Ed Orgeron at NOLA QB Club: “Hell yeah” LSU has enough depth to hang with Alabama

Orgeron on bye week schedule, injury updates

By JAMES MORAN
Tiger Rag Associate Editor

NEW ORLEANS — Competition Tuesday doesn’t take a bye week.

LSU interim head coach Ed Orgeron met with reporters and laid out his schedule for the week before speaking to the Greater New Orleans Quarterbacks Club Tuesday afternoon.

LSU will practice as normal on Tuesday and Wednesday after staying off the practice field on “Tell the Truth Monday.” Then, on Thursday, LSU’s underclassmen will scrimmage in what Orgeron is calling the “Tiger Bowl” while the upperclassmen serve as coaches.

“In past jobs that I didn’t have success, I would have been scrimmaging today,” Orgeron told the crowd. “Especially with the opponent we’re playing in two weeks. That’s not what we’re doing today.”

He later continued to raucous applause: “Monday is about telling the truth, and the truth is we kicked Ole Miss’ butt.”

Orgeron will then spend Friday out on the recruiting trail to see “some of the best players in the country,” On Saturday he’ll make the drive to Lake Charles to see his son Parker play for McNeese State. The staff will be back in the office Sunday to resume preparations ahead of a visit from top-ranked Alabama.

As far as injuries, Orgeron said he expected starting left guard Will Clapp (shoulder) to be fine after briefly exiting the Ole Miss game. The injury kept him out of the Southern Miss game the week before.

“He’s tough as nails,” Orgeron said.

There’s not so much certainly about the status of right tackle Toby Weathersby, who returned to practice last week after a month-long absence due to an ankle injury. Orgeron said there’s “a chance” he’ll be able to play against Alabama, but it’ll depend how the sophomore practices the next two weeks.

Oregon also expects fullback J.D. Moore to be ready to go for practice and then the Alabama game. He left Saturday’s game in the first quarter after sustaining what Orgeron called “a hard hit.”

Tuesday marks precisely one month since LSU fired Les Miles and promoted Orgeron to his current post. He raved about the job done by his assistants to get off to the 3-0 start to his “new season.”

In closing, one attendee asked Orgeron if LSU had enough depth to hang with the unbeaten Crimson Tide.

“Hell yeah,” Orgeron bellowed. “See you guys later. Go Tigers.”

The man knows how to make an exit.