Comparing McNair to other black quarterbacks

[JROCK]

John thierry played for a small school outside of opelousas that ended up closing and merging down the line so he was under the radar as both southern and gram did not respond..lol

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-05-29/sports/9405290251_1_bears-biological-father-john-thierry

I don't believe he really slipped out of Plaisance. What I do believe is your first thought was correct (wanting to get away from Louisiana for a minute). I know a guy that recruits that area (for many years regardless of S.U. coach). Several guys that have played over the years at S.U. and students will tell folks they're from Opelousas but aren't, though they live relatively close (never was sure why). Though the school is obsolete, the coach out there (Murphy Guillory) had an excellent relationships with both universities and for many decades played Southern Lab and Alma Brown (Grambling) regularly in basketball and football (All 3 were Class A back in the day).