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William Cary Koch

His mother was a five-time national champion with the LSU track and field squad in the early 1990s. His father ran the football for the Tigers during the Archer and Hallman eras. As a freshman, Odell Beckham Jr. charged out of the gate and became the first LSU receiver since Bennie Brazil in 2005 to record back-to-back games with receiving touchdowns of 50-yards or more. This season, Odell Beckham Jr. continues to make a name for himself as Zach Mettenberger’s top target.

With the high school career you had at Newman in New Orleans, and the chances you had to play all over the country, why did you choose LSU?

 This was the right place for me and really the only place for me. I bleed purple-and-gold and I always have, so I can’t even think of being anywhere else. This is where I am supposed to be.

With one season under your belt and a bunch of games as a fan, what are the differences between sitting in the stands for a game and stepping on the field?

As much as I loved being in the stadium as a fan, there’s nothing like coming out of the tunnel as a player and feeding off the energy our fans give you. As soon as you come out before a game, it’s so loud and it feels like the stadium is shaking all around you. That’s something I’ll never forget.

With the talent at LSU, when you got here and saw who was at receiver, did you expect to step in and contribute? Did your successful freshman season surprise you a little?

I felt blessed with the opportunity I got to play as much as I did from the beginning. Everything kind of fell into place and happened the way it happened. I definitely didn’t expect to be playing as much as I did, so when I was out there I wanted to make sure I was doing whatever I could to help my team.

You, your fellow receivers and Zach Mettenberger have lit up Twitter with messages about the ‘Fab 5’ since soon after last season ended. What’s that all about?

That’s something that we live by and it keeps us motivated at all times. Every day, we compete with each other as hard as we can, and Zach is there pushing us, too. Each of us wants to be the best in our group.

Losing Rueben Randle obviously hurts, but is it possible this receiving corps might be even better with the depth you guys have?

With our group, we have we don’t need a go-to receiver. We all have special skills and different talents. We’ve got several guys who are deep guys. We have a lot of ways to make up for Rueben not being here. If the defense doesn’t focus on one guy like they did Rueben, we have a lot of ways to beat them.

How pumped up are you to step on the field with Zach Mettenberger as your quarterback?

He’s stepped into his role and has really embraced it. He has an NFL arm. It’s crazy the way he throws the ball. He’s a great quarterback, and it’s going to be big-time to get a chance to catch balls from him.