Bengals Ja’Marr Chase Says Les Miles Told Him He Couldn’t Play WR Coming out of HS

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It’s a good thing for LSU that Les Miles was no longer coaching the football team when Ja’Marr Chase was coming out of high school.  

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Chase said Miles told him he “couldn’t play receiver coming out of high school.”

Miles was LSU’s head coach from 2005-16. He had tremendous success with the program, including a 114-34 record and a victory over Ohio State in the 2008 BCS national championship game. 

The Tigers fired Miles in September 2016 after a 2-2 start to the season. Ed Orgeron replaced him on an interim basis before getting the full-time job two months later. 

Chase, a Louisiana native, was rated as a 4-star prospect and No. 84 overall recruit in the 2018 class by 247Sports‘ composite rankings. He committed to LSU in February 2018. 

After playing sparingly as a true freshman, Chase was a star on the Tigers’ national-title squad in 2019 alongside Joe Burrow. He led all FBS receivers with 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns in 14 games to win the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best wide receiver. 

Chase was selected No. 5 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 NFL draft. The 21-year-old is one of the favorites to be named Rookie of the Year after recording 81 receptions, 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season. 

He became the first rookie in NFL history to post two 100-yard receiving games in the postseason. 

The Bengals are going to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. They haven’t played in a Super Bowl since 1988.