Ed Orgeron is on the verge of being cited for reverse-recruiting violations by the NCAA, as he recently admitted on record to accepting soul food from recruits and parents in exchange for a chance to be scouted. Coach Orgeron led the LSU Tigers to a 9-4 record last year, but critics are blaming the team’s losses on sub-par players seeing the field because they bribed Orgeron with fried okra and crawfish mac and cheese.
In 2017, Orgeron told CBS’ Barton Simmons that he “ate 19 gumbos in one week” during a series of recruiting visits. He was also quoted with his mouth full, speaking just above normal volume but also just below shouting, saying “ROWR ROWR ROWR ROWR ROWR ROWR!”
How were Ed Orgeron's in-home visits with recruits? He tells @bartonsimmons “I ate 19 gumbos in one week."
— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) February 1, 2017
Think about it. The player has everything to gain in this situation, while Coach O receives under-the-table incentives. As early as 2003, a former LSU lineman Marlon Favorite leaked his recruiting experience with Coach Orgeron when was an assistant at USC. Favorite’s mother knowingly prepared Coach O’s kryptonite so that her son would possibly be able to play for Orgeron at USC. His mother conveniently made fresh red beans with rice the same day that Coach O would be stopping by, and, according to Favorite, they didn’t even start talking football until Coach O had his red beans. Orgeron walked into a losing battle the moment he smelled homemade cooking.
.@Coach_EdOrgeron is a legendary recruiter… pic.twitter.com/9BAj3yYQbw
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) December 20, 2017
At what point does the NCAA step in and punish LSU and Coach O for these reverse bribes, and when does Coach O seek help for his serious and life-controlling dependence on soul food. When he faced his former team Ole Miss for the first time as LSU’s head coach, the only thing he remembered was his crippling addiction. “You know I used to stop at the Exxon and get a chicken on a stick, and it was fantastic,” Orgeron said. “And I hope that cook is still there, I can stop and say hello to her. That’s about all I remember. Best I’ve ever had, but not better than Raising Canes.”
In an unofficial statement, an alleged NCAA staff member, who asked to remain anonymous, said the organization was aware of Orgeron’s unorthodox eating habits and their subsequent relation to his recruiting trips. It’s only a matter of time before Coach Orgeron eats one too many plates of homemade hushpuppies at the home of another two-star recruit.
