LSU Football: Ed Orgeron isn’t happy with recruiting rivals

LSU football head coach Ed Orgeron didn’t hold back this week when discussing recruiting.

Earlier this week, I suggested that LSU football could receive an “unsanctioned visit” from a pair of five-star defensive linemen (Maason Smith and Korey Foreman).

I mentioned this possibility because these “unsanctioned visits” are becoming a major recruiting tool for programs. Basically, these visits happen when a recruit (or recruits) plans a visit to a program without the coaching staff/school being involved. The recruit shows up, checks out the campus on their own, and doesn’t have any in-person contact with anyone associated with the program.

A couple of these visits, involving LSU recruiting targets, recently happened at Oklahoma and Georgia.

This isn’t technically against NCAA rules because a player can show up whenever they want to a campus. Of course, no one knows whether or not the program is in the ear of these recruits suggesting that these visits happen.

And that’s the problem Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron has with these visits.

LSU football head coach Ed Orgeron isn’t a fan of skirting the rules

Coach O was asked this week whether or not LSU would utilize these “unsanctioned visits” and he had a pretty strong response.

“We have not done that. Obviously, we want to follow the rules,” said Orgeron during a Zoom media session. “I’m not gonna comment on other stuff. Let’s see how the NCAA handles it, but I think it’s getting, it’s pushing the line a little bit”.

It sounds like Orgeron isn’t a fan of these “visits”, nor does he intend to unofficially organize any such visits at LSU.

However, recruits could certainly show up in Baton Rouge without the knowledge of the Tigers’ coaching staff. Ultimately, I think that would be fine. But if coaching staffs are the ones organizing these visits, that would be a problem.

That’s why I think Coach O is on the right side of this. He’s playing by the rules and still dominating in recruiting.