Ja’Marr Chase has become a legitimate superstar for the Cincinnati Bengals as a rookie.
He had 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season and has continued a great connection with Joe Burrow that began at LSU.
Chase and the Bengals are speaking with the media leading up to this weekend’s AFC Championship Game and the receiver shared an interesting story about his past.
What's something that motivated Ja'Marr Chase to be the player he is today? "Les Miles told me I couldn’t play receiver when I was coming out of high school…" @WLWT #Bengals #LSU pic.twitter.com/e5699LnoE6
— Brandon Saho (@BrandonSaho) January 26, 2022
It turns out former LSU and Kansas head coach Les Miles told Chase he could not play receiver.
That may explain why Miles is out of a job while Chase is dominating in the NFL.
The Timeline Of Events
Fans seeing this story may wonder how it makes sense considering Miles was let go in 2016, while Chase showed up at LSU in 2018.
The receiver actually committed to Kansas first, only to go back on his decision soon after.
That was before Miles got the job, so at some point he was allowed to talk to recruits and said this silly thing.
The rest is history as Chase won a national title at LSU while Miles was fired at Kansas with a 3-18 record.
Ja’Marr Chase was once committed to Kansas — this is not a joke, Google it — to play for David Beatty
Ex-KU AD Jeff Long fired Beatty and hired Les Miles to ‘improve recruiting’
Chase won a natty and the Biletnikoff in 2 years at LSU
Les Miles had 2 FBS wins in his 2 at KU https://t.co/T8MnU5V7XU
— Thor Nystrom (@thorku) January 26, 2022
These stories are not rare, as Burrow has one of his own over his relationship with Urban Meyer while at Ohio State.
LSU is the ultimate winner here as coaches like Miles and Meyer blew opportunities to coach some elite talents.
Now Burrow and Chase have used their experience at LSU to become young stars in the NFL.
You thought it was nuts when you heard Urban Meyer told Joe Burrow he throws like a girl? Well, Ja'Marr Chase just said, "Les Miles told me I couldn’t play receiver when I came out of high school."
(Do you know how many @NFL receiving records Chase has ALREADY set?! In Year One!)— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 26, 2022
And it did not take much time either as both clearly had major chips on their respective shoulders over how they were treated in high school and college.
Going all the way to the Super Bowl while Meyer and Miles sit without head coaching jobs would be quite the revenge.
NEXT: Can The Bengals Beat The Chiefs?