It’s a subtle piece of the overall strategy, perhaps, but telling nonetheless.

LSU, it seems, doesn’t sanction big news conferences anymore for juniors to announce they’re fleeing the free books and board early to go make a decent living in the NFL.

If they want to go, fine. No hard feelings. And in most cases, even LSU coaches can’t blame them.

But they can handle the hoopla via their Twitter or Instagram accounts, never forgetting to solemnly swear to be a Tiger for life.

The big gala nowadays is reserved for juniors who are staying, which didn’t used to be news but now warrants considerable pomp and circumstance.

They even get them all spruced up in coats and ties. I’m surprised confetti didn’t fall from the ceiling Friday when LSU celebrated with what appeared to be harmless overkill.

Where were the trumpets?

Three Tigers this year had already announced they’d be skipping their senior years, yet in a perhaps playful attempt to add some suspense to the program, the media waiting for the news conference to start were staring at six empty chairs.

But momentarily Les Miles was all smiles and they did manage to round up six juniors who could at least consider the NFL option enough to make their staying en masse look like a full-blown trend.

To be honest, three sturdy chairs would have probably sufficed. It would have been enough to handle offensive linemen Vadal Alexander and Jerald Hawkins, along with defensive back Jalen Mills.

They were joined by tight end Dillon Gordon, wide receiver Travin Dural (draft-eligible as a redshirt sophomore) and linebacker Lamar Louis — if nothing else a nice show of solidarity.

Losing three — linebacker Kwon Alexander, defensive end Danielle Hunter and cornerback Jalen Collins — is still well above the national average.

National champion Ohio State didn’t lose any. None. Not one.

How does that happen?

LSU went 8-5 and is excited to lose only three.

But for LSU it’s a far cry from the stampedes of recent years when the Tigers were losing more juniors than some entire power conferences. The Big Ten and Big 12 combined last year lost only seven.

The 18 early entrants over the past two years depends on your math. It would include Tyrann Mathieu in 2013, who couldn’t come back anyway after being kicked off the team, and Alfred Blue last year, who was a senior but had been granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.

But even if you go with 16, it was by far the most of any NCAA team.

This year LSU seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief, even called a news conference to exhale.

The uplifting, positive spin of a message was: “Hey, maybe we didn’t get by unscathed, but at least we didn’t get splayed and gutted this time.”

It’s hard to tell whether the very young Tigers just didn’t have as many candidates this year or if Miles’ more proactive approach is paying off.

None of the six figured to be first- or second-round picks, but that hasn’t stopped them in the past.

But none of the three leaving had no-brainer decisions like, say, Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry and Jeremy Hill last year.

All have something about their game that could use more seasoning.

Still, it’s apparent that National Staying Day is becoming as important to LSU as National Signing Day.

Recruiting, it seems, never ends.

High school recruiting has been in a dead period — no contact with prospects — so Miles switched into his re-recruiting mode, visiting the homes of most of those juniors who had a decision to make.

“I want to thank coach Miles for putting the time in with me to help me with my decision,” Mills said Friday. “I’m happy to be an LSU Tiger.”

“We had a really in-depth conversation about the pros and cons of leaving and staying,” added Alexander. “I realized how important this program is for me.”

Those must’ve been some interesting conversations.

There would be Miles, sitting in the same living room where a few years earlier he’d sweet-talked and explained to Jimmy Four Star and his parents how LSU, aside from promising a Flagship education, had become an almost unavoidable fast track to the NFL’s quick riches.

It’s been a big part of LSU’s recruiting pitches, with facts to back it up.

And now, three years later, his updated recruiting spiel would be … not so fast, my friend. The NFL can wait a year.

It likely wasn’t a hard sell for Miles this year (I doubt he wasted that speech on Beckham, Landry or Hill a year ago).

But it’s a start.

l

Scooter Hobbs covers LSU

athletics. Email him at

shobbs@americanpress.com

(MGNonline)