LSU coach Ed Orgeron walked into his first SEC Media Days as the Tigers head coach on Monday with a smile.
He talked up his football team as best he could but the inevitable Alabama question didn't take long to surface. And when asked about the Tigers' inability to defeat Alabama in recent years, Orgeron was very blunt.
"Obviously, there's a lot of people on our schedule that are very, very good football teams so we can't just point to Alabama, but they are the benchmark," Orgeron said. "I understand that the head coach at LSU must beat Alabama."
The Orgeron-coached Tigers entered the fourth quarter in a 0-0 tie with the Crimson Tide before Alabama rolled out of Tiger Stadium with a 10-0 victory.
Orgeron said the way to beat Alabama is to recruit on their level but he doesn't feel the gap between the programs is that large.
"They are recruiting at a high level now, and they do a great job of evaluation," Orgeron said. "[So] coach your team very well, and get your team ready to play.
Again, last year, we weren't that far off."
While last year's game against Alabama was on the minds of some, 10 years ago was on the minds of others. Orgeron was attending his first SEC Media Days since 2007 when he was entering what ended up being his final season with the Ole Miss.
One of the first questions Orgeron was asked on Monday was how he felt he was different now than what he was then and he pointed out a major difference in how he was with the Rebels and how he's been with USC and LSU in jobs since then.
"I'm very grateful for my time at Ole Miss," Orgeron said. "I had a great job, a job in the SEC. Was given a great chance. I wasn't ready. I went there as defensive line coach. I did the things that I did as the defensive line coach and was very successful over the years. It didn't work at Ole Miss.
"Although I recruited well, the day I left Ole Miss, I looked at myself, and I called my mentor and said, 'Hey, there's some things I have to change.
I'm going to be a head coach again. There's some things I got to change. I need to find out why I was not successful.' We dug in. I went to see different coaches. We dug in and watched different people. I went and talked to some mentors of mine.
"Here's two things I came up with; number one, I was going to treat the team exactly how I treat my sons, no different. And I was going to treat every coach on the coaching staff with respect and let him coach his position as he knew it. Ever since those two minor changes, we've been 12-4, so that's the difference."
Here are some other highlights from Orgeron's press conference:
On playing five SEC road games because of the switch with Florida last year:
"You know, it is what it is. Here's what we do at LSU, we take one day at a time, one game at a time. We know we have a very tough schedule, but we don't look at it that way. We look at it as a chance to compete. We look at it as a chance. When we take our team on the road, to go into a hostile environment, and we accept that challenge. And we want to compete at the highest level, and that's part of being in the SEC."
On Florida scheduling LSU as its homecoming game:
"Here's what I got to tell you, people going to do what they going to do. And Florida is a great rivalry for us. We respect them. Any time we go into the swamp, it's going to be a battle. We need to prepare. I have a lot of respect for (Florida) Coach (Jim) McElwain and the job that they do. We are going to be ready to play regardless of what it is. We have an upcoming opponent that week that is very tough, and I'm going to get our team ready to play."
On how Derrius Guice will be able to handle the feature role this year:
"I think he's going to flourish. He flourished last year in the last five or six games. He's going to have an even better career this year. I think Matt's going to know how to use him. Matt's going to open up some holes for him. Derrius is a tremendous player. I think he'll end up being after the season, barring any injury, one of the top players in the country, if not the top player in the country."
On his philosophy on satellite camps and controversy surrounding keeping teams out of the state:
"Let me say this, the recruiting process for us, we have six weeks in April and May that we can go identify and evaluate players that we've been studying for over two years.
And we go to Texas. We go to Georgia. We go to Alabama. They come to our states. Opportunity for guys to get recruited, there's XOs film. There's recruiting lists. Guys not going uncovered nowadays. If there's a guy on the country road, my GPS will get me there if he's that good enough. So as far as opportunity, there's a lot of opportunity given to these young men during those six weeks of evaluation.
So I'll promise you this, if there's a player that LSU wants, we are going to fly there. We are going to drive there. And we are going to get to his high school to evaluate him. Now, as far as satellite camps, am I a big fan of satellite camps? No. Do I wish we would go back to only having satellite camps on our campus? Yes, I do, but that's not my decision."
On what the Jacksonville Jaguars can expect in former LSU running back Leonard Fournette:
"You're getting a good man. You're getting a father. You are getting a guy that loves life. Leonard was never on the list for any disciplinary reasons. Leonard was a great teammate. Leonard wants to fight for his players.
That last game, going into the bowl, Leonard could not play. Leonard came to me in tears, he said, Coach, I can't go, I can't play. I said, Leonard, I understand, we will not put you in jeopardy, son, don't worry about it.
I will tell the media. Things you heard that he may have skipped the game or whatever, that has nothing to do with anything. In fact, against Florida, he didn't practice all weekend. He wasn't supposed to play. He tried to play. He wanted to play. He's a teammate. He has a great heart. He's a great father. You're getting a great guy there. A great man."
Comments
Post a Comment