NEW ORLEANS -- Khari Lain's hometown is listed as Tyrone, Ga., a suburb on the southwestern edge of Atlanta, but Arkansas State's sophomore linebacker has returned to his roots this week.
"I'm not going to lie, it's cool being home," Lain said a few hours before ASU's first on-site practice Wednesday in preparation for for Saturday night's game against Louisiana Tech in the New Orleans Bowl.
Lain has returned to his birthplace plenty of times over the past 10 years, since Hurricane Katrina chased him and his family from the only home he ever knew. Now ASU's leading tackler, Lain was 9 years old when the storm sent his family and thousands of others scurrying across the South in search of safe havens.