Coach says Jeremy Liggins went back home to Miss.

Jeremy Liggins apparently has chosen to try to get eligible for a four-year college without attending a junior college, but it’s unclear if LSU is still the quarterback’s first choice to be his next school.

Liggins, who committed to LSU in February but failed to qualify academically, reportedly has left the Mississippi junior college in which he had enrolled in order to get eligible.

But the coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where Liggins had enrolled, told GulfLive.com, a Mississippi news web site, that Liggins left the school this week and returned to his hometown of Oxford, Miss.

“We wish him well,” MGCCC coach Steve Campbell said. “He is a good kid. We will move forward. We are used to change in junior college.”

The Oxford Eagle quoted Liggins as saying he preferred to retake the ACT and try to raise his score enough to become eligible at a four-year college and play as early as 2013.

Liggins didn’t say where he hoped to play, but he reportedly attended Ole Miss’ practice Monday.

When Liggins failed to qualify, LSU accepted former Penn State quarterback Rob Bolden as a transfer and essentially gave him the roster spot that had been reserved for Liggins.

So it’s unclear if Liggins’ interest in the Tigers is as strong as it once was, and it’s also unclear if their interest in him is as strong as it once was.

Liggins (6-foot-3, 270 pounds) led Lafayette County High School to back-to-back 4A state championships the last two seasons. He totaled more than 2,500 yards of total offense and 34 touchdowns as a senior.

Behind closed doors

LSU has closed its Thursday morning practice to the media, the third consecutive closed practice. The media usually is allowed to watch and film about 15 minutes of individual drills early in practice.

The school issued an advisory Tuesday afternoon saying both of Wednesday’s practices would be closed. Practices were scheduled to be open through Aug. 18.

Friday’s practices are scheduled to be opened.

Youth served in secondary

LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis addressed changes in the Tigers secondary after losing cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Ron Brooks to the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys made Claiborne the fifth pick in the NFL draft, and the Buffalo Bills selected Brooks in the third round even though he was the fourth cornerback on the team behind Claiborne, Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon.

“We have been blessed with a lot of talent,” Chavis said. “We will be a little younger. It’s rare that you have a back-up corner that gets drafted in the third round. That’s the kind of depth that we were blessed with last year.

“I certainly believe will be exciting. There is some real push for playing time. We are not afraid to play young players. That’s what we’ve done, and we are going to continue to do that.”

Group effort for receivers

Rueben Randle had nearly 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns for the Tigers a year ago, and LSU plans to throw the ball more this season with Zach Mettenberger at quarterback.

That leaves a lot of opportunities for this year’s receivers, who have nicknamed themselves the “Fab Five.”

“We have to come together as a group to replace him,” senior receiver Russell Shepard said. “We have to really come together and make each other better. That includes being competitive, watching a lot of film, and everyone being accountable for each other. We feel that if we can come together and do our part as a receiving corps, we can make up for losing a great weapon like Rueben.”

Shepard is joined in the Fab Five by juniors James Wright and Kadron Boone and sophomores Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.