals.
“It's not just players. It's anybody that can gain access through what you have, right?”
The two suspects — Shemell Jacobs, 17, and Keldrick Jordan, 18 — were arrested at LSU’s Nicholson Gateway apartments on Aug. 4 in connection with the shooting death of 17-year-old Corey Brooks in Alexandria.
According to the affidavit for Lindsey’s arrest, Jacobs and Jordan were seen entering and exiting the apartment with Lindsey. Police also found that Jacobs had Lindsey’s ID when he was taken into custody.
The warrant for Lindsey’s arrest says investigators believe the LSU freshman knew that Jacobs and Jordan were wanted for their alleged role in the shooting.
Lindsey turned himself in to LSU Police on Aug. 8.
“They're making revenue share money,” Kelly said. “They're targets too. People want to ingratiate themselves with people that are making substantial amounts of money, so you've got to be careful.”
Lindsey enrolled at LSU as a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports composite rankings, rated as one of the nation’s 10 best running backs.
His suspension left the Tigers with three scholarship running backs, so Kelly and his staff decided to move sophomore Ju’Juan Johnson back to that position after he started practicing as a quarterback in the offseason and preseason camp.
“We're in an age where you know you've got to keep your circle really close,” Kelly said. “It's got to be family members, it's got to be people that you elicit information from in a manner of mentoring you. You start to widen that circle because somebody said nice things to you on Twitter, buyer beware. And that's really the message to our team.”
