Ed Orgeron Doesn't Expect Any LSU Position Battles to Be Decided Until Fall Camp

LSU coach Ed Orgeron doesn't know who will be the starting quarterback come this season. But he knows when he's going to make the decision.

It's been typical for Orgeron in his years as the Tigers' coach, when there's a serious position battle taking place, to not make a decision until every rep, every opportunity has been given. That was certainly the case when Joe Burrow arrived on campus in the spring of 2018 and battled it out with Myles Brennan, Lowell Narcisse and Justin McMillan for the starting job.

And it's going to be the case in what Orgeron has already called "the deepest quarterback room" he's ever been a part of.

"We're gonna look at everything that we do, look at all of the grades, look at the depth chart but it won't be final," Orgeron said on Off the Bench Tuesday. "We've got some new guys coming in. I'm looking forward to the remainder of our signing class coming in June. Especially the quarterback position, that's gonna go through fall camp, it won't be decided until the end of camp."

LSU's currently wrapping up its final week of spring ball as the Tigers will be in pads for the final practice on Tuesday before Saturday's annual Spring Game. There are many goals Orgeron and the coaching staff wish to accomplish with this being the final chance to see the players on tape.

LSU wants to have many of its installations done before the spring game and the final piece to the puzzle will be two minute and redzone packages. Of course there will be more additions to these schemes as the offseason progresses but getting that basic framework is important for any team.

"We want to have all of the stuff installed so we can look at it on tape and do our evaluations after the spring, see what we like, and go from there," Orgeron said.

"I want the game to be clean, especially pre snap penalties. They kill you on the line of scrimmages. I want them to be able to execute the plays and defenses. We're gonna be very simple obviously, but those techniques that we teach them, we want to see them play with a lot of energy."

Orgeron gave a little preview into some of the position battles fans should pay close attention to and outside of quarterback, the backup offensive line depth is one of the main areas of focus for this weekend's game. With plenty of newcomers already on campus, Saturday will also be the first chance to see the future of this program and what it will look like.

Navonteque Strong and Maason Smith are just a few of the newcomers we've heard about that have impressed during spring. But Orgeron said that freshman offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger has made real strides this spring and is somebody who could see signifcant playing time in his first year.

In the end, what Orgeron said will make for the perfect ending to a successful spring camp is seeing as many Tiger fans in attendance for the noon kickoff on Saturday. Gates will open at 11 a.m. with free admission for all patrons.

"I encourage our fans to come out, we miss them, our team needs the energy. We've been waiting to see Tiger Stadium like it used to be," Orgeron said. "It's gonna be a great day, we've got an outstanding football team, a lot of great players and we're looking forward to seeing as many fans as we can."