Well, this is odd.

LSU had as many former Tigers on the podium announcing NFL draft picks for their former pro teams as the program had new players actually walking up to the podium after getting drafted.

On hand for the festivities were Eric Hill (Cardinals), Kevin Mawae (Jets), Anthony “Booger” McFarland (Bucs) and Kevin Faulk, who pulled back his sports coat to reveal a Tom Brady jersey, apparently in an Academy Awards-style protest of the Patriots’ Deflategate that won’t go away.

LSU isn’t used to dominating that side of the podium, although you suppose it’s a testament to past draft success.

But that’s four former Tigers who became beloved enough with their former pro teams to be tabbed for what is apparently becoming quite an honor among the NFL’s AARP crowd.

So it was a tie, with an asterisk, between LSU announcers and Tigers announcees.

See, we will need a ruling for the 4-4 deadlock.

It’s actually five new draftees IF you count defensive back Rashard Robinson, who will always have LSU by his name as long as stays on the San Francisco 49ers roster.

But he played sparingly for the Tigers — and not at all last year after Les Miles suspended him indefinitely midway through the 2014 season and never reinstated him.

But any way you add it up, it was still an uneventful draft by LSU standards.

Only one Tiger, linebacker Deion Jones (second round, Falcons) went in the first three rounds.

Anything after that is considered a long shot for longtime NFL employment.

So good luck to offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins (Steelers, fourth round) and a pair of four-year LSU starters, defensive Jalen Mills (Eagles) and offensive lineman Vadal Alexander (Raiders) went back to back in the seventh and final round.

And that was it.

No draftable Tigers even rated a trip to Chicago to sweat it out in the green room, an honor reserved for potential first-round picks.

Of late, it’s also become fashionable for college head coaches to tag along to show their support and make sure any potential recruits know that they’re there because they just groomed a first-round draft pick.

Miles, having no one to go with him, didn’t even bother making the trip, which, if he checked with Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze, is probably not a bad idea.

Freeze went to the draft all smiles, ready to celebrate a glorious day in Ole Miss history — three first-round draft picks — and watched it quickly blow up in his face.

By the time top-rated Rebels offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil had his Twitter and Instagram accounts hacked, Freeze was just trying to get out of town ahead of the NCAA investigators.

Side note: Admittedly I’m a bit naive on such matters, but I had no idea gas masks had become a big part of the drug (and social media) culture.

But, based on Tunsil’s video demonstration, it looked to be a close kin to waterboarding.

That, fortunately, was of no concern to Miles.

In fact, with only four draft picks, you wonder how in the world he won a game last year, let alone why some higher-ups wanted to fire him for winning nine of them.

Oh, but wait.

Miles will still have to answer for next year.

LSU’s relative boycott of the draft apparently will be temporary.

If you believe the early predictions, the Tigers will almost certainly have four first-round picks alone — running back Leonard Fournette, defensive backs Jamal Adams and Tre White and wide receiver Malachi Dupre.

At least one website predicts — yes, mock drafts for 2017 are already on the black market — that LSU will have seven first-rounders next year.

A lot can and will happen in the next 12 months,

But if you add defensive linemen Louis Neal and Davon Godchaux, along with center Ethan Pocic, that indeed is seven, which would shatter the record of five that Ohio State had this year to tie Miami of 2001.

Talk about high expectations.

l

Scooter Hobbs covers LSU

athletics. Email him at

shobbs@americanpress.com

 

Follow Scooter Hobbs on Twitter at twitter.com/ScooterAmPress