Daily Short #13, June 14th, 2017: Ed Orgeron is digging a swampy grave
The big news around Longhorn Nation Tuesday evening was LSU's continued political strong-arming of Texas. For the third time, Tom Herman had a satellite camp in the nation's third-poorest state curiously cancelled on him.
LSU's new Head Coach, Ed Orgeron, was a backup plan at best when hired by the cash-strapped state college who could not afford better options. In fact, in recent years, LSU has even explored bankruptcy despite soaring revenues derived from its SEC athletics program. Now Orgeron, who appears morally bankrupt himself, is acting like he's the anointed kingpin and savior of the swamp:
"Protecting the state of Louisiana is always going to be my job as the coach of LSU," Orgeron said (or more likely mumbled unintelligibly) to Sports Illustrated last month when deflecting questions about LSU's perceived interference with disallowing out-of-state colleges to have satellite camps in the state. It isn't only Tom Herman and Texas, it's also Jim Harbaugh and Michigan. The June 9th satellite camp at Tulane which was scheduled to be co-hosted by the Wolverines staff was amended to have (you guessed it) LSU as the event's co-sponsor instead.
You don't win over high school coaches in the state by acting like a mob-boss bully. The fact is, these camps with smaller, in-state schools that featured coaching staffs like Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan and others represented opportunities for the young prospects of Louisiana to get the eyeballs of more college staffs on them. And LSU fans will say "Texas wouldn't be going after the two-stars and the forgotten players who LSU hasn't offered!" To that, let me say:
1) LSU didn't offer Texas' (arguably) best defender Malcolm Roach, who was an in-state prospect.
2) Other schools like Houston and Sam Houston State and Abilene Christian always tag along at events like this to get in on the added exposure to prospects a marquee name like Texas will attract, and
3) IN-STATE schools like Louisiana College and ULM may be great IN-STATE landing spots for less-highly rated players. Players who may come to a camp to get exposure to a Texas or A&M coaching staff, but may leave having developed a relationship with a previously un-thought-about, smaller IN-STATE option.
Preventing that win-win scenario for the players and athletic programs of the state is "protecting the state of Louisiana"?
Orgeron - who holds a sub-.500 head-coaching record and pathetically failed to crack the five-win mark through three seasons the last time he coached in the SEC at Ole Miss - is already digging his own grave.
The big news around Longhorn Nation Tuesday evening was LSU's continued political strong-arming of Texas. For the third time, Tom Herman had a satellite camp in the nation's third-poorest state curiously cancelled on him.
LSU's new Head Coach, Ed Orgeron, was a backup plan at best when hired by the cash-strapped state college who could not afford better options. In fact, in recent years, LSU has even explored bankruptcy despite soaring revenues derived from its SEC athletics program. Now Orgeron, who appears morally bankrupt himself, is acting like he's the anointed kingpin and savior of the swamp:
"Protecting the state of Louisiana is always going to be my job as the coach of LSU," Orgeron said (or more likely mumbled unintelligibly) to Sports Illustrated last month when deflecting questions about LSU's perceived interference with disallowing out-of-state colleges to have satellite camps in the state. It isn't only Tom Herman and Texas, it's also Jim Harbaugh and Michigan. The June 9th satellite camp at Tulane which was scheduled to be co-hosted by the Wolverines staff was amended to have (you guessed it) LSU as the event's co-sponsor instead.
You don't win over high school coaches in the state by acting like a mob-boss bully. The fact is, these camps with smaller, in-state schools that featured coaching staffs like Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan and others represented opportunities for the young prospects of Louisiana to get the eyeballs of more college staffs on them. And LSU fans will say "Texas wouldn't be going after the two-stars and the forgotten players who LSU hasn't offered!" To that, let me say:
1) LSU didn't offer Texas' (arguably) best defender Malcolm Roach, who was an in-state prospect.
2) Other schools like Houston and Sam Houston State and Abilene Christian always tag along at events like this to get in on the added exposure to prospects a marquee name like Texas will attract, and
3) IN-STATE schools like Louisiana College and ULM may be great IN-STATE landing spots for less-highly rated players. Players who may come to a camp to get exposure to a Texas or A&M coaching staff, but may leave having developed a relationship with a previously un-thought-about, smaller IN-STATE option.
Preventing that win-win scenario for the players and athletic programs of the state is "protecting the state of Louisiana"?
Orgeron - who holds a sub-.500 head-coaching record and pathetically failed to crack the five-win mark through three seasons the last time he coached in the SEC at Ole Miss - is already digging his own grave.
