All Bengals

Bengals Rookie Ja'Marr Chase: Les Miles Told Me I Couldn't Play Wide Receiver

Chase is a big reason why the Bengals are in the AFC Championship Game.

James Rapien

© Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

CINCINNATI — We all make mistakes, but former LSU head coach Les Miles made a big one during his time with the Tigers. 

Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase was asked about his football intelligence and how it has developed over the years on Wednesday. The 21-year-old shared an interesting detail about his college recruitment. 

“Les Miles told me I couldn’t play receiver when I was coming out of high school, so that was something I had on my shoulders coming up,” Chase said. “Les Miles told me he thought I could play cornerback, I wasn’t really in full position at receiver yet. So I just kept working at my craft [in the] offseason—waking up early in the mornings to work out. I just kept focused.”

Ultimately, Chase ended up going to LSU, but played for Ed Orgeron after Miles was fired in 2016. 

Chase helped the Tigers finish 15-0 in 2019 en route to a National Championship. The Bengals picked him fifth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and he had a dominant rookie season. 

Chase finished with 81 receptions for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has 14 receptions for 225 yards in two postseason games. 

Miles clearly got that one wrong. Watch Chase's entire news conference below.

Make sure you bookmark All Bengals for the latest NFL news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

You May Also Like:

Bengals Significant Underdogs in Road Matchup Against Chiefs

Six Takeaways From Bengals' Win Over Titans

Three Down Look: Bengals' Escape Nashville With Win

Evan McPherson Called His Shot Before Game Winning Kick

Joe Burrow Makes Bold Statement After Win Over Titans

Winners and Losers From the Bengals' Win Over the Titans

Postgame Observations: Evan McPherson Kicks Bengals Past Titans

All Bengals Staff Makes Picks For Saturday's Showdown in Nashville

Belief in Burrow: How "Joey Franchise" Has Everyone Believing

Film Breakdown: How Bengals' Defense Can Slow Down Titans' Offense

Film Breakdown: How Burrow and the Bengals Can Attack the Titans' Defense

Exclusive: Marvin Lewis Weighs in on Joe Burrow, Mike Brown's Desire to Win

Shayne Graham Bullish on Joe Burrow, Young Bengals

Bengals Announce Uniform Combo for Divisional Round Against Titans

Six Takeaways From the Bengals' Win Over the Raiders

Jessie Bates Wants the Bengals to Bring Back an Old Friend

Listen: Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham's Radio Calls From Win over Raiders

Joe Burrow Eyeing Bigger Things After Win Over Raiders

Postgame Observations: Bengals Beat Raiders, End Drought

Watch: Bengals Celebrate Playoff Win Over Raiders

-----

Be sure to keep it locked on All Bengals all the time!

Subscribe to the All Bengals YouTube channel
Follow AllBengals on Twitter: @AllBengals

Like and follow All Bengals on Facebook

Published
James Rapien
JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien is the publisher of Bengals On SI. He's also the host of the Locked on Bengals podcast and Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. The Cincinnati native also wrote a book about the history of the Cincinnati Bengals called Enter The Jungle. Prior to joining Bengals On SI, Rapien worked at 700 WLW and ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati

Home/News