Coach O Talks LSU's Summer Preparations, Freshmen Arrival

LSU coach Ed Orgeron has set the expectations for summer, and he intends to hit the ground running.

It all starts with the newbies.

“Sunday night, I’m going to have a meeting with the freshmen, set the expectations. That’s usually when we talk about, 'Recruiting’s over. Now it’s time to get going,'” Orgeron said during an appearance on 104.5 ESPN’s Off The Bench. 

As for the offseason conditioning aspect, Orgeron already has a motto.

“All in. One Team, One Heartbeat,” he said. “The whole coaching staff is going to be there. Six o’clock Tuesday morning conditioning test. It’ll be interesting to see. I think most of our guys have been working out, but as you guys know, the tempo of the speed is a little bit different.”

LSU is coming off a completely average season in which they finished 5-5. All 10 games were against SEC opponents.

Normalcy will return this season, giving the Tigers a few nonconference foes before jumping into a wildly tough league slate.

Orgeron is already setting the standards for what he expects to be a strong team culture.

"First of all, two roots ... be early and protect the team,” Orgeron said. “Next thing is how are we going to handle ourselves? We’re nice to everybody on campus. I want our guys to sit in the first three rows, go in there and be a student, be prepared, do well in the classroom. Attendance to everything is mandatory.

“Be early and if you’re not, you’re going to run at 5 o’clock and that’s not a good thing to do,” Orgeron said. “Really the focus is to get started on the right foot. In the training room, how you act. The weight room, how you act. How you dress. How you tie your shoe. Let’s get to work.”

LSU opens the season at UCLA on Sept. 4. The Tigers face McNeese State a week later in their first home game (Sept. 11). You can check out their full 2021 schedule here.