BATON ROUGE, La. – While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, LSU Head Football Coach Ed Orgeron opened by saying that he is “very pleased with the mindset of our football team.”
Despite the looming threat of Hurricane Laura, Orgeron says that plans are to practice all week, adding that “this is a big teaching week for us. ”
Orgeron says that the weather is an obstacle that the team can overcome, saying that there is a lot of information out there for the team and university to make educated decisions regarding practice and team safety.
LSU has an indoor practice facility it can use in case of inclement weather, “but if the weather gets too tough, everybody is going to go home and everybody is going to be safe.”
When talking about the health of his team so far in camp, Orgeron says that the team hasn’t had many injuries “our team is in good shape”
With students returning to campus, Orgeron says that the team is doing its best to control the environment around them and to self-police themselves to avoid COVID-19 exposure.
Orgeron says, “We have to make a sacrifice if we want to play.”
Orgeron was asked about the progress that Quarterback Myles Brennan has made since camp opened, responding that Myles “is a totally different kid.”
Orgeron says that the last two years, this football team has been Joe Burrow’s team and Brennan kind of stood in the background, and learned from Joe and now he is leading and being more of a vocal leader.
Orgeron says that Brennan has looked good in practice and says that they will do everything they can to prepare him for a complete SEC schedule.
“I can have crowd noise and I can have all of that, but I cannot simulate a hostile crowd. Now, with Covid, I don’t know how hostile a crowd will be or maybe the music will be playing loud or something like that especially on an away game but we are going to practice really hard and put him in some tough situations in some scrimmages so he’s used to it,” says Ed Orgeron.
When talking about the Quarterback room as a whole, Orgeron says that Freshman Quarterbacks TJ Finley and Max Johnson “are fighting really hard” for the backup job.”
“I couldn’t ask for two better young men as far as character, as far as smarts, as far as talent.”
When talking about the Ponchatoula product, Orgeron says, “TJ Finley is throwing a great ball right now. He has improved in his throwing. Coach Ensminger has done a phenomenal job with him and he’s having an outstanding camp.”
As far as Johnson goes, Orgeron says “Max Johnson is doing a tremendous job. He can run, he’s a lot faster than I thought he was. you know, he’s left-handed and throws a nice ball, very accurate, he’s calm in the pocket.”
Orgeron says that right now Myles Brennan is the LSU tigers starting 2020 Quarterback, and nobody has beat him out, adding “that doesn’t mean that can’t happen”
Someone that the LSU coaching staff feels is ready for primetime SEC action is Senior Linebacker Jabril Cox.
Orgeron says that during his recruitment, what stood out to the coaching staff is the fact that Cox was “an outstanding player at North Dakota State” adding that “they have a tremendous culture there. Those guys win year in and year out and he’s a great character young man.”
When talking about Cox, Orgeron says, “First of all, he came out with a great attitude.”
Once Cox tok the firld for the first time as a Tiger, Orgeron says it was obvious that “he was an SEC Linebacker.”
Orgeron adds, “He’s focused, razor sharp, he’s always studying, very smart, he knows the defense, he’s very fast. I think Jabril is about 6’3 , 225 or 230 and can run, can key and diagnose, obviously he has a lot of experience playing the position. He’s a physical tackler, he can key and diagnose, he can shed blocks well, he can rush the passer well, he drops in coverage. He’s a complete Linebacker.”
Cox is just the latest example of LSU’s recent success recruiting in the transfer portal.
Ed Orgeron says he’s looking to add a transfer defensive back who can help the No. 6 Tigers this season.
Here is video from LSU Football’s practice on Monday:
