The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum has exhibits and stories about Louisiana's sports greats.

Natchitoches is where history and fun blend with our state's rich sports culture.

Find travel planning tips@natchitoches.com.

Athletic greatness comes in all shapes and all sizes.

It doesn't come naturally, but is achieved from hard work, diligence and adversity along the journey.

There's opportunity and there's always struggle.

There is triumph and there is defeat.

And there is always a story behind the glory.

Hi everyone and welcome to LPB Studios for a special look at Louisiana sports icons.

I'm Victor Howell.

Earlier this year, LPB partnered with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame to broadcast the annual induction ceremony live from Natchitoches.

The 2025 class featured a diverse group, from football and boxing to gymnastics, basketball and beyond.

Celebrating the best of Louisiana sports legacy, we're spotlighting two inductees whose football careers have made them household names.

In 2000, LSU hired a relatively unknown head coach in East Lansing, Michigan, Nick Saban, whose short tenure at LSU would lead the Tigers to national prominence and forever leave a mark on the program.

LSU would be Saban's springboard to a legendary college football coaching career, ending with his retirement in 2024.

This summer, he returned to the Bayou State to join the 2025 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame class.

During the ceremony, I spoke with Coach Saban about his lasting admiration for LSU and Louisiana.

You'll enjoy this conversation.

In the world of sports.

There is often heated debate over the term greatest of all time, but most agree that when it comes to collegiate football coaches, Nick Saban is indeed the Goat.

We control it right here.

Our Nick Saban obviously is the best, football coach in college that ever coached.

We create.

Whether we win, we create, whether we lose.

You can't recruit the type of players he has without having, the ability to connect.

We're going to have an opportunity to win one more or two.

I don't know that I can explain in words alone.

I think everybody in Louisiana knows how he pushed his coaches.

We could spend hours listening his accolades and achievements from a coaching career that spanned four decades, including seven college football championship titles.

But his connection to the Bayou State is most hinged on that first championship trophy, claiming a BCS national title in 2003.

LSU wins the BCS National Championship.

His vision of what LSU should be and where we should compete at, you know, and where we need to be.

I think the expectations that he put into LSU football, then he would carry over today.

I was number one tight end in the country when I signed with LSU, and moving over the defensive end was very, very difficult for me at the age of 17, 18 years old.

And I had to trust him kind of blindly.

And it turned out to be right.

But you you would have a one hundreds of those stories where you strike the guy.

You got to strike him first.

After the 2004 season.

Nick had short lived intentions to carry his coaching success into the NFL.

He would eventually land back in the SEC.

It was a hard pill to swallow for LSU Tiger fans.

Building the University of Alabama to becoming a juggernaut of college football.

And what I would like for every football team to do that we play is to sit there and say, I hate playing against these guys.

Been around Coach Saban, playing for Coach Saban.

Just how good of a leader he is, how consistent he is and is earned.

Not giving.

When you play for Coach Saban I'm so proud of this guy for what he's done this year.

I can't even tell you former players, coaches, administrators, media professionals and even talking ducks, Aflac have all advanced in their respective career paths thanks to defining character traits that Saban preached every day.

Commitment, discipline.

Effort.

Toughness and pride.

Persistence.

Attention to detail and passion.

He has forever changed the landscape of football in America.

As an advocate for policy regarding college athletics, high school football, Louisiana puts out the most NFL players per capita.

But I think Nick Saban elevated that.

Player.

He has had a consistency in his work.

He elevates people.

You've got to remember how you got here and how hard it was and how tough of Nick Saban was the best there ever was.

Nothing takes the place of seeing the pride that the people have in the state of Louisiana.

There's no better feeling that I get when I see that in someone's eyes.

Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest of all time.

And Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Nick Saban.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Congratulations, coach.

Good to see you.

You know, one thing I'd like to say before I get to a question is, I'd like to thank all the people in the state of Louisiana.

The administration at LSU, who gave me an opportunity and trusted and believed in me like nobody else did.

That's the first job I ever had at LSU, and I was a pretty underwhelming hire here.

If you remember, in the year 2000 where everybody at the university, from our administrators, you know, Mark Emmert, the supporters, the the, the board of trustees, everybody at the university, including the fans, you know, sort of bought in and did the things that we need to do to have a successful program.

Because you might not remember, but when I took over, we were three and eight.

And and I always tell the story that, you know, we just go and turn into it at Michigan State.

And I was disappointed in our administration there because of their lack of commitment to what we wanted to accomplish and what we wanted to do.

So I was interested in the LSU job.

So Mark Emmert, Richard Gill, Charlie Weems, Stanley Jacobs comes and meets me in Memphis secretly to interview for this job.

And they offered me the job, but I said, I can't take the job.

I've never been to LSU before.

I don't know what it's like.

So and I can't go for an interview because they find out publicly at Michigan State that I'm thinking of going someplace else.

They'll absolutely crucify me.

So I send Miss Terry this this is the God truth to interview.

And Everett Marks wife showed her around for two days.

They saw billboard of who everybody who LSU wanted to hire.

My name wasn't on there.

But anyway, she spent two days.

So I called and I say, what would you think?

And she said, man, this place needs a lot of work.

She said, the stadium is in bad shape.

They don't know academic facilities.

They have no academic support center.

The players are not doing well academically.

She said you have to get in a bus and ride to practice every day from the campus, because the facilities are separated.

The coaches offices are in a bank building and very unimpressive.

I don't know how you would recruit there, but she said, I went in the weight room today and they got some damn good looking players.

So that's how I took the job.

But then when I got there and I saw what she saw without seeing any players before I went into a press conference, I went in a corner and talked on the phone and I said, Terry, this is not really what I thought it might be.

After your interview.

And she said, put your big boy pants on and get your ass in the press conference and go to work.

So that's what we did.

That's how you got down here.

By the way, four minutes in.

This is the best interview I've ever done.

Just put that down right there.

When you talk about when you talk about having the players, one of them, we just asked him about being here with you as a coach.

But your thoughts of the impact of the player, like an Andrew Whitworth and the Marcus Spears to how you got to the success.

So fast.

And Ben, I know Andrew Whitworth's parents have to be proud of him, but there's nobody else in this room more proud of him because he is everything that I ever wanted a player to turn out to be.

He's a great person.

Graduated from school, had a great career at LSU and a great career in the NFL.

And, you know, that was always what we tried to establish for our players is that they were going to have a chance to be more successful in life because they were involved in the program.

You know, how we developed them as people.

The importance of developing a career off the field, the work and commitment it took to develop a career on the field and have success.

And Andrew epitomizes that.

But there's a lot of other players that were at LSU, that because of his leadership and some of the other fine leadership that we had on the team and with the coaches.

But it was the commitment that the university made the Tiger Athletic Foundation, our administration, you can't get recognized into a Hall of Fame without thanking all the people who contributed to the success that you had.

And we had a tremendous amount of support at LSU.

And there probably.

Was never a place where I was given an opportunity to be trusted.

And people bought into what we were trying to do and set the table so that we could do it.

And then there was no greater feeling in my life professionally to that point.

When we won the national championship in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and saw on some city LSU up there and made everybody in this state proud, and that was that was my best professional moment to that point in my career.

And the standards that you said, I know was always tough to come back with Alabama, but you set those standards.

You knew what you were going to get out of LSU.

And I know the LSU fans will always appreciate what you did, and it's nice to hear how much you appreciated your time in the capital city wearing purple and gold.

Well, I appreciate it, but one thing that I think that I learned is, you know, our first championship was in 2001.

We won the SEC championship, and it had been a while since LSU won one, but that was the first championship I ever won.

And I think we can apply this to our life.

You know, once you accomplish something, it sets a new horizon.

It sets a new standard.

And then in 2003, when we won the national championship, that's when a new horizon and a new standard.

And to me, that contributed.

And I'm very proud of the fact that that contributed to the iconic brand that LSU has and the state of Louisiana has, because a lot of people in this country look at this state through the athletic programs at LSU.

And I think we raised the bar and raised the standard and Skip Berkman had a lot to do with this because he was the athletic director, and he and I went and raised $15 million in three months to build an academic center.

So our players graduate.

But that was a part of the commitment to success.

But but I think that all of us, when we get rid of some of the self-imposed limitations that we have and we accomplish something of significance, maybe small significance, it's a new horizon and you do it the next time, and it's another new horizon.

And then all of a sudden it becomes the standard.

It becomes a standard for you, but it becomes an example for a lot of other people.

And through transformation and leadership and serving other people for their benefit, you can really help other people have a chance to reach those horizons as well.

So with that, I appreciate being recognized here, but I'm really, really proud.

Every time I see LSU all the time I coach at Alabama, I know it was a great rivalry, but I was always proud because I felt like we did something to raise the bar here, and the program has been outstanding ever since, and that's why he's the best in the business.

Head coach Nick Saban everybody congratulations, coach.

Thank you.

Stay right here with the winner.

Bring everybody.

It was great seeing Coach Saban back in Louisiana and without the Crimson shirt as part of LPB annual Hall of Fame coverage.

We're excited to share our third season of the interview series Behind the Glory.

This series features intimate conversations with WNBA legend Vickie Johnson, high school coach and greats Dale Weiner and Danny Broussard, Joe Sherman of Delgado Baseball, LSU gymnastics star April Burkholder, and other honorees from the 2025 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame class, one of which is this chat between Hall of Fame broadcaster Lynn Rollins and LSU NFL standout as Super Bowl champ Andrew Whitworth.

Andrew Whitworth has been an unstoppable force on the gridiron at the high school, collegiate and professional level.

He always poured into other guys.

We like to have an influence on people.

Nicknamed Big Win for a reason.

The six foot seven, 330 pound West Monroe High School tight end would transition to offensive linemen under the coaching of Hall of Famer Don Charles and go be a great college player and you know he'll have a chance.

Maybe play it the other way.

He was a part of three high school state championship teams with the rebels when it was always one.

It was in tune with his body.

He always wanted to perform at his highest level.

There are many reasons why Andrew Whitworth is in the 2025 Sports Hall of Fame class here in Louisiana.

A couple of them state titles at West Monroe, a national championship at LSU.

Super Bowl champion with the Los Angeles Rams.

But I want you to recollect a time when you were knocked on your backside by a girl at, Washita Christian Middle School.

You have made Molly Harper famous.

Yeah.

Well, she should be, coach, coach Harper's daughter, Molly Harper.

You know, was my first time.

Really?

I played Elam in elementary.

I played, one year in fourth grade.

I played football, and I didn't really like it, so I didn't go back out.

And finally, I got talked into.

Hey, you need to play real football.

You know, forget Pop Warner stuff.

Come up and play junior year going into junior high, she can play out on the team.

And I was a basketball baseball guy.

I wasn't that excited about going out there.

Put the pads on.

I went out there and I like, you're the biggest kid.

You're going to be great at football.

When it came my time to go in line, I realized that the person I was going against had really long hair, and I had not noticed that a lot of boys at that time.

Sure enough, it was the coach's daughter, Molly Harper.

She was our middle linebacker and probably our best player, and she tracked me.

She did.

You know, the next thing I knew, I was staring up at the sky, wondering why I was in humidity, covered in grass or in full pads and, you know, I always tell young kids that story when I get to go to schools, because I know that's not an urban myth.

No, it's not an urban myth.

I want them to understand that, you know, listen, even somebody like me that you look up to, that's playing professional football, and you think that's the world.

The first time I tried this, I was pretty low on the totem pole.

A football qualities I got ran over by the coaches daughter.

You have spoken about your love of participating.

And heartily recommend to parents that children participate in more than one sport, whether it be baseball or football or basketball.

But.

But the more sports you can participate in, the more it helps all of the sports and the person's character.

Yeah, I think it's really important to continue to challenge yourself.

You look at some of the most successful people in the world.

It's really that ability to continue to grow and adapt and to never say that I'm a finished product.

And I think in young people, how do we prepare them for that?

We prepare that, we prepare them for that by continuing to challenge their ability to learn new tasks, let them try and kind of push them to try other things in other mechanics, because they're going to eventually learn how to master lots of different things if they do that.

And when they get into that sport, they want to be great at all the new challenges and the new things they're going to have to learn how to do will come easier because they're someone who's been trained to learn how to do that.

You went through, a radical change in your position and as a you were being recruited by LSU, and you spoken about you love Florida, you took some other trips.

You you had opportunities, obviously.

And then Nick Saban convinced you to go from tight end to offensive tackle.

What was that like at that time of your life as you're being recruited nationally?

You know, it's one of those things where as a young kid, when you're you're in high school and college offers start coming in, your ego gets pretty big, and you think a lot of yourself and in you, mostly you see people in and recruiting.

No different than in dating when you're trying to find the pretty girl or she's trying to find that man that she likes.

There's a lot of compliments.

And so you don't hear a lot of truth all the time.

Like someone who's really going to challenge you on something you need to improve.

And I'll never forget, Nick Saban was the one coach who sat in my living room with my parents and said, listen, he could play tight end and I'm sure that might work out for him.

But if he play tackle, I think he's going to have a lot of success for a really long time.

And he could play this game far past college football.

And you know, I don't know if Nick Saban's done a lot of things right in his life, but I guess he was right about that one.

At LSU, Big Witt set a school record for 52 starts with 920 snaps, 62 knockdowns and 23 pancakes.

Meyer whip out a lot of days in practice, and I knew he was going to be an exceptional football player.

And in college and in the pros, that was Nick Saban's first class.

Yeah, they set a standard here for the future players at LSU.

He started all 14 games at tackles and LSU was magical.

2003 championship season.

He missed only one practice during his entire career, and that was to attend his graduation ceremony.

He was a second round NFL draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, where he redefined left tackle play.

Walker.

Instead, the pass out here to the tackle eligible Andrew Whitworth for the touchdown Whitworth was not just good, but a perennial All-Pro, capping off a 16 year career in the league as a champion with the Los Angeles Rams.

I think the steadiness at which he handled things, whether it was good or whether we were working through some challenging moments he always used to talk about, hey, this is a blessing.

It's never a burden.

And that was the approach that he took every single day.

But a defining moment of his career came after that Super Bowl celebration.

Sitting on a confetti field at SoFi Stadium floor with his family.

That was daddy's last football game.

That's it.

No more.

I'll be home with you guys.

For me, it wasn't about celebration and running around crazy.

It was about reflection.

That was the best way I could relate to them in that moment is that they'll have that memory forever of they would see me running around, celebrate my teammates.

But how about they'll remember my dad won the Super Bowl and the first thing he did is he got on the ground and he got eye level with all of us, and we reflected and shared a moment together, and I wanted to do that for them.

Tell me about the parts of Louisiana that you took with you all across the country, Cincinnati and LA of course, as your homes at that time, but visiting other beautiful, magnificent cities across the land.

What was the curiosity factor about you as a Louisiana and and what did you bring to them?

Well, I think the first thing somebody's going to say to you is probably how you talk or the way you say words and different things, of course, but it's also the food, the fellowship, the culture we have and of having a great time.

And did you ever convince people to eat crawfish and alligator?

Yeah, we took them everywhere.

There's actually I lucked out that that, there was a restaurant in Cincinnati who got 90 pound on the bayou.

And, that chef was from West Wing Rural High School.

Believe it or not, I moved up there.

That was a part of what we wanted to do.

I mean, our food and our culture is is a lot of what who we are and that acceptance of everybody.

And we want everybody to feel a part of something bigger than themselves.

And so that was important to us.

Everywhere we played.

Big win wasn't just a mountain of a man, but also had an equally exceptional character, always showing humility and leadership to his teammates and community.

We will rebuild L.A. hand-in-hand together, because he's the only person to ever wear the Walter Payton Man of the year patch, be able to win a Super Bowl and go out that way.

He's the epitome of a special one and a Hall of Famer.

It's not just the competitiveness, it's the selflessness.

It's the servant's heart that he has.

He is the ultimate blend of dominance and decency.

And he joins.

Is West Monroe head coach the late Dan Charles, as a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

None of us know when the moment is going to present itself.

The key is to always be available when it does.

Andrew, one of the things, and I'm speaking personally now that bring me joy when I look into your eyes, is realizing that you won the Walter Payton Man of the year award, which may be the most significant award in all of sports in terms of doing for others.

I know it's not something you set out to do, but I also know it meant the world to you when you were named the Walter Payton Man of the year, he did, because it was a really a reflection on my wife and on his passion, to make a difference in any situation we walk into, whether that was a community in Cincinnati or hometowns in Louisiana or those last five years in Los Angeles.

I thought of it as really, honestly, a culmination of just all those things put together.

You know, you think of Melissa was a miss Louisiana, here in 2003.

And, you know, Make-A-Wish was her really her platform and something she'd been a part of granting wishes and doing that her whole life and myself, since early days in Cincinnati, had been a part of the community.

And her and I started a foundation together in Louisiana, giving out college scholarships and then to to Cincinnati and to LA.

And the things we got to do there, that really our passion in life is not just to chase our own success, but to say, hey, as we succeed, what are some ways that we can make impact for other people?

To one, have the dreams to go to succeed themselves, but to also feel like they're possible?

It's capable.

It can happen, you know, and what are ways we can meet them?

Because I think sometimes so much in that community space, people want to give people things.

I don't want to give people things.

I want to find out what people need.

I want to go be able to say, hey, where is it that you're at?

What is it that I can do to give you a step or to give you a push, or to help you feel inspired?

To us that was really important.

So to be honored for that, something that I think to me is one of the greatest things I'll ever have been a part of.

Thanks to Andrew for that heartfelt conversation.

And remember, you can watch all Behind the Glory episodes on the LPB website.

Hey, before we go, LPB is excited to announce that we are expanding our coverage of Louisiana sports by kicking off a brand new series.

It's called Game Notes, covering weekly matchups of your favorite Louisiana college football teams hosted by me and former New Orleans Saint and Super Bowl champ Scott Shanley.

We'll get you ready for games and tell stories on Saturday morning, and we will wrap up all of the action on post-game notes on Sunday nights.

So keep up with all of LPB sports programing, including past the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, behind the Glory and game notes by visiting lpb.org.

We hope you enjoyed this special presentation and on behalf of everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting, we'll see you next time under the stadium lights.

And.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum as exhibits and stories about Louisiana sports.

Great Natchitoches is where history and fun blend with our state's rich sports culture.

Find travel planning tips@natchitoches.com.