NATCHEZ — If ABC were to do a survey of which areas of the country were watching their station at noon on New Year’s Day, they would notice a high concentration of television sets turned on to the alphabet network in the Miss-Lou.

And there are a couple of reasons for that. That is the air time of the Capital One Bowl and many LSU fans in the area will want to see their Tigers take on Penn State.

However, there is another, more personal, reason to be watching when the ball is kicked off in Orlando, Fla., on New Year’s Day.

And that is because local boy Stevan Ridley will be starting at tailback for the Tigers.

Ridley, a sophomore who played mostly on special teams his first year and a half in Baton Rouge, was forced into the lineup at running back after starter Charles Scott broke his collarbone against Alabama and was lost for the season.

Ridley was then elevated a spot on the depth chart and was to split carries with senior backup running back Keiland Williams. However, Williams broke his ankle a few weeks later and Ridley was left as the team’s only true tailback with any experience.

He performed well against Arkansas, catching two passes in a critical last minute drive in the fourth quarter that led to the game-tying field goal, and now will get to start the biggest game of his career on New Year’s Day.

Ridley enjoyed a standout career at Trinity Episcopal, rushing and passing his way to a state championship in his senior year of 2006.

After originally committing to Ole Miss, he changed his mind and decided to go to LSU, where he redshirted his freshman year before making it onto the field last year on special teams.

Ridley’s big break this year came against Tulane, when he rushed for 73 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown.

The next week, he scored a touchdown against the Crimson Tide after Scott went out of the game.

Natchez has a long history of standouts on the college gridiron. Allen Brown, Paige Cothern and Perry Lee Dunn played a big part of some of the great Ole Miss teams of the 1960s and Hugh Green was a dominant force for Pittsburgh in the late 70s and early 80s.

And now Ridley is adding to the Miss-Lou’s legacy of standout college football players.

And it couldn’t happen to a much nicer guy. Every time I’ve ever spoken with Stevan, he always has a smile and a good attitude.

And he needed those things to get through a torn ACL suffered in spring practice this year.

But Ridley has come back even stronger than ever, and his perseverance has paid off with a start in one of the more prestigious bowl games out there.

So here’s wishing Ridley good luck in the Capital One Bowl. All of Natchez will have their television sets tuned in to watch and cheer. Happy New Year and congratulations. It’s a well-earned honor.