BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — So far this season, former St. Thomas More Cougar and current LSU wide receiver Jack Bech has had 10 catches for 155 yards.
One of those catches last night in Tiger Stadium was much more special than the others.
Bech hauled in his first touchdown of his college career in the Tigers 49-21 win over Central Michigan.
“First, give it up to God,” Bech says. “Without Him, none of that could happen. I know it’s cliché and people say it all the time, but honestly I grew up around pretty religious people. Without Him, none of this could happen. It was surreal, just being able to do that as an LSU Tiger in Tiger Stadium, my second game at LSU. All of my teammates came up behind me. Hearing the crowd go crazy it was surreal. A dream come true.”
And to add to the craziness, Bech made a one-handed catch to bring in the touchdown.
“Max threw the ball up, perfect ball right where it needed to be,” Bech says. “The defender was holding my left hand so I had to go up with one. You know I made some things shake and bake. I made it work.”
The Lafayette native’s performances so far this season in the purple and gold have warranted high praise from LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.
“Jack Bech is a baller,” Orgeron says. “He practices hard every day. He wants the ball. He’s got the heart of a Tiger. We love having him. We can do a lot of things with him. He’s gonna catch the ball. He’s gonna give some fire. He can go deep. He can catch the short pass. He’s also blocking in there. He’s a tremendous player.”
The Tigers are now 2-1 on the season, and Bech says he’s gaining more confidence with each game he plays.
“You know, it’s just a game,” Bech says. “I’ve been playing since I was four or five years old. It’s catch the ball, run with the ball, score with the ball. Just go up and make plays. It’s the same thing. Keeping that in the back of my mind, I try to block out people watching. But I think my confidence is going up a good little bit.”
The 49-21 victory over Central Michigan was LSU’s most complete performance so far, which Bech says gives the Tigers momentum heading into their first SEC matchup of the season.
“Tonight, like I said a little while ago, they felt us,” Bech says. “We’re gonna keep making people feel us. We’re gonna make every SEC team we play feel us. Next week at Mississippi State, we’re gonna keep coming at them. We’re gonna keep building and improving.”