Orgeron optimistic about draft, holding August camp

Like everyone else in the last six weeks of staying at home, LSU football coach Ed Orgeron has been “watching too much television.”

“I’m done flicking through the channels,” Orgeron said in a teleconference with media Tuesday morning. “I’m ready to go to work.”

While Orgeron and the rest of the Tigers continue their unusual preparations to defend their national championship, more than a dozen members of the 2019 team are expected to hear their name called Thursday through Saturday in the NFL Draft – led by Heisman Trophy winner and expected No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow.

“Joe is probably the most focused football player I’ve ever been around,” Orgeron said. “His work ethic, his attitude and his smarts (are) going to make him a great football player.”

Can Burrow do for the Cincinnati Bengals what he did at LSU? Orgeron thinks he is “willing to fight” to help build the Bengals into a playoff and championship team.

“Joe didn’t play in three years (at Ohio State),” Orgeron said. “Joe wasn’t the Heisman Trophy winner when he got here. I think that Joe has not had a silver spoon in his mouth all his life.

“If he does have to fight, he’s willing to fight. Nothing was promised to him here. He came here with faith and built a championship team. There’s no reason he can’t do it (in Cincinnati).”

As many as five other Tigers could join Burrow in the first round: wide receiver Justin Jefferson of Destrehan, edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson, linebacker Patrick Queen, cornerback Kristian Fulton and safety Grant Delpit.

Queen’s name has been mentioned frequently as a candidate for the Saints at No. 24.

“He was a tailback at Livonia,” Orgeron said. “Played tailback and linebacker, just like (former LSU linebacker) Devin White did. He just kept on getting better and better. At the end, he became one heck of a football player. He’s a high-character kid. We wish him the best.”

If Queen or one of his LSU teammates go to the Saints in Round 1, it would be the first time ever the Saints have picked a Tiger in the opening round.

“I know I’ve gotten a lot of calls from those guys,” Orgeron said. “Sean Payton and Mickey (Loomis) have a lot of respect for what we’re doing. I think that hopefully, you’ll see the first year of a first-round pick for LSU.”

Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and tight end Thaddeus Moss, who both played big roles in LSU’s run to the title, will go between Rounds 2 and 4.

“He’s a three-down back,” Orgeron said of Edwards-Helaire. “The way he catches the ball out of the backfield, he reminds me of Maurice Jones-Drew. This guy has a low center of gravity, is very smart, is very competitive. His game against Alabama is one of the best I’ve seen a running back have.”

Orgeron described Moss’ development as “night and day. I think it’s one of the best transformations I’ve seen in a young man. Look at the year he had. Great team guy. I don’t think he missed one practice last year.”

As for the 2020 team, Orgeron said he’s “very proud” of them, “the way we’ve maneuvered through this very trying time. We’ve been competing at a very high level the last month or so but anxiously looking forward to getting our team back.”

At-home workouts and daily Zoom meetings with assistant coaches have been the focus.

Orgeron has become a fan of the video technology, saying that “these Zoom meetings” could be one staying factor after the stay-at-home phase of the COVID-19 shutdown.

“(Special teams coach) Greg McMahon was in a Zoom meeting with a guy from the San Francisco 49ers doing research and development,” Orgeron said. “In the past, we felt like we had to get on a plane. I think that’s here to stay.”

Tuesday was Orgeron’s first chance to publicly comment on North Dakota State graduate transfer Jabril Cox, who figures to step in at linebacker this fall.

“We feel he’s going to be an immediate impact player,” Orgeron said. “We’ve done a good job with graduate transfer players. We talked with some NFL people; they felt he was going to be a No. 1 draft pick if he came out.”

As for recruiting for 2021 and beyond, LSU and other schools have had to take a different path.

“It’s tough but it’s a level playing field,” Orgeron said. “(We’ve) got to watch more film. Got to be more exact. I don’t think there’ll be any on-campus evaluation (this summer). We have to trust our evaluation on film.

“It’s easy to get these guys on the phone right now because everybody’s at home. Everybody’s ready to move into the next phase.”

With a Heisman winner at quarterback having come through the system, how has the response been from other quarterback prospects?

“Phenomenal,” Orgeron said. “Joe wasn’t the highest-rated guy. We’ve got highly rated guys that were interested in us. Joe was just the right fit for LSU.

“There’s some great quarterbacks we love. It’s got to be the right fit.”

More recruiting ammunition could come from tying or setting a draft record this weekend. The records in play: six first-round picks from one school (Miami, 2004) and 14 overall draft picks in the seven-round era (Ohio State, 2004).

“It means development, it means recruiting great character kids,” Orgeron said. “The reason you come to a school like LSU is you want to win a national championship, you want to graduate and you want to get drafted. I think it adds validity to your program. We’re a national brand right now.

“I’d like to be in Vegas, to be honest with you,” Orgeron said, referring to the originally scheduled site of the draft before COVID-19 turned it into an online event.

While uncertainty reigns in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Orgeron is optimistic his team will be back on campus this summer.

“I think we’re gonna have camp,” he said. “You have to have camp to get ready for the season.

“June and July is still up in the air. Obviously, that’s out of our control. (Ideally,) you need several weeks in the summer of conditioning … and some kind of football, and then take a break.”

With only minimal spring drills in the books, Orgeron knows some things have to come together quickly when his team is finally able to reassemble. “The big thing,” he said, “is for the quarterback and receivers to get their timing down, and the offensive line jelling.”

As for what has been occupying Orgeron’s time on television, outside of old LSU games?

“I enjoy Peyton’s Places,” Orgeron said of the multi-part series hosted by New Orleans native Peyton Manning in conjunction with the NFL’s 100th anniversary. “I think he’s very informative.”