How Coach Ed Orgeron is Preparing for Potential Loss of LSU Players Against Alabama

Orgeron describes past experience at USC where he dealt with roster management

Ed Orgeron remembers his USC days, when he took over as interim coach Lane Kiffin in a year that the Trojans were on probation and limited to around 55 scholarship players. 

He remembers the days back in Los Angeles, where he had as few as 12 defensive players he would coach but admits that even those small numbers are nothing like what he's dealing with now, mostly because of the fluidity of the situation.

Orgeron is facing a potential similar scenario on Saturday when the Crimson Tide visit Baton Rouge as LSU is reportedly dangerously close to the minimum requirements for a game to take place this weekend. On Monday, Orgeron revealed that the Tigers were dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak and that the players affected were mostly due to contract tracing. 

"That's where I learned how to practice like the NFL. So it worked well with us. I remember we beat Stanford, No. 4 team in the country, we only used 12 players on defense. So I've been through it a little bit like that," Orgeron said. "Not to an extent and as fluid as it is right now, because with the COVID and opting out you don't know what's going to happen on a day-to-day basis. Then we had a set number, so it wasn't as fluid."

The cases really cropped up during the open week on Tuesday or Wednesday. Following a loss to Auburn, LSU was right in the middle of film sessions and trying to fix some of the issues that led to the 48-11 loss in the Plains. 

"We worked very hard. We have a corrections period, that last week with about 20 plays and really worked hard to walk through and explain how we're going to do things, how we're going to play, especially on defense," Orgeron said. "Now, on offense we had a lot of mistakes, too. And today we have another corrections period. We're going to keep on correcting the things that are on film, because we know we're going to see them again."

Orgeron undoubtedly faces a difficult challenge should the game move forward this weekend and LSU is facing the limited numbers that have been reported. According to SI's Ross Dellenger, the quarterback and defensive back position groups have been hit hard while the Athletic said the Tigers have zero tight ends available.

These are the problems that coaches must deal with in a COVID-19 world and the LSU coaching staff will undoubtedly have its hands full. Even throughout the 2-3 start and now a roster that's heavily depleted, Orgeron is remaining positive. 

"I promised myself when I got the job as head coach of Louisiana State University I wasn't going to have a bad day. I'm going to come to work. I'm the head coach of LSU, man," Orgeron said. "That's something I wanted to do all my life. No, things are going to happen. Adversity is going to hit, but I'm going to stay positive because I want my team to know we're building a championship program."