12/28/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


​      The LSU Fighting Tigers 2019 Football Team will be playing for the National Championship in New Orleans on January 13th, as they blasted the Oklahoma Sooners in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, 63-28. 
      LSU's defense set the tone on the first play of the game, as K'Lavon Chaisson sacked Jalen Hurts for a six yard loss. The Sooners would go three & out quickly.  After a poor  24 yard punt by Reeves Mundschau, the Tigers would start their first drive at the Oklahoma 42 yard line. Joe Burrow only took three plays to go the 42 yards, hitting Justin Jefferson on a 19 yard touchdown pass down the center of the field. York would convert his kick, 7-0 Tigers.  After both teams traded punts, Oklahoma would tie things up. Jalen Hurts connected with CeeDee Lamb on a 51 yard pass down to the LSU three yard line. On the next play, Kennedy Brooks would fight his way into the end zone for the score.  7-7 with 7:34 to go in the first quarter.  With Oklahoma gaining momentum, LSU would answer, going 75 yards on nine plays as Burrow would roll left and hit Terrace Marshall Jr. in stride crossing the field for a 8 yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead, quieting the Sooners' crowd.  The LSU defense again shut down Hurts and the Oklahoma offense forcing another punt.  Burrow once again drove the Tigers down field quickly, ending the 86 yard drive with a perfect throw to a wide open Justin Jefferson for a 35 yard touchdown to conclude the scoring in the first quarter. 21-7. 
      The Sooners still found it difficult to move the ball as the 2nd quarter began. giving the ball back to LSU with 14:11 to go in the first half.  Starting at their own 20 yard line, the Tigers would go the length of the field in only six plays. Burrow would again hit Justin Jefferson for a score. This time from 42 yards out. The diving touchdown grab would make it 28-7. But the Tigers were not finish flexing their offensive muscles yet.  On the first play of the next Oklahoma possession, the Sooners tried some trickery that back fired badly, as Kary Vincent intercepted Jalen Hurts pass.  LSU took over, again, with a "kill a flea with a sledge hammer" attitude. Six plays and 55 yards later, the Tigers were up 35-7. Burrow threw his 5th touchdown pass of the half as he completed a 30 yard touchdown to his favorite target of the day, Mr. Jefferson. The score was Justin Jefferson's 4th touchdown grab of the contest.  With 9:17 to go until halftime, Oklahoma battled back, driving 75 yard in 10 plays, as Jalen Hurts would score on a 2 yard touchdown run.  Once again, LSU's offense quickly killed any momentum that the Sooners had just built. This time, it took only 2 plays. Burrow hit a wide open Thad Moss running down the sidelines, who outraced the Sooners' secondary into the end zone for the score. 42-14 with 4:18 to go in the first half.  LSU again quickly got the ball back after a Oklahoma three & out, and continued their video game like, offensive assault on the Sooners defense. Burrow would hit Terrace Marshall from two yards out for another touchdown with 50 seconds remaining in the period. Oklahoma would limp badly into their locker room trailing the #1 ranked, powerhouse Tigers, 49-14.   
      Burrow at the half was 21/27, 403 yards passing, seven, (that's right), SEVEN touchdown passes.  Justin Jefferson had 9 grabs for 186 yards and four touchdowns. When LSU chose to run the ball, they were successful as they had 94 yards on 13 carries. They finished the first half with 497 yards offensively.  The defense was solid, holding Oklahoma to only 160 total yards of offense. Sacking Hurts twice, both by Chaisson, and forcing several three & out possessions. 
      The Tigers took the opening kickoff of the second half and continued to make a statement.  Burrow directed LSU on their longest drive of the day to this point, going 74 yards in 13 plays, eating 4:49 off the clock. On 4th and one at the Oklahoma three yard line, Joe Burrow went under center, took the snap, and pushed forward of tackle for the score. 56-14 Tigers!   The Sooners, now only playing for pride and garbage points, mercifully went on a six minute drive, (keeping Burrow off the field), in 13 plays. On 4th and 9 from the LSU 12 yard line, Hurts was able to out run the Tiger defense, diving to the pylon for the score, making it 56-21 with 4:19 to go in the third quarter.  LSU would begin their next drive, taking it into the final quarter.
      LSU's drive would stall at the Oklahoma 28, setting up a 46 yard field goal attempt. Cade York's kick hit the left upright, bouncing away no good with 14:06 left in the ball game.  Oklahoma continued to show no quit in them, driving 71 yards in 9 plays, with T.J. Pledger punching it in from one yard out. 56-28, Tigers.  With all the nails driven into the Oklahoma coffin. Coach O pulled Burrow, putting in Miles Brennan and other reserves to finish the clean up. Brennan lead the offense on a nice scoring drive, highlighted by the beast-mode running of Chris Curry and a couple of key Brennan to Derrick Dillon completions. The Tigers went 75 yards in nine plays, taking 5:40 off the game clock, as John Emry Jr. scored on a six yard run. With only 3:59 left to go in the game, LSU continued their domination over the Sooners. From there, the Sooners would turn it over on downs, and the Tigers would run out the clock in victory formation..  The final score from the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., LSU - 63, Oklahoma 28. 
      The Tigers dominated Oklahoma in every phase of the game. Offensively, LSU still seems to be unstoppable. It seems like records are set and broken in every ball game, pilling up points and yardage at will.  The Tigers finished with 692 total yards of offense. Joe Burrow finished the game with mind boggling numbers. 29/39, 493 yds passing, 7 touchdowns passing, and another score on the ground.  The receivers had an outstanding game, lead by Justin Jefferson's 227 yards rec. on 14 grabs, and four touchdowns. Terrace Marshall Jr. had 80 yds on 6 catches and found the end zone twice. Thad Moss stepped up with four catches, 99 yards and a touchdown. Ja'Marr Chase had a good game early. On the ground, Chris Curry ran hard and punished tacklers every time he got to touch the ball, finishing with 90 yds on 16 carries. Myles Brennan came in and played well in the 4th quarter, going 3/3, 39 yards, and completed a couple of big throws to keep a scoring drive alive.  The 63 points scored tonight by the Tigers set a record for the most scored in a College Football Playoff and New Year's Six games. LSU is also the first college football team of all-time to feature a 5,000 yard passer, (Burrow), 1,000 yard rusher, (Edwards-Helaire), and two 1,000 yard receivers, (J. Chase & J. Jefferson).  The defense had been the target of the national media, through most of the season, labelled as the team's weakness.  Since the Ole Miss game, major improvement has been shown. They make more than enough defensive stops in a game needed for victory. Tonight, they played lights out, giving up only garbage points after the game was already decided. They held Oklahoma to 322 total yards, (only 97 on the ground).  They put pressure on Jalen Hurts all game long, sacking him twice and picking him off once.  The secondary had a solid game covering the dangerous Oklahoma receivers.  Jacob Phillips and Patrick Queen both lead the team in tackles tonight with 8 each. K'Lavon Chaisson finished with 6 tackles & two sacks. 
      The Tigers will now wait to see who their opponent will be in the National Championship Game.  Ohio State battles Clemson tonight in the other CFP game.  
      We also want to send out our thoughts and prayers to Steve Ensminger and his family, after the loss of his daughter-in-law, sports reporter, Carley McCord, who died in a tragic plane crash early this morning. God Bless you all during this difficult time. 




12-28-19
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!

December 26, 2019
Ed Orgeron
Atlanta, Georgia


      Q. Ed, you've had an adventurous career. What does it mean for you to get the Tigers to this spot?
      ED ORGERON: This is my job. It's not about me. It's about the team, it's about the state of Louisiana. When you come to LSU, the expectations are high. Obviously, when you have the amount of talent we have on this football team, and the great coaches that we have, these are expectations that you have to meet at LSU. Obviously, proud of our football team. This is not our final destination. We came here for a playoff game. We're looking forward to playing a great Oklahoma team.
     
      Q. Is this what you expected when you took over a few years ago?
      ED ORGERON: Yeah, yeah. You know, you're expected to do this at LSU. I didn't know it would happen so fast, in our third year. I think in your third year, any time you're a new coach, that you have to show that your program's going in the right direction, and we've done it.


      Q. What does it mean for the state? The Louisiana people seemed to have embraced you because you're one of them.
      ED ORGERON: It's been phenomenal. To me, it's one of my favorite parts. I'm blue collar, a lot like they are. I tell them I represent them in every way I can. All the former players, all the former coaches, all the alumni, we want them to make those guys proud of Cajun. I have a Cajun accent. They like it. I like it. It's just been a wonderful mix of coming to LSU, coming back home, and us winning.


      Q. What's the latest with Edwards-Helaire and his hamstring?
      ED ORGERON: He hasn't practiced yesterday. He may practice a little bit today. We're not sure yet. If he is going to practice, he's questionable for the game. I do believe that -- if there's any shot of him being cleared to play medically, that if our trainers and doctors say that he can play, I think he is going to try. I don't know what's going to happen. I hope he does play.
      Q. Jalen Hurts has had an interesting 12 months. What do you make of what he's done since he got to Oklahoma?
      ED ORGERON: I'm so proud of him. I got to know him going to the awards banquet and stuff like that. Obviously, I know his history. We've played against him twice. We still ain't stopped them, and he made some big plays. We were talking about him this morning, the 10-0 game, it's 0-0 going into the fourth quarter and he makes two tremendous plays to win the game. His character, his grit, his determination, meeting his mom and dad, getting to know a little bit about him and the way he fought, I couldn't be more proud of the guy, to be honest with you.


      Q. Is he different than when he was at Alabama? What do you see?
      ED ORGERON: Yeah, they're running him more. Believe it or not, they're running him more. He has 1,200 yards. He and CeeDee are the keys to the offense. Similar plays in some ways, but some plays a little bit different. He's the key to the game. I think that the runs -- he's running inside the tackle, he's running outside, the quarterback powers, the lead draws. There's more runs in this offense -- the counters, the counter read -- than there were for him in the Alabama offense.


      Q. You guys have gotten a lot of attention for your makeover on offense. What about Oklahoma's defense, the way they've made over the defense?
      ED ORGERON: Outstanding. 24 points a game. That middle linebacker is one of the best guys we're going to see all year. They play good, sound, fundamental football. The things that they do up front, they stunt a lot, they try to get you out of your gaps. They try to create negative plays, tackles for a loss. But, again, the 24 points per game says a lot especially in that league.


      Q. What goes into something like that, Ed, when you're 114th in the country and you're beat down and you have to have a complete mental makeover? What goes into that from your perspective?
      ED ORGERON: I think it probably -- just like us on offense, it probably started in the meeting rooms. It probably started with an attitude. It probably started about the way we walk through stuff, the way we do everything. Probably a complete different change. I think schematically, players, their great coaches, and then you've got to go out there on the practice field and do it. Obviously, they have.


      Q. Ed, what's Clyde's status?
      ED ORGERON: Clyde has not practiced yet. He ran a little bit yesterday, ran straight ahead. Medically, hopefully, he's cleared to practice. I don't know if he will. It would be the first day he would. I think he may try something today. I'm not sure. It's going to be a game-time situation. Knowing Clyde, if he can play, he's going to try. We're really not sure yet. Do I want him to play? Yes. Do I expect him to try to play? Yes. How much he can play? I don't know.


      Q. Is he getting treated now instead of being here?
      ED ORGERON: Um-hmm, yeah.


      Q. You guys, obviously, this is the first trip for LSU. Oklahoma, on the other hand, has made a habit of this. Is there an advantage?
      ED ORGERON: I'm sure they have the advantage. I'm sure they know to how to handle the situation, handle the hype. They've come from behind in big-time games. They have great players, great coaches. Probably gives them a little advantage of being here before. But the newness also gives you an advantage. We're excited to be here, man. This is fun. When we walk into the Dome and we see College Football Semifinals in the playoffs, it means a lot to us. It means a lot. We're prideful to be here, so it works on both sides.


      Q. On the outside looking in, you're a double-digit favorite; they're the underdog. Do you talk about that with the players?
      ED ORGERON: Not at all. We don't talk about that. We block out the noise. We focus on the task at hand. We don't pay attention to it.


      Q. What have been your thoughts on Joe's return -- I don't know, the attention that Joe has gotten?
      ED ORGERON: Yeah.


      Q. Not just as the Heisman winner, but bringing attention back to Athens and things like that.
      ED ORGERON: I think it's been great, to be honest with you. It comes along with it. Obviously, we all know Joe's a great team player. But to put him in the national spotlight, to win the Heisman, very deserving. But typical Joe, he's going to help somebody else. I think he raised maybe half a million dollars for the kids of Athens, and it goes to show you the heart that he has, the character that he has. I think Joe's just getting started. I think the more Joe has success, the more he's going to help people. That's the type of guy he is.


      Q. Ed, I know you've been around Edward Aschoff, he's been in your program for a while. Just thoughts on his passing.
      ED ORGERON: What a shame. What a shame. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Great guy. I loved having him around. I read his stuff, thought it was outstanding. When I heard what happened, I was really sad.


      Q. If he isn't able to play, do you change stuff up in your game plan or plug and play with the next guy?
      ED ORGERON: We have three backs. Clyde does it all. Now, we've got three backs that are strong in each one of those areas, so we're going to have to use them. Tyrion, John Emery, and Chris Curry. You can expect all three of those backs to play in different situations.


      Q. Ed, when you started this thing, how much of a focus was Alabama for you? Was it just them as an opponent?
      ED ORGERON: We knew that we had to beat them. No question. It wasn't a focus every day. It wasn't the biggest game of the year or nothing like that. I think that you can make those things too big, and obviously your players feel that. But I knew that we had to get the type of offense that could score points on them. I knew we had to get the linemen to match the physicality of their football team.


      Q. As a program, once you overcome that, what do you have to do to maintain it, because you know that they're going to come back strong?
      ED ORGERON: You look at what they've done over the years. They've done a phenomenal job of staying on top. As they say, it's hard to get there. It's even harder to stay up there. We have to remain focused. You have to block out the noise. There have been a lot of accolades for this team already. That's not going to win the football game for you. It's about fundamentals, it's about getting better, staying hungry with a great mindset. I believe we have the coaching staff and focus to do that. Again, these guys are not satisfied. Although we've had success this year, they're not satisfied.
   
      Q. You talked about how this is all exciting for your players, being here for the first time, seeing their names. What's kind of the coolest thing for them so far?
      ED ORGERON: You know, I think winning the S.E.C. Championship, which was a goal of ours, to see them on the stage, happy and stuff like that. And then just coming here, being as a team. I do believe, like I said, when you walk in the Dome and you see College Football Semifinals, it hits them. It's all on the line. I think these guys are going to be ready. They've been fantastic. We'll see happens.


      Q. Coach O, you mentioned that the guys are excited to be here. Especially here. You have Blake Ferguson, who is a hometown kid, right up the street in Buford. Can you tell me a little bit about him as team captain?
      ED ORGERON: We had an awards banquet the other night, and he got every major award. Goes to show you what the strength coach thinks about him, what they think about him in academics, about his character, about his leadership on this football team. You know, the deep snapper, he never gets any attention unless he gets a bad snap. And he hasn't gotten that much attention because he hasn't had a bad snap. But, you know, Blake does a lot of things for SCA. He does a lot of things for the students. He's very involved in college football and wants to help in college football. He's a great leader, great young man, great family. It just so happens that our snapper has been from Buford the last three generations and we're going to continue -- Will's from Buford. We're going to continue that.


      Q. I guess that's a growing trend, they all come from up the street and benefit LSU.
      ED ORGERON: Sure does. And it helps us in recruiting. It helps the parents to know that those guys can come from Buford, from Atlanta, come to LSU and have success.


      Q. Coach, a lot of people talk about each coach has his own different philosophy on how they coach the team. You hear a lot of people say it's Coach O's way. Explain that to us.
      ED ORGERON: Say it again.


      Q. A lot of coaches say they have a factor or a way of coaching. A lot of players say it's Coach O's way. Explain that to us.
      ED ORGERON: I've been very fortunate to be under some great coaches, Jimmy Johnson, Paul Pasqualoni, Dennis Erickson, and Pete Carroll. A combination more of what we did at Miami, what we did at USC, combine both of them. Obviously, you've got to give your own flavor, be your own person. That's just the way we do things.


      Q. Ed, you talked last year about the need to get more analysts, and you got a bunch and you added some more. Is it any coincidence that you guys have done better program-wise the last two years?
      ED ORGERON: Good point. I think it's a direct result of our success. We were so far behind, and I knew it, and I didn't think we was giving our team a fair advantage. Now we have the power, we have the knowledge, we have advanced scouting. We have analysts that are breaking down everything we're doing, breaking down our opponent. We have answers for our players. Our coaches are able to get more information a lot quicker and put the game plan in a lot quicker. These guys have made all the difference in the world. Think about the analysts we have. We have NFL coordinators, big college coordinators. We have guys who have been in the NFL. Just a tremendous amount of knowledge.
    
      Q. And if I can ask specifically about Jorge Munoz. You brought him in from Lafayette. And Joe invited him to the Heisman ceremony. His role and what he's meant.
      ED ORGERON: Jorge does a great job of setting up what we call our winning edge. Obviously, he can't coach it on the field, but he does a lot of game management stuff for me. Also is involved in cut-off, also is involved in recruiting, also involved in setting up the daily meetings, setting up the drills for a coach without coaching on the football field. He is very knowledgeable. He's like having an extra offensive coordinator in the room with thoughts. I know he breaks down protection with Coach Cregg. I think I get there on Tuesday morning at 6:00. They've been there since 4:00 figuring stuff out. Tireless worker.


      Q. Ed, as part of juggling the bowl excitement and the business of winning this game, I know you've had this approach. You identified that pretty early, we need to focus in.
      ED ORGERON: We started early. Listen, we're not going to the bowl. We're going to win a playoff game. I've got to give it to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. They understand that too. There's not been a required amount of time, too much required amount of time. But our kids had a couple of events. They had a Family Feud the other night, which was very interesting. And then last night, they had a little -- right before Christmas dinner, they had a basketball shoot-off contest. So these guys have been great. I think it's been a nice combination of letting us have our meeting time, great accommodations, practicing in the Dome, focus in and then they've had about a half hour or so of events each night, which has been good. Our guys, we've had 100 percent curfew every night. Everybody in for curfew. The focus has been tremendous. They totally get that this is a playoff game.


      Q. You guys had a chance to play on this turf, and I remember the championship game and stuff like that, they were slipping a little bit. Did you switch cleats?
      ED ORGERON: We had to change cleats during the week. We had guys, especially on Tuesday, when we had a tough practice. Linemen were slipping, outside linebackers were slipping. So we continued to change the right cleats. Every guy needs a different cleat, different footing. So I think we've got it pretty good right now. It was an advantage this week of practicing on that turf.
      Q. Coach, how have you evaluated the Oklahoma defense this week? A lot of people say they didn't really have a chance to stop the LSU offense because Georgia couldn't stop LSU's offense. In my opinion, Oklahoma is built for this type of spread.
      ED ORGERON: Yes. They play the spread every day. They play the spread in their conference. They know what they're doing. The biggest accomplishment to me, for Oklahoma's defense, is allowing only 24 points per game in that league where guys are scoring 50 all the time. What a tremendous accomplishment. But the middle linebacker is one of the best guys we've seen, obviously. He can run down, make plays in space. Their defensive line is very quick and agile, and what they do, they stunt almost every down. So you got to pick up those stunts. If you don't, they're negative plays. I think a combination of that and outstanding coverage makes them a very, very good defense.


      Q. Have you done anything differently to prepare your offensive line for the speed of that defensive front?   
      ED ORGERON: Sure, yeah. We have what we called our cheetah package, where we have four fast guys in there and we're going against -- I've brought them down there with Coach Cregg and I run the cord and we run the different stunts. Those guys try to pick it up to simulate the speed of game.


      Q. How have you guys handled the bulls eye so far? You've played so many good teams. There's hype and talk about Joe Burrow and the Heisman, the good team you're playing. How do you handle the bulls eye?
      ED ORGERON: We block out the noise. It's about focusing on the task at hand. It's about fundamentals. When we get in the meeting room, it's Tell the Truth Monday. It's Competition Tuesday. It's Turnover Wednesday. Today is No Repeat Thursday. It's about focusing on the task at hand. We don't talk in our room about individual accomplishments. We don't talk about trophies. We don't talk about nothing but fundamentals and when the team does well and what the team needs to get better.


      Q. Have you been able to enjoy this? 15 years ago, you're in the S.E.C., it doesn't go too well. You're back, you're the number one team in America. How does it feel?
      ED ORGERON: Feels good. I'm happy for our team, happy for the state of Louisiana. You've got to win this game. There's no time to relax. There's no time to sit back. During recruiting, we had one week to focus on recruiting. This is not our final destination. This is a big game for us, and we're here to win it.


      Q. Ed, you talk a lot about (no microphone). What is it that makes guys pop like that?
      ED ORGERON: We feel like Chris has come along. I really like his ball security. When we put him in there, in the games, he ran tough. He ran with an attitude. We think we're going to need some physicality in this game. The thing that Chris does, along with John and Tyrion, they do a combination of everything that Clyde does. So we'll have to use all three of them.


      Q. Does that help spread the ball around as well?
      ED ORGERON: Yes, it does. They stay fresh, they stay hungry. They want to go in there and prove themselves. All three of them are good backs so they're going to be hungry to play. Obviously a big game in a big setting. The number one thing for us is ball security.


      Q. You talk about the leadership on the team. Almost like a coach's dream.
      ED ORGERON: I go to bed, I don't even worry about it. I know the next day they're going to tell me 100 percent curfew. I see the guys. I watch them. I see them in the morning. I know they're getting rest. They're like my children. You can tell when your children ain't doing right. When they're doing right, I have no complaints about the way these guys have acted.


      Q. Get back to the trust that everybody seems to have.
      ED ORGERON: I believe that one team, one heart beat. I think that has been developed. I think that's a culture. I do believe that everyone knows the task at hand, whether it be a third string guy, a second string guy, or the top guys. I think everybody has a vested interest in what we got to get done here. One team, one heartbeat, and you can feel it.


      Q. Coach, LSU has always had loads of talent at the skill positions and they've have had talent at quarterbacks, but they've kind of managed the game throughout the years and fallen into the fold. Now you have a quarterback like Joe Burrow, who you can say, go out and win the game for me. He's set record numbers this year. What's it like having a guy that's not just a game manager, but you can put everything on his back and say win the game?
      ED ORGERON: Obviously, it's a big advantage. What we always wanted at LSU, having a great back. The thing that's made our offense go is the play of our offensive line. I mean, those guys have been the MVP. Obviously, Joe's an outstanding player. We have outstanding athletes on the perimeter. But the offensive line has done a really good job this year. And then Stevens (indiscernible) and Joe Brady. I mean, the type of offense we're running is exactly what fits our skill set.


      Q. Joe said that defensively on the back end, Oklahoma is a little similar to what Texas does in the secondary. What up front have you seen from Oklahoma that they do a little bit different than everybody else?
      ED ORGERON: Stunt every down. I mean, every down is a stunt. They do a good job of it. Sometimes, when you stunt, you get out of your gaps and you get gashed on the run. Think about this. These guys have only given 24 points a game. They're very solid, know what they're doing, very quick.


      Q. Joe has taken on the larger-than-life personality on and off the field. Does your experience back in the day with the Leinhart years, have they achieved similar status?
      ED ORGERON: Very similar, and it's very similar, helped me to see the way Coach Carroll handled it. Coach Carroll let everybody be themselves. Obviously, when it comes down to practice, we focus on the task at hand. You can always tell when your team is focused. You can always tell when your team is distracted. I think we've been the most focused this week as we've been all year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Dave Aranda
Atlanta, Georgia


      DAVE ARANDA: I remember saying to him, they know exactly where to go with the ball. I think that was a credit offensive scheme-wise, I think it's a credit to Joe Burrow, too, is that the weakness of whatever we were doing, whatever coverage variation we had, they went right to it, and there was no kind of getting around it. And I think that has been the case throughout our spring and fall camp and that's been the case throughout the season. They're able to identify and attack the weaknesses of people's alignments, structure, personnel, and get to it quick.


      Q. You've been around for a good amount of time. Where does Joe Burrow stack up in terms of guys that -- I guess you have week to week kind of prepared for him a little bit.
      DAVE ARANDA: Yeah, he's the best one I've been around. There's been some good ones. Texas Tech with Kliff Kingsbury, Houston we had Kevin Cobb, and Hawai'i we had Bryant Moniz, which was a big player for us. I think the difference with Joe is just his ability to be an offensive coordinator on the field. I think there's guys that can make throws, there's guys that can improvise. There's guys that can bring an intelligence to the game but not to the level that I'm used to, not to the level that Joe brings.


        Q. So you see Jalen Hurts on the other sideline. When you saw this match-up did you think, I can't shake this guy, he's everywhere?
        DAVE ARANDA: Yeah, I've got such respect for him. Just his story, the way he goes about his business, his demeanor, his approach to everything, his being in the spotlight as much as he's been. I have a lot of respect for how he handles it, one. And then as a player, he's improved as a passer. If you load up on the run, which they force you to do because they've got the math advantage over you with him as a runner, so you load up on the run, then you're short in your pass. The question, though, has been can he make you regret doing it that way, and there's multiple times this season that that's been the case. So that combined with some gadget plays and some innovation on offense, it's a beast. So I feel like our -- I'm glad we've had time to prepare, so I think our practices have been great. Guys clearly understand what's ahead of them, the challenge. They're focused, and I feel really confident in what we've been able to accomplish. But you get into the game, and we're going to have to see where it goes and adjust as is because it could be a run-centric game, it could be, yeah, he's making throws with simple coverage and we've got to adjust that.


      Q. Just for your defense this year, you've all come under a lot of scrutiny at times, but the last three weeks of the season you seemed to play your best football. What was the turning point for you guys?
      DAVE ARANDA: Well, I think that's a good question. We're at our most healthy now. I also feel the standards at LSU are so high, which I love, and I've always seen LSU as a defensive school. And so when we early in the year did not hold to that standard, I think that a lot of criticism came. And so I think those issues that we had early on were issues of, one, finding who we are, knowing like what we do best, and this particular year, with this particular group I think we've settled into that. Two is, hey, we're scoring a lot of points, and it's not about just winning the game anymore. It's about dominating the other opponent on your side of the ball on defense. A lot of those points were coming in second halves when we were up. So the push from me would be to finish the game, would be to focus every play, would be to -- the scoreboard doesn't matter, and I think we struggled with that pretty severely at times. And then three would be when the criticism would start, and we'd still be dealing with both one and two, different guys in the game because of injuries, and then two were up again, so we're trying to deal with how to finish four quarters. Things would go bad, and at this stage the criticism would start again. Then we'd get guys that would kind of push and stress, and I'm hearing this stuff about me, so I'm going to try to make a play to get it to quiet down, or hey, they're saying this about us. I'm playing on the right but I'm going to go make a play on the left. So that was the third mix. And so I think to work through that and get everyone on the same page, that's a credit to the players and a credit to the coaches.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Joe Burrow
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. What's your opinion of Baby Yoda?
      JOE BURROW: I haven't watched the show yet. I haven't seen it. I was going to wait until it all came out before I started watching it.


      Q. You look a little tired.
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, a little tired.


      Q. Are you a little sick?
      JOE BURROW: A little bit. Nothing serious. A little cold. I'm going to go to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back.


      Q. This is a bowl game but it's not like (indiscernible) how has the focus been?
      JOE BURROW: It's been just fine. You don't got to worry about that.


      Q. Is it because the stakes are so high?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I think we have a really mature team that understands the situation and understands that we still have things ahead of us.


       Q. What about the practices, how have they been?
      JOE BURROW: We've had really good practices. Been really happy with them. Guys have been flying around, we look rested, healthy. It's been great. Q. (Indiscernible). JOE BURROW: I felt good out there. I know a couple of the guys were slipping around a little bit, but it's been good to have a week of practice on it, and they're getting used to it.


      Q. How have the rest of the guys been?
      JOE BURROW: Been really happy with it. They've been coming along. (Indiscernible) is having a great week of practice. He's been getting better. Ty and John are obviously getting a lot better, as well. Whether Clyde plays or not, we'll have guys that are ready to play. I still think Clyde will be able to play, and he's working to get healthy.


      Q. Kind of strange being back in this room?
      JOE BURROW: I wouldn't say strange. I wouldn't say strange.


      Q. Good memories?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, clean sweep at the awards. I think there were a lot of deserving players across the country, but I was happy that our guys got them.


      Q. Has it been overall -- what's your experience been like in Atlanta?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, it's been a lot of fun, but we know it's a business trip, so we're trying to treat it just like any other weekend as much as we can. It's tough when you're here for a week and you have a lot of free time. But we're just trying to treat it like any other game.


      Q. Is there any other advantage to having played a game in that building already?
      JOE BURROW: Not really. I mean, maybe the site for the receivers a little bit, but other than that, it's the same stadium for everybody.


      Q. What specific issues of Oklahoma's defense do you have to focus on?
      JOE BURROW: They're really fast, and I think Coach Grinch is a really good coach that's going to have a good plan for us, so we're going to have to see what they're going to do and make in-game adjustments really well.


      Q. There's a couple local guys on your team that are here, especially your team captain. Talk a little bit about him. I know he must be excited to play here in front of the home crowd.          JOE BURROW: Yeah, he's super excited. He went home and had Christmas dinner yesterday and invited a bunch of guys through. He's a great person as well as a great player. He's a guy that's really big into philanthropy and that's great to see. He's a really good leader for us.


      Q. Just your overall thoughts on the game, how preparations have been? Where do you think the team's mindset is at?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I know everyone is just ready to play. Everyone said being here a week is nice, but we're ready to go out and play the game and go back to Baton Rouge.


      Q. Can you go out with the family and eat dinner and stuff like that?
      JOE BURROW: No, absolutely not. We just order in usually.


      Q. How has that changed for you? You've been famous as the year has gone on but what happened in New York City really changed things.
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I didn't really experience anything during the season because I didn't really do anything. I was just in the facility and made food or ordered groceries, but I started to experience things a little bit, and it's been wild.


      Q. Have you had to change your cell phone number?
      JOE BURROW: Not yet. Thinking about it, though.


      Q. How has it been wild? Was there a moment where you were like, this is too much?
      JOE BURROW: I mean, you don't like not accepting pictures, but when you go out in public and 50 people want a picture with you, you've got to eventually say no. That's been my least favorite part, just telling people no when I wish I could be there all day.


      Q. There's a five-year-old kid and a guy wants to put something on eBay --
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, getting easier and easier to tell which ones want to put that on eBay. They just have duffel bags of mini helmets, like, can I get a couple signatures? No, dude, sorry.     
      Q. Are you learning you had a lot more relatives than you had?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, a lot of relatives that I'm related to that I've never heard of in my life.


      Q. (Indiscernible). Is it going to make the circuit?
      JOE BURROW: I guess I'll have to find out. That one is pretty comfy. I have like eight Fiesta Bowl sweatshirts, so we'll see. Q. So you're not wearing the same one over and over again? JOE BURROW: No.


      Q. You had a bunch of opinions last year on a bunch of topics --
      JOE BURROW: I've got nothing for you. Hopefully someone else does so I can get a little break, though. I think we're here for 45 minutes.


      Q. How does the press work, you have the meeting room and -- what do you do?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, we have a floor dedicated to all the meeting rooms and just meeting there like it's our facility.


      Q. What do you think about the narrative surrounding Oklahoma, saying that they don't necessarily have a chance in this game?
      JOE BURROW: I mean, they're in the playoff. It's not -- I don't think they're sneaking up on anybody. They've been in the playoff three of the last five years. They're a great program, an elite program. They're not sneaking up on anybody. They're just as good as anybody in the country.


      Q. (Indiscernible) what have you seen from them that makes you feel comfortable?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, they're getting a lot better, and it comes with reps, and I think Chris Curry, like I said earlier, is having a great week of practice. I'm super comfortable with all those guys in there, but Chris has really jumped out this week, and he and Ty I think will do a great job if they happen to be in there.


      Q. (Indiscernible).
      JOE BURROW: We'll have to find out. I don't go in thinking like that. I just go in and take what the defense gives me. I don't try to force anybody, and that's why you see people with -- Harris, two touchdowns in the SEC Championship and Ja'Marr with not as many. I just go in thinking they've got to take a couple guys away. We've got to figure out who they're taking away and go with the other guys.


      Q. A lot of questions on their defense. Are they comparable to anyone you've seen this year?
      JOE BURROW: You know, their scheme is a little similar to Texas's, a little bit. On the back end. Up front it's a lot different. But they play quarters, the occasional cover three. But like I say, we've faced something different like the last six weeks than what we've seen on film, so I have to go in and make those in-game adjustments.


      Q. How quickly do you try to (indiscernible)?
      JOE BURROW: The first play we'll know. Like against Georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M, you go out and like, wow, I haven't seen this on film. I don't know why I watched film this week. So we'll go out and figure it out, like we always do. But it gets a little frustrating when you watch film all this time and it doesn't matter because they don't play that defense. So we'll see.


      Q. You get a feel for their talent, though?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I mean, they pop on film. They're really fast. No. 9, the linebacker, one of the top two or three linebackers in the country, is really, really good, really fast on the D-line. No. 90 is quick twitch, strong. So they've got some guys for sure.


     Q. Going back to the (indiscernible).
      JOE BURROW: Looked pretty good, huh? Nobody thought I could play ball, but we came back and won, so that was pretty good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Ja'marr Chase
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. Ja'Maar Chase, wide receiver for the LSU Tigers. How crazy has this trip been?
      JA'MARR CHASE: It's been unbelievable for us, just having fun and competing.


      Q. When you look back at this season, you started off with Texas. That was sort of when you established yourself as this offensive power. You haven't let up. When did you know this offense was going to be when it has become?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Offense in the summertime was going against our defense. That's when I found out who we were.


      Q. Speaking of your defense, it has come along throughout the course of the season, especially the last month. Did you see that coming? Did you see that coming in practice?                JA'MARR CHASE: Actually I did. You know, I mean, you're going to have a few flaws coming in the new year, so we thought about fixing those flaws and getting back on track, and I think I did a good personal job of that this year.


      Q. When you look at Oklahoma's defense, Alex Grinch has done a good job this year changing what they've been able to do. What stands out about them?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I see a lot about their speed. They play a lot of two-man. Don't want to get beat deep. But I see a lot of one-on-ones though. I do see that.


      Q. You obviously went through the banquet circuit, the awards circuit. How much of a relief was it to get back to focusing on football?
      JA'MARR CHASE: When I got here for the award thing I was still focused on football. I brought my iPad out here to watch film still. But I never quit football. Even when I'm busy I'm still looking at it.


      Q. Clyde's injury has been part of the story line leading up to this game. You have some freshmen running backs. When they practice, when you see them, what stands out?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Ty is a more downhill runner. He's likely to drop a shoulder on anybody. John is more of a first move and speed. But both of those guys will always make the first guy miss.


      Q. Are you guys ready to roll?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Yes, sir.


      Q. When you look at Oklahoma, is it hard to not think about a championship game because you're such a favorite and they come in here kind of banged up? Is there any chance of not looking at them the way --
      JA'MARR CHASE: No, I wouldn't say that. Right now actually we're just focusing on this game. We can't jump too far ahead and lose track of this game. I think we have enough tunnel vision right now for this game.


      Q. What do you see in the Sooner secondary that you'll be going against?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I see a lot of fast guys. A couple of them have tight hips, but some of them are slow, too. I think we'll have good match-ups all around.


      Q. See much one-on-one for you or are you looking at them having a guy over the top and at least giving you one and a half?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I mean, it's been happening all year, the double teams. The one-on-one chance, it comes every game. Whenever I get it, I have to make the most out of it.


      Q. How much fun has this season been to get to this point?
      JA'MARR CHASE: This season has really been fun. I'll say that. We had a lot of laughs during the game that made good memories for us. It's just a blessing to be here.


      Q. What's it's like (indiscernible)?
      JA'MARR CHASE: It's fun being under Coach Orgeron. I go into practice every day with my jersey up and he tells me to take it down, so I can't say nothing about that but he's a fun guy. I like him. Love him.


      Q. Ja'Marr, what stands out to you about CeeDee Lamb?
      JA'MARR CHASE: His after-catch. He's a big after-catch guy. He knows how to make people miss.


      Q. How impressive is that? At wide receiver you know how difficult some of those kind of plays are. \
      JA'MARR CHASE: I mean, it's not more impressive than Justin Jefferson's moves. I watch him every day and I still try to take some of his moves because he's so quick. It's pretty impressive. As a receiver you have to have some type of skill to get yourself open.


      Q. When you look at Oklahoma and see their DBs, what do y'all have been accustomed to making this year?
      JA'MARR CHASE: We just have to make them feel our speed. Run up to them, make them feel our speed. That's when we can get them to flip their hips.


      Q. Various people look at the Big 12 and say that they don't play defense, but obviously you see that Oklahoma has some players on theirs. What do y'all feel when -- what do you see on film like your wide receivers having over their secondary?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Like I said, I feel like once you get any team, any body to feel your speed as a route runner, you'll get them to flip their hips and that's when you'll make your route look very good on them. But in other words, those guys are good. I give credit to them. They got this far, too, just like us, but we're going to find a weakness on the team and we're going to attack it.


      Q. How easy has Joe made y'all's job as receivers?
      JA'MARR CHASE: He made it pretty easy. We work on our timing every day at practice, so that's why I'd probably say it's that easy for us, and if we probably mess up a route, I know we do it probably two to three times after.


       Q. Joe mentioned in his speech, but talk about Coach O, what he means to this program and the fact that not many places gave him a chance but LSU gave him a chance and where he's brought y'all.
      JA'MARR CHASE: That's unbelievable from Coach O to give somebody who didn't play for four years, three, four years and give him a shot to come to LSU, LSU is a big program, and the quarterback spot is even bigger, and for Joe to step up and take that role as a man, it's incredible for him. Coach O, same thing what Joe said. Coach O, that's my guy.


      Q. Is it one of those like everybody on that team echos what he said?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Yeah, I mean, Coach O, he's a very good guy. He lifts everyone up. He comes to practice hyped every practice. But it's just him pushing us every day at practice. That's what makes us better.


      Q. You mentioned Oklahoma's secondary and talked about them as a whole. What stands out to you about Parnell Motley, No. 11?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Nothing stands out about him too much. I watch him. I see he's -- I don't know if he's that long. I don't really know how tall he is. I see he's kind of fast. He'll try to put your hands on somebody just a little bit, but I'm ready for it. I want him to put his hands on me


      Q. Why is that?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Because he's going to feel me then.


      Q. You guys are a very confident team. Where does that come from?
      JA'MARR CHASE: It comes with heart. That's where it comes from. You step on that field, you've got to have heart to play football. It's not a game of babies. Everybody on this team is grown men.


      Q. I've been to a few of these covering OU. It's rare to hear teams exude such confidence. Is that SEC, Baton Rouge?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I think that's the Louisiana in us. We got it for a reason, so I think that's what that's from. Q. A little pride in that? JA'MARR CHASE: Yeah, yeah.


      Q. Who do you know on Oklahoma? Do you know anyone? Did you go to camp with any of those dudes growing up or anything?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I know T.J. Pledger, Bookie Radley. I don't really know them like that, but in high school we went to (indiscernible) with those guys. They're cool cats.


      Q. Do you know Jalen at all, Jalen Hurts?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I met him here a couple of weeks ago, but I don't really know him too much.


      Q. Do you respect him? Obviously you do. How much do you respect a story like his, what he's been able to do?
      JA'MARR CHASE: That's incredible. I'm glad he made it this far as a person, as a player. But I hope the best for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Lloyd Cushenberry III
Atlanta, Georgia


      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: A lot of confidence. It doesn't really matter who's in there. Up front we've got to do our job, so those guys can make plays. We've got to control the guys up front so they can do what they do. They're very well-coached, have a Super Bowl winning guy in their room. They're prepared.


      Q. It's one thing for you to do your job, but when you're confident the other guys are going to do their job, you aren't trying to overkill, do too much, you just focus on getting it done. Is that the advantage of having some young guys, like I trust them to hit the right hole, I don't have to do anything extra?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah, just that trust you build in practice, and obviously because we know -- we know everybody on this team puts in a lot of work this off-season, this summer, coming in extra on Saturday. Running plays, getting that execution down. We all trust one another and we know the work that we all put in.


      Q. I wanted to ask you about Joe. Obviously we know his importance to this offense. But when he came in, how much did things change? Obviously him and Steve were working together, but when they started making that change, how much did things change around?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: It changed a lot. We knew from day one this offense was going to be completely different. I knew we were changing things a lot, but yeah, it's been a lot of change, and change for the better.


      Q. What is he like? Obviously you don't work with him directly that much, but I guess he's around.
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Just like one of us. He's a young guy. He always -- he's clowning with his receivers all the time. He wears the shoes we wear. He wears the things we wear. He's just like one of the guys.


      Q. Is he relatable?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah.


      Q. What other qualities does he have as a QB? How would you describe him?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Very smart. He knows a lot about a lot of things. Dealing with football, he knows what he's supposed to do. He knows his receivers. He knows a lot. Very relatable and very smart.


      Q. The guys have talked about Clyde, how he shares a lot of advice. That has to help, right?        LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah, I feel like not a lot has changed with Clyde being out. He's been talking to those guys a lot in between practices and getting them ready for Saturday. I feel like they've been great, so not a lot has really been different.


      Q. The maturity that they have, do they understand the moment that they're in right now?     
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah, I think so. Haven't got a chance to really talk to them about that. So I don't want to hype it up too much. But I feel like they'll be ready. I feel like they've prepared all season for this moment, and I feel like they're going to do great.


      Q. In regards to the trust on this team, I feel like a lot of your success has been because of the trust you have in one another and your willingness to do your job.
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah, I feel like we all know the work that we put in during the off-season and the summer, so we all trust one another to do their job and get the job done on the field.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
K'Lavon Chaisson
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. Even with all the other stuff they throw in on you guys at a bowl, you all still manage to --        K'LAVON CHAISSON: Still manage. I mean, you practice on Christmas Day, I think that should tell you now.


      Q. Was it difficult at all, after the Alabama game, to kind of hit the reset button and say we've got to move on to the next goal? It seemed like that had been a big focus.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Maybe a big focus for the outside, not a big focus on the inside. I mean, it was great to win that game. I feel like it was good for the state. It was good for the city of Baton Rouge, but it was a regular game. I feel like with the confidence level we have on this team and so much we have in the offense and the offense has in us, we went into that game knowing we were going to win. We were prepared for it. So it wasn't really just a reset. But it was more so like we need to keep it moving. We don't need to start slacking and going down.


      Q. Name your position and one fun thing you like about Bowl Week so far.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Hey y'all, this is K'Lavon Chaisson, Number 18, outside linebacker at LSU. Everything is going great. We're in the big College Football Hall of Fame, you know. This is great. Glad to click in with y'all at the Peach Bowl. See y'all Saturday.


      Q. The game plan for Jalen, is it one of those deals where you want to rush him enough to not get him outside the pocket and make sure -- kind of keep eyes on him?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Yeah, a lot. It's one of them. It's more so of a lot of his plays is not really too much of a quick game. It's more letting things develop, probably a play action or a looky passing thing. So it's about rushing him, keeping consistent pressure him all game but don't rush past the quarterback and create open wide lanes. Going into the game with the mindset -- going into the Texas game and kind of took the wrong approach and tried to keep him in the pocket. He beat us with his arm all game. We're going in with our approach and we'll make something out of it.


      Q. Is it rush to the level? What do you call it?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Just level rush, that's it. Don't slow your rush down. Don't bull or anything. But keeping conscious and keep in mind don't rush past the quarterback and give him a wide lane to run the ball. We trust our defensive backs enough, where they're going to make him hold the ball long enough. They have one great receiver. Other than that, we have four great defensive backs that many can't handle.


      Q. You're right, he'll run receivers out. That's what he does.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Exactly.


      Q. So it's kind of knowing that going in, do you have to have that patience, I guess?     
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Especially as a pass rusher, something that you kind of don't want to think about going against. It's like, man, I got to worry about him running the ball. I'd rather he sit in the pocket like a duck and let me grab you. It's something great on his part. He knows that. He knows as a team that plays a lot of man that we trust our defensive backs against any receiver in the country. He's going to get sometimes in the open field and make something out of. With people manned up, with their backs turned to the quarterback, that's his time to shine.


      Q. Coach Aranda called a triple option. I thought that was interesting. You really have to read your keys.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Exactly. We all know the Ole Miss game, when he just did it. He just has a better arm than the Ole Miss quarterback. It's something you have to watch. 255 yards rushing for a quarterback is not common.


      Q. What about this team? I was talking to Coach O and he was talking about the leadership. For me, it clicked in my head, trust is what the team is built on. You trust each other to make the plays. They trust you to be business-like. And you trust them to put you in the right spot. Is that what you've been successful?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Of course, this team is more player driven than anything. Go with the simple fact that a lot of players, we want this ourselves. We know this is a special year for us. We knew from the get-go it would be a special year. It's all about how the players approach the game. In the past, I've been part of teams where it's more so thinking about the next level and not right now. So, man, I say everybody -- especially on this defense and this offense and the special teams players -- all clicked and they all bought in. It's all about the team and nobody has any individual goals.


      Q. I think it's interesting that you knew it early. We didn't know it. We didn't know the offense would be as good as it was. Everybody we talked to was like, yeah, we knew this team had this potential. Why?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: We're the ones in this program so we know. I mean, a lot of people, they caught -- so it's like man, you go get a quarterback who doesn't even play at Ohio State and you try everything that works. So we knew -- from the get-go, we knew how good it would be, seeing Coach Brady come in and help in the spring, changed a lot of things up. As especially a defense, we win most of our scrimmages in the spring and fall on campus. When the offense wins scrimmages, you're like whoa, wait a minute. You start thinking are we just terrible or is the offense just great? The offense is great. That's what it is.


      Q. The last four or five games, you've really turned it on. I mean, it's been incredible. Is it just something within you, or is it something with the people around you that have kind of helped you? Less people double-teaming you? What's been the difference in the stretch for you?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Personally, it's been good getting in a groove, getting healthier, getting your knowledge on the game. You only get better as your experience gets more -- as your experience gets older. So I feel like that's coming around, getting my experience up and getting my knowledge going with the game. Playing with great defensive linemen doing their jobs, I can count on them to make my job easier. I feel like just with the help of others and getting my knowledge of the game up and my experience, that's what's making me keep on going.


      Q. The defense has really responded to the challenge. After the Ole Miss game, they responded. When you got knocked down to Number 2 in the standings, the defense took that as a personal affront. Talk about the last two games. What happened with the defense? Was it a matter of people getting healthy or a matter of, all right, we've got all this talent. Let's play like we have the talent.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Both. I feel like it's more of a 90 percent healthy and 10 percent play like it. That's been intentional from the get-go. We never wanted to slack off. As a defense, we're not going to keep getting disrespected. LSU has never been disrespected for the defense. Always the offense. When the defense started getting disrespected, people started talking to us. I get DMs and text messages daily talking about the defense. It's not speaking on the defense's mindset. It's getting people healthy. A lot of people weren't healthy. We know we're not going to be 100 percent healthy. You play in a tough conference like that, you got to be at least 80 or 85. You're going against NFL talent every week.


      Q. Does this defense in a sense still kind of feel disrespected going into the game, in the sense when you hear people talk about Jalen Hurts, they say look what happened with LSU against Ole Miss. They discounted everything that's happened between that game and do you feel like every game, you've got to go out and prove something?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Yeah, every game. Even if people ranked us the Number 1 defense, you'd still have something to prove. We're not taking anything for granted. We're not taking anybody lightly, man. Everybody got to get the work that we're given. So, I mean, as a defense -- man, we know as an offense, their expectations and they're receiving so much praise. The defense wants the same. It's kind of so much a competition if you ask me. So the defense, we take it personally. Every day, we're talking about something we can work on. Come Saturday, we can put it on the field.


      Q. I'm kind of doing a sad story here. I know you guys know Ed Aschoff, who passed, right? I was talking to Grant about him. He ate with you guys in the cafeteria. Do you have any memories, anything that pops up?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Yeah, that's the first thing when we speak about him. He said we was going to lose -- was it 'Bama and Florida. Or A&M. It was one of them three teams. I was like man, what? Are you serious? I really think he said something about A&M. That's what got me the most. I was like, Bro, you work for who? He was a cool dude overall. Honestly, I didn't know nothing about that, man. That's what kind of threw me off. To see it was his birthday, that kind of hurt me as well, Bro. Me and Grant talked about it, and he was such a positive person, always smiling. So it kind of threw me off. You would never expect him to have anything. It's true when you say you never know what people is going through outside of stuff. He didn't bring anything down, no negative energy from anybody from the time I was with him. So it was a sad case, man. I hope his family is taking it well and getting better and grieving at the right pace. But in my opinion, I feel like he was such a great dude. Everybody -- God has a plan for everybody. Hopefully, this comes out for the better, helping his family out with a new situation.


      Q. I want to ask you about Stingley. How quickly did you guys know he would make this kind of an impact?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: The first day he got here, when he was working with the defensive backs, was working with Grant, working with Greedy, working with Kristian, he was clicking. I used to watch him all the time with his dad work out. I feel like that comes with being part of this program, this tremendous program. You get the help of Coach Raymond, who is one of the best defensive back coaches in the country. If anybody don't know that, that's just the truth of it. Check his resum� and you should probably do an article on that. He's one of the top dogs and that goes along with this great program.


      Q. Physically, what has allowed him to adjust so quickly?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel like he's a great athlete. I mean, from -- speed-wise. In the weight room, he gets after it too. Like I said, overall, I don't want to put too much praise on him, because it's not only about him. I know you're asking about him, but this is something that goes with being a part of DBU, the tremendous university of defensive backs. This is something that was expected out of him that Grant put the pressure on him, that Kristian put the pressure on him, Greedy, every defensive back in the past, Carey puts the pressure on, the expectations that he needs to achieve and he's done it so far.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Grant Delpit
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. (Indiscernible).
      GRANT DELPIT: Georgia tired them a lot in the SEC championship game. I guess that's the offense Georgia has. Oklahoma is going to do the same thing. They have great receivers, so I don't think they're going to shy away from any competition.


      Q. Is it like a matter of you've got to throw to somebody?
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, you've got to throw to somebody.


      Q. Even though you have 13 games of tape on them --
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, I don't know. Maybe it go from just the QB favorite receiver being on that side, or I guess throw it to freshman, but he's definitely proved himself.


      Q. I think you were really highly recruited. I don't know exactly what your ranking was, but there were a lot of five stars. When he got on campus as No. 1 corner in the country -- you guys were like, hey, five-star freshman, not like carry my towels but prove yourself? Do you give him a harder time?
      GRANT DELPIT: We didn't give him a hard time. Probably the fans wanted to make a lot of plays and stuff like that, but we just took him under our wing and tried to show him the ropes. He's definitely proved himself.


      Q. What's been the biggest key outside of superstars like yourself and Joe and several others? What would you say one of the keys has been to your team getting to this point?       
      GRANT DELPIT: Just finishing games. You know, I think that we put some good film on the past couple weeks, and that's kind of landed us in the No. 1 spot. Just finishing games, though, we had a rough game at Ole Miss. They had a great game plan for us, but as far as the last couple games we've played pretty good as a team overall, especially as a defense. So hopefully we can keep that going.


      Q. How do you see your match-ups on the back end?
      GRANT DELPIT: Great receivers against great DBs. So we're going to put on a show because they're going to throw the ball around a lot, try and get CeeDee the ball, he's a great player, and Jalen is going to run the ball a lot, and it's going to be a good match-up.


      Q. Oklahoma, after injuries and graduation, they're playing with a whole lot of new people offensively. When you look at their personnel and your personnel, how do you see the match-up?
      GRANT DELPIT: You know, I don't really see an advantage or anything like that. CeeDee was a Biletnikoff finalist, Jalen was a Heisman finalist. They've got good speed in the receiving room, good running backs. So it's going to be tough to stop. Those guys definitely have seen it all in the Big 12. They play good teams, and we're just ready for the game.


      Q. Oklahoma has been able to take advantage of a lot the H-back coming out of the back field and the tight end coming down the seam. What kind of adjustments do you make as a safety when you've got to worry about CeeDee on the outside when you never know if the halfback is going to run right down the seam?
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, it's going to be tough. We watch a lot of film trying to prepare for that. They've got a lot of trick plays and plays to get the playmakers the ball. It's going to be tough to stop. They have a great offensive scheme. They do a great job. It's going to be a fun game.


      Q. Does Jalen look any different at Oklahoma to the Alabama version?
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, I'll be seeing the little workouts he do and how big he's gotten. He looks like a running back to be honest. But he's definitely matured, I think, at Oklahoma. He's the Heisman finalist for a reason. He had a great year. It's going to be hard to stop.


      Q. Does it help that you've seen him before?
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, it's tough because of the different offense. He runs the ball a lot more at Oklahoma. They try to make plays around him to fit his play style. Alabama I think he was still a sophomore when he played, but he's definitely matured, gotten way better since then.


      Q. Does he throw the ball better or just more?
      GRANT DELPIT: Man, I don't know. I think they run the ball more than they did at Alabama with him. They've got a lot of good receivers at Oklahoma. They try to -- it's a good scheme. I don't know which Jalen Hurts was better, but he's a great player overall.


      Q. Do you like -- when the other team has a receiver like CeeDee Lamb, Charleston Rambo, does that get your juices going a little bit?
      GRANT DELPIT: A little bit. It's great to see some competition. We see competition every week in the SEC. This guy, these guys at Oklahoma, they definitely are great players. CeeDee is a great player. I played with CeeDee little league, a lot of people don't know that, in Texas, sixth to eighth grade. We played on the same team, so I know all about CeeDee. We talk all the time. He's a great player.
      Q. You'll have conversations with him out there during the game?
      GRANT DELPIT: Oh, during the game definitely. He was the first person I called when I was watching TV and it came out the playoff rankings that we were playing him, so he was the first person I called. It's going to be some competition.


      Q. Were you defense, offense?
      GRANT DELPIT: I played defense. I played corner. I was small, small. It was like sixth through eighth grade, so it was probably the smallest one on the team. I didn't get my growth spurt until like junior year in high school. He was one of the biggest ones on the team. He played running back and receiver. We never lost a game in three years. So it was a cool experience.


      Q. How old were you guys?
      GRANT DELPIT: How old were we, sixth through eighth grade and then we played on a seven-on-seven travel team in high school. So we always was around each other.


      Q. Wow, that's cool.
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, it's pretty cool.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Derek Stingley
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. Does it almost give you like goosebumps every time, no matter how much you prepare for it?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Every single time.


      Q. A lot of one-on-one opportunities with CeeDee. Or how do you look at it going in based on how you looked at plays in practice?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Yeah, I mean, based on, like, if it ends up like that, like without defensive play call, then it will be a nice matchup, in my opinion.


      Q. How much of what you see in practice can help you prepare for these receivers?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Going against Ja'Marr and Terrace, every day they've been much help me prepare for games like this.


      Q. When you CeeDee and his yards after catch, what makes him so dangerous?
      DEREK STINGLEY: His ability to make people miss in the open field. He's strong and fast so it will be kind of hard to tackle him if you're not in the right position.


      Q. I know you obviously weren't here when Jalen was at Alabama, but how much have the older guys and Dave Aranda sort of helped you prepare for what kind of player he is?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Well, I mean, they pretty much talk about, like, his running abilities, and if he gets running, you got to treat him like a running back because he's a bigger guy. Really good. You know, he'll run you over. Throwing-wise, we know that he's good throwing the ball. I've seen that on TV last year.


      Q. You've not faced a lot of quarterbacks like Jalen. You do think quarterbacks Bo Nix and like the quarterback from Ole Miss have prepared you for Jalen?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Oh, yeah. After those games, we went back to see what we did wrong, and we tried our best to learn from him.
      Q. Jalen's style is a little different as a runner than Plumlee or Bo Nix. What kind of adjustments do you make in that regard?
      DEREK STINGLEY: We just got to be ready for it. If it's a passing play and somehow he breaks out of the pocket, we've got to make sure the secondary stay on our receivers and the interior level is there, everybody gets to him in time.


      Q. Everyone asks about CeeDee. How exciting is it to go up against guys like Jerry Jeudy, big-time receivers?
      DEREK STINGLEY: It's crazy because, like, last year, I'm watching these people on TV, and now I'm lining up right across from them. Like the coolest thing about it to me is whenever I go line up on the opposite side, seeing all the coaches that I see on TV all the time, and they're right there by my face. It's cool. It's cool to be in this position.


      Q. Did you expect everything to culminate the way it did so quickly?
      DEREK STINGLEY: No, I didn't think it would be like this. I figured I'd do all right, but not they way I'm doing right now.


      Q. In the Ole Miss game when Plumlee ran crazy on you guys, after that happened, did you all kind of really tighten up things?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Yeah, I feel like after that game, the defense we sat down, talked about a lot of things, tried to fix it the best we could.


      Q. Is this something you kind of expected? You were one of the top recruits in the country, now playing in the Peach Bowl against probably one of the best wide receivers in college football. Is this something you expected of yourself in the first year?
      DEREK STINGLEY: No. I never would have thought that things would end up this way. But it's cool, though, to like -- I don't know, like, it's just one of the best feelings in the world.


      Q. Is that kind of like the dream, coming to LSU? Because you're from Louisiana and everything. Coming to LSU and getting to play so much as a freshman?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Yeah, that's really been a dream of mine for a long time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


12-26-19
Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!

 

​      This is an article written by Chuck Culpepper of The Washington Post on December 26th 2019.  Excellent work....


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      
                    **You can learn a lot about Ed Orgeron just from the sound of his voice**


By Chuck Culpepper
Dec. 26, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. CST


          Listen meticulously to the lionized voice of Ed Orgeron, and you might think you hear the gators sloshing, the mosquitoes buzzing, the oil-rig helicopters chuffing. You might picture the muskrats out swimming just before dawn, the Spanish moss hanging, the crawfish puffing through their gills, the shrimp trawlers’ outriggers above the bayou. You might even detect the French and the Southern in their singular dance. You might feel a certain, for lack of a better word, gumbo. The voice of the beloved LSU football coach embodies the region from which he hails, a tightknit part of the country not much of the country ever visits, a region that bloats southward from New Orleans, even if most visitors to New Orleans don’t drive down to see it because most visitors to New Orleans shouldn’t drive anywhere. It’s marshland and bayous and towns and census-designated places with names such as Cut Off, Golden Meadow and Larose (Orgeron’s hometown), settled largely by Acadians whom the British expelled from eastern Canada and northern Maine in the mid-1700s, and who ricocheted from France and resettled.   
    “A lot of people don’t know that there is a south of New Orleans,” said Robin White, an associate professor of English and French at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La., about 35 miles northwest of Larose, which is about 62 miles south-southwest of New Orleans. “It’s quickly, because of sea-level rise, it’s kind of washing away, and it’s a very interesting part of the United States. … If you go down there, A, it’s a beautiful part of Louisiana, and B, everybody talks like that down there.”   She said of the Acadians, “They come from New England snow and lobster and were faced with alligators and mosquitoes, and they make it.” So in Orgeron’s voice, she said, “There’s a little bit of French in his pronunciation of things, and there’s a little bit of Southern.” And, she said, “It’s locally called, ‘He talks flat.’”   
    Without question, Orgeron’s voice has lent further vividness to the kaleidoscopic college football landscape, especially as his current team has blasted to 13-0, to No. 1 in the land and to LSU’s first College Football Playoff semifinal, coming Saturday in Atlanta against Oklahoma. Go into a cramped Tuscaloosa interview room after a win at Alabama and hear him almost warble about being able to go to the 7-Eleven for his Red Bull without having to hear fans ask anymore when he’ll beat Alabama, and you might think you’re in some sort of Southern football dreamscape.   
    Listen with precision, though, and you might grasp echoes of a broader history. “His ’T’ is a little bit French,” for one thing, White said. “The French have a very different ‘T.’ It’s a very [dental] ‘T.’ Our ‘T,’ the tongue doesn’t go between the teeth. But the [dental], it’s just barely between the teeth. It’s one of all those things that make him sound like, Where’s he from?” Further: “Listen to his ‘r’s’ when he speaks … turned a little bit into a ‘w’ … it’s not the English ‘r.’ It’s a little softer. Our [English] ‘r’ is very particular.” Lafourche Parish, from which Orgeron hails, “is pronounced ‘Lafooosh,’” White later wrote in an email. English, she said, tends to be “a little bit more sing-songy. Accents go up and down in English, and not so much in French. The intonation is a little bit flatter, and you go up only at the end,” with “fewer ups and downs.”     
  “I would not be surprised if his parents were French speakers,” White said, and bingo, his mother’s French fluency has appeared in multiple reports across Orgeron’s five seasons at LSU (three as non-interim head coach). “Orgeron,” White said, is a French name, not an Acadian (Cajun) one, which she notes as part of her overall “mission” to combat the imprecision people often employ when overusing the word “Cajun.” Typically, “Orgeron” would have a silent “n” at the end, but she can’t imagine how “the rest of the people in the United States slaughter it.” (Note: We do.) The motto at Orgeron’s high school, South Lafourche, White emailed, remains “Tant que je peux,” meaning, “All that I can.” Football fanatics long since might have spotted the Frenchness in the pronunciation of the surname of Orgeron’s high school teammate, the former New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Bobby Hebert, who hails from Cut Off.   
    Add the Southernness, and you get the “y’alls” here and there. “They speak more slowly than a standard French speaker,” White said. “The pace isn’t quite as fast.” Orgeron, after all, comes from “down the bayou.” “He is just the embodiment of what ‘Down The Bayou’ means,” said Ian McNulty, the food writer for the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate, and the author of a book, “Louisiana Rambles: Exploring America’s Cajun and Creole Heartland.” “‘Down The Bayou’ is not a place. It’s not a sense of direction. It’s not something to which you give people driving directions. It’s sense of place and a sense of bearing. … Somebody’s character is ‘Down The Bayou.’ It means deeply rooted, way out there, deep in Louisiana. It’s not a vector point. It’s a mind-set. It’s a framework for identity. ‘Down The Bayou’ is who somebody is, or what something is.”   
   In Orgeron’s voice, McNulty said, a listener might detect “incredible warmth, but you also feel this power behind it, this strength.” He likens it to a bear both cuddly and physically capable of dislodging your limbs. He said: “In that voice you can hear a defiance against the wind. You can hear a voice that shouts against the wind, that’s going to do things his way. It’s a big voice, but it’s not a scary voice. Firm, but it’s not harsh. It’s weathered. Callused, but not without tenderness. You know he could lift up a 55-gallon oil drum on the derrick if he had to. He also could brush back a newborn baby’s hair.” It’s “very manly,” McNulty said. “Getting it done. Fixing your own car by holding up the hood. ‘I got this. I got this. Hold my beer.’” It sprouts from a region meshing Europe, the American South, the Caribbean, the one-time ownership by Spain (1763-1801), the blend, all with trucks going by oil-tool parts on their flatbeds and people with both names and nicknames. Orgeron’s parents, Cornelia and the late Edward, go and went by “Co Co” and “Ba Ba.” For Orgeron himself, it’s “Bébé.”   
   “Everyone lives along the Bayou,” McNulty said of Bayou Lafourche. “There’s one town after the next, kind of along that same main street.” Down there, “You’re taking the one road. You’re crossing the one drawbridge. Maybe you’re on the one side of the Bayou or the other, but you can see each other across the Bayou.” It’s a “land of reunion for people identified as people of Acadia. The Acadians. The Cajuns. ‘We were wronged. We were scattered,’ to a region with, as McNulty put it, “loads of swamp, reptiles and insects the size of hummingbirds,” the redfish jumping, the gators, the people chasing the gators. “The hide of the gator, that’s sort of the texture of that voice,” McNulty said. It’s a voice that made former Tigers defensive end Michael Robichaux, a Raceland ear, nose and throat physician, dispense a legend-worthy line to Associated Press sportswriter Brett Martel in 2017: “LSU finally has a coach without an accent.” 
    And it’s a voice of which said Michele Theriot, associate professor of English at Nicholls State, “If good Louisiana gumbo could talk, it would sound exactly like Coach O.”

12/26/2019



December 26, 2019
Ed Orgeron
Atlanta, Georgia


      Q. Ed, you've had an adventurous career. What does it mean for you to get the Tigers to this spot?
      ED ORGERON: This is my job. It's not about me. It's about the team, it's about the state of Louisiana. When you come to LSU, the expectations are high. Obviously, when you have the amount of talent we have on this football team, and the great coaches that we have, these are expectations that you have to meet at LSU. Obviously, proud of our football team. This is not our final destination. We came here for a playoff game. We're looking forward to playing a great Oklahoma team.
     
      Q. Is this what you expected when you took over a few years ago?
      ED ORGERON: Yeah, yeah. You know, you're expected to do this at LSU. I didn't know it would happen so fast, in our third year. I think in your third year, any time you're a new coach, that you have to show that your program's going in the right direction, and we've done it.


      Q. What does it mean for the state? The Louisiana people seemed to have embraced you because you're one of them.
      ED ORGERON: It's been phenomenal. To me, it's one of my favorite parts. I'm blue collar, a lot like they are. I tell them I represent them in every way I can. All the former players, all the former coaches, all the alumni, we want them to make those guys proud of Cajun. I have a Cajun accent. They like it. I like it. It's just been a wonderful mix of coming to LSU, coming back home, and us winning.


      Q. What's the latest with Edwards-Helaire and his hamstring?
      ED ORGERON: He hasn't practiced yesterday. He may practice a little bit today. We're not sure yet. If he is going to practice, he's questionable for the game. I do believe that -- if there's any shot of him being cleared to play medically, that if our trainers and doctors say that he can play, I think he is going to try. I don't know what's going to happen. I hope he does play.
      Q. Jalen Hurts has had an interesting 12 months. What do you make of what he's done since he got to Oklahoma?
      ED ORGERON: I'm so proud of him. I got to know him going to the awards banquet and stuff like that. Obviously, I know his history. We've played against him twice. We still ain't stopped them, and he made some big plays. We were talking about him this morning, the 10-0 game, it's 0-0 going into the fourth quarter and he makes two tremendous plays to win the game. His character, his grit, his determination, meeting his mom and dad, getting to know a little bit about him and the way he fought, I couldn't be more proud of the guy, to be honest with you.


      Q. Is he different than when he was at Alabama? What do you see?
      ED ORGERON: Yeah, they're running him more. Believe it or not, they're running him more. He has 1,200 yards. He and CeeDee are the keys to the offense. Similar plays in some ways, but some plays a little bit different. He's the key to the game. I think that the runs -- he's running inside the tackle, he's running outside, the quarterback powers, the lead draws. There's more runs in this offense -- the counters, the counter read -- than there were for him in the Alabama offense.


      Q. You guys have gotten a lot of attention for your makeover on offense. What about Oklahoma's defense, the way they've made over the defense?
      ED ORGERON: Outstanding. 24 points a game. That middle linebacker is one of the best guys we're going to see all year. They play good, sound, fundamental football. The things that they do up front, they stunt a lot, they try to get you out of your gaps. They try to create negative plays, tackles for a loss. But, again, the 24 points per game says a lot especially in that league.


      Q. What goes into something like that, Ed, when you're 114th in the country and you're beat down and you have to have a complete mental makeover? What goes into that from your perspective?
      ED ORGERON: I think it probably -- just like us on offense, it probably started in the meeting rooms. It probably started with an attitude. It probably started about the way we walk through stuff, the way we do everything. Probably a complete different change. I think schematically, players, their great coaches, and then you've got to go out there on the practice field and do it. Obviously, they have.


      Q. Ed, what's Clyde's status?
      ED ORGERON: Clyde has not practiced yet. He ran a little bit yesterday, ran straight ahead. Medically, hopefully, he's cleared to practice. I don't know if he will. It would be the first day he would. I think he may try something today. I'm not sure. It's going to be a game-time situation. Knowing Clyde, if he can play, he's going to try. We're really not sure yet. Do I want him to play? Yes. Do I expect him to try to play? Yes. How much he can play? I don't know.


      Q. Is he getting treated now instead of being here?
      ED ORGERON: Um-hmm, yeah.


      Q. You guys, obviously, this is the first trip for LSU. Oklahoma, on the other hand, has made a habit of this. Is there an advantage?
      ED ORGERON: I'm sure they have the advantage. I'm sure they know to how to handle the situation, handle the hype. They've come from behind in big-time games. They have great players, great coaches. Probably gives them a little advantage of being here before. But the newness also gives you an advantage. We're excited to be here, man. This is fun. When we walk into the Dome and we see College Football Semifinals in the playoffs, it means a lot to us. It means a lot. We're prideful to be here, so it works on both sides.


      Q. On the outside looking in, you're a double-digit favorite; they're the underdog. Do you talk about that with the players?
      ED ORGERON: Not at all. We don't talk about that. We block out the noise. We focus on the task at hand. We don't pay attention to it.


      Q. What have been your thoughts on Joe's return -- I don't know, the attention that Joe has gotten?
      ED ORGERON: Yeah.


      Q. Not just as the Heisman winner, but bringing attention back to Athens and things like that.
      ED ORGERON: I think it's been great, to be honest with you. It comes along with it. Obviously, we all know Joe's a great team player. But to put him in the national spotlight, to win the Heisman, very deserving. But typical Joe, he's going to help somebody else. I think he raised maybe half a million dollars for the kids of Athens, and it goes to show you the heart that he has, the character that he has. I think Joe's just getting started. I think the more Joe has success, the more he's going to help people. That's the type of guy he is.


      Q. Ed, I know you've been around Edward Aschoff, he's been in your program for a while. Just thoughts on his passing.
      ED ORGERON: What a shame. What a shame. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Great guy. I loved having him around. I read his stuff, thought it was outstanding. When I heard what happened, I was really sad.


      Q. If he isn't able to play, do you change stuff up in your game plan or plug and play with the next guy?
      ED ORGERON: We have three backs. Clyde does it all. Now, we've got three backs that are strong in each one of those areas, so we're going to have to use them. Tyrion, John Emery, and Chris Curry. You can expect all three of those backs to play in different situations.


      Q. Ed, when you started this thing, how much of a focus was Alabama for you? Was it just them as an opponent?
      ED ORGERON: We knew that we had to beat them. No question. It wasn't a focus every day. It wasn't the biggest game of the year or nothing like that. I think that you can make those things too big, and obviously your players feel that. But I knew that we had to get the type of offense that could score points on them. I knew we had to get the linemen to match the physicality of their football team.


      Q. As a program, once you overcome that, what do you have to do to maintain it, because you know that they're going to come back strong?
      ED ORGERON: You look at what they've done over the years. They've done a phenomenal job of staying on top. As they say, it's hard to get there. It's even harder to stay up there. We have to remain focused. You have to block out the noise. There have been a lot of accolades for this team already. That's not going to win the football game for you. It's about fundamentals, it's about getting better, staying hungry with a great mindset. I believe we have the coaching staff and focus to do that. Again, these guys are not satisfied. Although we've had success this year, they're not satisfied.
   
      Q. You talked about how this is all exciting for your players, being here for the first time, seeing their names. What's kind of the coolest thing for them so far?
      ED ORGERON: You know, I think winning the S.E.C. Championship, which was a goal of ours, to see them on the stage, happy and stuff like that. And then just coming here, being as a team. I do believe, like I said, when you walk in the Dome and you see College Football Semifinals, it hits them. It's all on the line. I think these guys are going to be ready. They've been fantastic. We'll see happens.


      Q. Coach O, you mentioned that the guys are excited to be here. Especially here. You have Blake Ferguson, who is a hometown kid, right up the street in Buford. Can you tell me a little bit about him as team captain?
      ED ORGERON: We had an awards banquet the other night, and he got every major award. Goes to show you what the strength coach thinks about him, what they think about him in academics, about his character, about his leadership on this football team. You know, the deep snapper, he never gets any attention unless he gets a bad snap. And he hasn't gotten that much attention because he hasn't had a bad snap. But, you know, Blake does a lot of things for SCA. He does a lot of things for the students. He's very involved in college football and wants to help in college football. He's a great leader, great young man, great family. It just so happens that our snapper has been from Buford the last three generations and we're going to continue -- Will's from Buford. We're going to continue that.


      Q. I guess that's a growing trend, they all come from up the street and benefit LSU.
      ED ORGERON: Sure does. And it helps us in recruiting. It helps the parents to know that those guys can come from Buford, from Atlanta, come to LSU and have success.


      Q. Coach, a lot of people talk about each coach has his own different philosophy on how they coach the team. You hear a lot of people say it's Coach O's way. Explain that to us.
      ED ORGERON: Say it again.


      Q. A lot of coaches say they have a factor or a way of coaching. A lot of players say it's Coach O's way. Explain that to us.
      ED ORGERON: I've been very fortunate to be under some great coaches, Jimmy Johnson, Paul Pasqualoni, Dennis Erickson, and Pete Carroll. A combination more of what we did at Miami, what we did at USC, combine both of them. Obviously, you've got to give your own flavor, be your own person. That's just the way we do things.


      Q. Ed, you talked last year about the need to get more analysts, and you got a bunch and you added some more. Is it any coincidence that you guys have done better program-wise the last two years?
      ED ORGERON: Good point. I think it's a direct result of our success. We were so far behind, and I knew it, and I didn't think we was giving our team a fair advantage. Now we have the power, we have the knowledge, we have advanced scouting. We have analysts that are breaking down everything we're doing, breaking down our opponent. We have answers for our players. Our coaches are able to get more information a lot quicker and put the game plan in a lot quicker. These guys have made all the difference in the world. Think about the analysts we have. We have NFL coordinators, big college coordinators. We have guys who have been in the NFL. Just a tremendous amount of knowledge.
    
      Q. And if I can ask specifically about Jorge Munoz. You brought him in from Lafayette. And Joe invited him to the Heisman ceremony. His role and what he's meant.
      ED ORGERON: Jorge does a great job of setting up what we call our winning edge. Obviously, he can't coach it on the field, but he does a lot of game management stuff for me. Also is involved in cut-off, also is involved in recruiting, also involved in setting up the daily meetings, setting up the drills for a coach without coaching on the football field. He is very knowledgeable. He's like having an extra offensive coordinator in the room with thoughts. I know he breaks down protection with Coach Cregg. I think I get there on Tuesday morning at 6:00. They've been there since 4:00 figuring stuff out. Tireless worker.


      Q. Ed, as part of juggling the bowl excitement and the business of winning this game, I know you've had this approach. You identified that pretty early, we need to focus in.
      ED ORGERON: We started early. Listen, we're not going to the bowl. We're going to win a playoff game. I've got to give it to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. They understand that too. There's not been a required amount of time, too much required amount of time. But our kids had a couple of events. They had a Family Feud the other night, which was very interesting. And then last night, they had a little -- right before Christmas dinner, they had a basketball shoot-off contest. So these guys have been great. I think it's been a nice combination of letting us have our meeting time, great accommodations, practicing in the Dome, focus in and then they've had about a half hour or so of events each night, which has been good. Our guys, we've had 100 percent curfew every night. Everybody in for curfew. The focus has been tremendous. They totally get that this is a playoff game.


      Q. You guys had a chance to play on this turf, and I remember the championship game and stuff like that, they were slipping a little bit. Did you switch cleats?
      ED ORGERON: We had to change cleats during the week. We had guys, especially on Tuesday, when we had a tough practice. Linemen were slipping, outside linebackers were slipping. So we continued to change the right cleats. Every guy needs a different cleat, different footing. So I think we've got it pretty good right now. It was an advantage this week of practicing on that turf.
      Q. Coach, how have you evaluated the Oklahoma defense this week? A lot of people say they didn't really have a chance to stop the LSU offense because Georgia couldn't stop LSU's offense. In my opinion, Oklahoma is built for this type of spread.
      ED ORGERON: Yes. They play the spread every day. They play the spread in their conference. They know what they're doing. The biggest accomplishment to me, for Oklahoma's defense, is allowing only 24 points per game in that league where guys are scoring 50 all the time. What a tremendous accomplishment. But the middle linebacker is one of the best guys we've seen, obviously. He can run down, make plays in space. Their defensive line is very quick and agile, and what they do, they stunt almost every down. So you got to pick up those stunts. If you don't, they're negative plays. I think a combination of that and outstanding coverage makes them a very, very good defense.


      Q. Have you done anything differently to prepare your offensive line for the speed of that defensive front?   
      ED ORGERON: Sure, yeah. We have what we called our cheetah package, where we have four fast guys in there and we're going against -- I've brought them down there with Coach Cregg and I run the cord and we run the different stunts. Those guys try to pick it up to simulate the speed of game.


      Q. How have you guys handled the bulls eye so far? You've played so many good teams. There's hype and talk about Joe Burrow and the Heisman, the good team you're playing. How do you handle the bulls eye?
      ED ORGERON: We block out the noise. It's about focusing on the task at hand. It's about fundamentals. When we get in the meeting room, it's Tell the Truth Monday. It's Competition Tuesday. It's Turnover Wednesday. Today is No Repeat Thursday. It's about focusing on the task at hand. We don't talk in our room about individual accomplishments. We don't talk about trophies. We don't talk about nothing but fundamentals and when the team does well and what the team needs to get better.


      Q. Have you been able to enjoy this? 15 years ago, you're in the S.E.C., it doesn't go too well. You're back, you're the number one team in America. How does it feel?
      ED ORGERON: Feels good. I'm happy for our team, happy for the state of Louisiana. You've got to win this game. There's no time to relax. There's no time to sit back. During recruiting, we had one week to focus on recruiting. This is not our final destination. This is a big game for us, and we're here to win it.


      Q. Ed, you talk a lot about (no microphone). What is it that makes guys pop like that?
      ED ORGERON: We feel like Chris has come along. I really like his ball security. When we put him in there, in the games, he ran tough. He ran with an attitude. We think we're going to need some physicality in this game. The thing that Chris does, along with John and Tyrion, they do a combination of everything that Clyde does. So we'll have to use all three of them.


      Q. Does that help spread the ball around as well?
      ED ORGERON: Yes, it does. They stay fresh, they stay hungry. They want to go in there and prove themselves. All three of them are good backs so they're going to be hungry to play. Obviously a big game in a big setting. The number one thing for us is ball security.


      Q. You talk about the leadership on the team. Almost like a coach's dream.
      ED ORGERON: I go to bed, I don't even worry about it. I know the next day they're going to tell me 100 percent curfew. I see the guys. I watch them. I see them in the morning. I know they're getting rest. They're like my children. You can tell when your children ain't doing right. When they're doing right, I have no complaints about the way these guys have acted.


      Q. Get back to the trust that everybody seems to have.
      ED ORGERON: I believe that one team, one heart beat. I think that has been developed. I think that's a culture. I do believe that everyone knows the task at hand, whether it be a third string guy, a second string guy, or the top guys. I think everybody has a vested interest in what we got to get done here. One team, one heartbeat, and you can feel it.


      Q. Coach, LSU has always had loads of talent at the skill positions and they've have had talent at quarterbacks, but they've kind of managed the game throughout the years and fallen into the fold. Now you have a quarterback like Joe Burrow, who you can say, go out and win the game for me. He's set record numbers this year. What's it like having a guy that's not just a game manager, but you can put everything on his back and say win the game?
      ED ORGERON: Obviously, it's a big advantage. What we always wanted at LSU, having a great back. The thing that's made our offense go is the play of our offensive line. I mean, those guys have been the MVP. Obviously, Joe's an outstanding player. We have outstanding athletes on the perimeter. But the offensive line has done a really good job this year. And then Stevens (indiscernible) and Joe Brady. I mean, the type of offense we're running is exactly what fits our skill set.


      Q. Joe said that defensively on the back end, Oklahoma is a little similar to what Texas does in the secondary. What up front have you seen from Oklahoma that they do a little bit different than everybody else?
      ED ORGERON: Stunt every down. I mean, every down is a stunt. They do a good job of it. Sometimes, when you stunt, you get out of your gaps and you get gashed on the run. Think about this. These guys have only given 24 points a game. They're very solid, know what they're doing, very quick.


      Q. Joe has taken on the larger-than-life personality on and off the field. Does your experience back in the day with the Leinhart years, have they achieved similar status?
      ED ORGERON: Very similar, and it's very similar, helped me to see the way Coach Carroll handled it. Coach Carroll let everybody be themselves. Obviously, when it comes down to practice, we focus on the task at hand. You can always tell when your team is focused. You can always tell when your team is distracted. I think we've been the most focused this week as we've been all year.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Dave Aranda
Atlanta, Georgia


      DAVE ARANDA: I remember saying to him, they know exactly where to go with the ball. I think that was a credit offensive scheme-wise, I think it's a credit to Joe Burrow, too, is that the weakness of whatever we were doing, whatever coverage variation we had, they went right to it, and there was no kind of getting around it. And I think that has been the case throughout our spring and fall camp and that's been the case throughout the season. They're able to identify and attack the weaknesses of people's alignments, structure, personnel, and get to it quick.


      Q. You've been around for a good amount of time. Where does Joe Burrow stack up in terms of guys that -- I guess you have week to week kind of prepared for him a little bit.
      DAVE ARANDA: Yeah, he's the best one I've been around. There's been some good ones. Texas Tech with Kliff Kingsbury, Houston we had Kevin Cobb, and Hawai'i we had Bryant Moniz, which was a big player for us. I think the difference with Joe is just his ability to be an offensive coordinator on the field. I think there's guys that can make throws, there's guys that can improvise. There's guys that can bring an intelligence to the game but not to the level that I'm used to, not to the level that Joe brings.


        Q. So you see Jalen Hurts on the other sideline. When you saw this match-up did you think, I can't shake this guy, he's everywhere?
        DAVE ARANDA: Yeah, I've got such respect for him. Just his story, the way he goes about his business, his demeanor, his approach to everything, his being in the spotlight as much as he's been. I have a lot of respect for how he handles it, one. And then as a player, he's improved as a passer. If you load up on the run, which they force you to do because they've got the math advantage over you with him as a runner, so you load up on the run, then you're short in your pass. The question, though, has been can he make you regret doing it that way, and there's multiple times this season that that's been the case. So that combined with some gadget plays and some innovation on offense, it's a beast. So I feel like our -- I'm glad we've had time to prepare, so I think our practices have been great. Guys clearly understand what's ahead of them, the challenge. They're focused, and I feel really confident in what we've been able to accomplish. But you get into the game, and we're going to have to see where it goes and adjust as is because it could be a run-centric game, it could be, yeah, he's making throws with simple coverage and we've got to adjust that.


      Q. Just for your defense this year, you've all come under a lot of scrutiny at times, but the last three weeks of the season you seemed to play your best football. What was the turning point for you guys?
      DAVE ARANDA: Well, I think that's a good question. We're at our most healthy now. I also feel the standards at LSU are so high, which I love, and I've always seen LSU as a defensive school. And so when we early in the year did not hold to that standard, I think that a lot of criticism came. And so I think those issues that we had early on were issues of, one, finding who we are, knowing like what we do best, and this particular year, with this particular group I think we've settled into that. Two is, hey, we're scoring a lot of points, and it's not about just winning the game anymore. It's about dominating the other opponent on your side of the ball on defense. A lot of those points were coming in second halves when we were up. So the push from me would be to finish the game, would be to focus every play, would be to -- the scoreboard doesn't matter, and I think we struggled with that pretty severely at times. And then three would be when the criticism would start, and we'd still be dealing with both one and two, different guys in the game because of injuries, and then two were up again, so we're trying to deal with how to finish four quarters. Things would go bad, and at this stage the criticism would start again. Then we'd get guys that would kind of push and stress, and I'm hearing this stuff about me, so I'm going to try to make a play to get it to quiet down, or hey, they're saying this about us. I'm playing on the right but I'm going to go make a play on the left. So that was the third mix. And so I think to work through that and get everyone on the same page, that's a credit to the players and a credit to the coaches.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Joe Burrow
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. What's your opinion of Baby Yoda?
      JOE BURROW: I haven't watched the show yet. I haven't seen it. I was going to wait until it all came out before I started watching it.


      Q. You look a little tired.
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, a little tired.


      Q. Are you a little sick?
      JOE BURROW: A little bit. Nothing serious. A little cold. I'm going to go to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back.


      Q. This is a bowl game but it's not like (indiscernible) how has the focus been?
      JOE BURROW: It's been just fine. You don't got to worry about that.


      Q. Is it because the stakes are so high?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I think we have a really mature team that understands the situation and understands that we still have things ahead of us.


       Q. What about the practices, how have they been?
      JOE BURROW: We've had really good practices. Been really happy with them. Guys have been flying around, we look rested, healthy. It's been great. Q. (Indiscernible). JOE BURROW: I felt good out there. I know a couple of the guys were slipping around a little bit, but it's been good to have a week of practice on it, and they're getting used to it.


      Q. How have the rest of the guys been?
      JOE BURROW: Been really happy with it. They've been coming along. (Indiscernible) is having a great week of practice. He's been getting better. Ty and John are obviously getting a lot better, as well. Whether Clyde plays or not, we'll have guys that are ready to play. I still think Clyde will be able to play, and he's working to get healthy.


      Q. Kind of strange being back in this room?
      JOE BURROW: I wouldn't say strange. I wouldn't say strange.


      Q. Good memories?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, clean sweep at the awards. I think there were a lot of deserving players across the country, but I was happy that our guys got them.


      Q. Has it been overall -- what's your experience been like in Atlanta?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, it's been a lot of fun, but we know it's a business trip, so we're trying to treat it just like any other weekend as much as we can. It's tough when you're here for a week and you have a lot of free time. But we're just trying to treat it like any other game.


      Q. Is there any other advantage to having played a game in that building already?
      JOE BURROW: Not really. I mean, maybe the site for the receivers a little bit, but other than that, it's the same stadium for everybody.


      Q. What specific issues of Oklahoma's defense do you have to focus on?
      JOE BURROW: They're really fast, and I think Coach Grinch is a really good coach that's going to have a good plan for us, so we're going to have to see what they're going to do and make in-game adjustments really well.


      Q. There's a couple local guys on your team that are here, especially your team captain. Talk a little bit about him. I know he must be excited to play here in front of the home crowd.          JOE BURROW: Yeah, he's super excited. He went home and had Christmas dinner yesterday and invited a bunch of guys through. He's a great person as well as a great player. He's a guy that's really big into philanthropy and that's great to see. He's a really good leader for us.


      Q. Just your overall thoughts on the game, how preparations have been? Where do you think the team's mindset is at?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I know everyone is just ready to play. Everyone said being here a week is nice, but we're ready to go out and play the game and go back to Baton Rouge.


      Q. Can you go out with the family and eat dinner and stuff like that?
      JOE BURROW: No, absolutely not. We just order in usually.


      Q. How has that changed for you? You've been famous as the year has gone on but what happened in New York City really changed things.
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I didn't really experience anything during the season because I didn't really do anything. I was just in the facility and made food or ordered groceries, but I started to experience things a little bit, and it's been wild.


      Q. Have you had to change your cell phone number?
      JOE BURROW: Not yet. Thinking about it, though.


      Q. How has it been wild? Was there a moment where you were like, this is too much?
      JOE BURROW: I mean, you don't like not accepting pictures, but when you go out in public and 50 people want a picture with you, you've got to eventually say no. That's been my least favorite part, just telling people no when I wish I could be there all day.


      Q. There's a five-year-old kid and a guy wants to put something on eBay --
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, getting easier and easier to tell which ones want to put that on eBay. They just have duffel bags of mini helmets, like, can I get a couple signatures? No, dude, sorry.     
      Q. Are you learning you had a lot more relatives than you had?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, a lot of relatives that I'm related to that I've never heard of in my life.


      Q. (Indiscernible). Is it going to make the circuit?
      JOE BURROW: I guess I'll have to find out. That one is pretty comfy. I have like eight Fiesta Bowl sweatshirts, so we'll see. Q. So you're not wearing the same one over and over again? JOE BURROW: No.


      Q. You had a bunch of opinions last year on a bunch of topics --
      JOE BURROW: I've got nothing for you. Hopefully someone else does so I can get a little break, though. I think we're here for 45 minutes.


      Q. How does the press work, you have the meeting room and -- what do you do?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, we have a floor dedicated to all the meeting rooms and just meeting there like it's our facility.


      Q. What do you think about the narrative surrounding Oklahoma, saying that they don't necessarily have a chance in this game?
      JOE BURROW: I mean, they're in the playoff. It's not -- I don't think they're sneaking up on anybody. They've been in the playoff three of the last five years. They're a great program, an elite program. They're not sneaking up on anybody. They're just as good as anybody in the country.


      Q. (Indiscernible) what have you seen from them that makes you feel comfortable?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, they're getting a lot better, and it comes with reps, and I think Chris Curry, like I said earlier, is having a great week of practice. I'm super comfortable with all those guys in there, but Chris has really jumped out this week, and he and Ty I think will do a great job if they happen to be in there.


      Q. (Indiscernible).
      JOE BURROW: We'll have to find out. I don't go in thinking like that. I just go in and take what the defense gives me. I don't try to force anybody, and that's why you see people with -- Harris, two touchdowns in the SEC Championship and Ja'Marr with not as many. I just go in thinking they've got to take a couple guys away. We've got to figure out who they're taking away and go with the other guys.


      Q. A lot of questions on their defense. Are they comparable to anyone you've seen this year?
      JOE BURROW: You know, their scheme is a little similar to Texas's, a little bit. On the back end. Up front it's a lot different. But they play quarters, the occasional cover three. But like I say, we've faced something different like the last six weeks than what we've seen on film, so I have to go in and make those in-game adjustments.


      Q. How quickly do you try to (indiscernible)?
      JOE BURROW: The first play we'll know. Like against Georgia, Auburn, Texas A&M, you go out and like, wow, I haven't seen this on film. I don't know why I watched film this week. So we'll go out and figure it out, like we always do. But it gets a little frustrating when you watch film all this time and it doesn't matter because they don't play that defense. So we'll see.


      Q. You get a feel for their talent, though?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I mean, they pop on film. They're really fast. No. 9, the linebacker, one of the top two or three linebackers in the country, is really, really good, really fast on the D-line. No. 90 is quick twitch, strong. So they've got some guys for sure.


     Q. Going back to the (indiscernible).
      JOE BURROW: Looked pretty good, huh? Nobody thought I could play ball, but we came back and won, so that was pretty good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Ja'marr Chase
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. Ja'Maar Chase, wide receiver for the LSU Tigers. How crazy has this trip been?
      JA'MARR CHASE: It's been unbelievable for us, just having fun and competing.


      Q. When you look back at this season, you started off with Texas. That was sort of when you established yourself as this offensive power. You haven't let up. When did you know this offense was going to be when it has become?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Offense in the summertime was going against our defense. That's when I found out who we were.


      Q. Speaking of your defense, it has come along throughout the course of the season, especially the last month. Did you see that coming? Did you see that coming in practice?                JA'MARR CHASE: Actually I did. You know, I mean, you're going to have a few flaws coming in the new year, so we thought about fixing those flaws and getting back on track, and I think I did a good personal job of that this year.


      Q. When you look at Oklahoma's defense, Alex Grinch has done a good job this year changing what they've been able to do. What stands out about them?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I see a lot about their speed. They play a lot of two-man. Don't want to get beat deep. But I see a lot of one-on-ones though. I do see that.


      Q. You obviously went through the banquet circuit, the awards circuit. How much of a relief was it to get back to focusing on football?
      JA'MARR CHASE: When I got here for the award thing I was still focused on football. I brought my iPad out here to watch film still. But I never quit football. Even when I'm busy I'm still looking at it.


      Q. Clyde's injury has been part of the story line leading up to this game. You have some freshmen running backs. When they practice, when you see them, what stands out?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Ty is a more downhill runner. He's likely to drop a shoulder on anybody. John is more of a first move and speed. But both of those guys will always make the first guy miss.


      Q. Are you guys ready to roll?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Yes, sir.


      Q. When you look at Oklahoma, is it hard to not think about a championship game because you're such a favorite and they come in here kind of banged up? Is there any chance of not looking at them the way --
      JA'MARR CHASE: No, I wouldn't say that. Right now actually we're just focusing on this game. We can't jump too far ahead and lose track of this game. I think we have enough tunnel vision right now for this game.


      Q. What do you see in the Sooner secondary that you'll be going against?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I see a lot of fast guys. A couple of them have tight hips, but some of them are slow, too. I think we'll have good match-ups all around.


      Q. See much one-on-one for you or are you looking at them having a guy over the top and at least giving you one and a half?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I mean, it's been happening all year, the double teams. The one-on-one chance, it comes every game. Whenever I get it, I have to make the most out of it.


      Q. How much fun has this season been to get to this point?
      JA'MARR CHASE: This season has really been fun. I'll say that. We had a lot of laughs during the game that made good memories for us. It's just a blessing to be here.


      Q. What's it's like (indiscernible)?
      JA'MARR CHASE: It's fun being under Coach Orgeron. I go into practice every day with my jersey up and he tells me to take it down, so I can't say nothing about that but he's a fun guy. I like him. Love him.


      Q. Ja'Marr, what stands out to you about CeeDee Lamb?
      JA'MARR CHASE: His after-catch. He's a big after-catch guy. He knows how to make people miss.


      Q. How impressive is that? At wide receiver you know how difficult some of those kind of plays are. \
      JA'MARR CHASE: I mean, it's not more impressive than Justin Jefferson's moves. I watch him every day and I still try to take some of his moves because he's so quick. It's pretty impressive. As a receiver you have to have some type of skill to get yourself open.


      Q. When you look at Oklahoma and see their DBs, what do y'all have been accustomed to making this year?
      JA'MARR CHASE: We just have to make them feel our speed. Run up to them, make them feel our speed. That's when we can get them to flip their hips.


      Q. Various people look at the Big 12 and say that they don't play defense, but obviously you see that Oklahoma has some players on theirs. What do y'all feel when -- what do you see on film like your wide receivers having over their secondary?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Like I said, I feel like once you get any team, any body to feel your speed as a route runner, you'll get them to flip their hips and that's when you'll make your route look very good on them. But in other words, those guys are good. I give credit to them. They got this far, too, just like us, but we're going to find a weakness on the team and we're going to attack it.


      Q. How easy has Joe made y'all's job as receivers?
      JA'MARR CHASE: He made it pretty easy. We work on our timing every day at practice, so that's why I'd probably say it's that easy for us, and if we probably mess up a route, I know we do it probably two to three times after.


       Q. Joe mentioned in his speech, but talk about Coach O, what he means to this program and the fact that not many places gave him a chance but LSU gave him a chance and where he's brought y'all.
      JA'MARR CHASE: That's unbelievable from Coach O to give somebody who didn't play for four years, three, four years and give him a shot to come to LSU, LSU is a big program, and the quarterback spot is even bigger, and for Joe to step up and take that role as a man, it's incredible for him. Coach O, same thing what Joe said. Coach O, that's my guy.


      Q. Is it one of those like everybody on that team echos what he said?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Yeah, I mean, Coach O, he's a very good guy. He lifts everyone up. He comes to practice hyped every practice. But it's just him pushing us every day at practice. That's what makes us better.


      Q. You mentioned Oklahoma's secondary and talked about them as a whole. What stands out to you about Parnell Motley, No. 11?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Nothing stands out about him too much. I watch him. I see he's -- I don't know if he's that long. I don't really know how tall he is. I see he's kind of fast. He'll try to put your hands on somebody just a little bit, but I'm ready for it. I want him to put his hands on me


      Q. Why is that?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Because he's going to feel me then.


      Q. You guys are a very confident team. Where does that come from?
      JA'MARR CHASE: It comes with heart. That's where it comes from. You step on that field, you've got to have heart to play football. It's not a game of babies. Everybody on this team is grown men.


      Q. I've been to a few of these covering OU. It's rare to hear teams exude such confidence. Is that SEC, Baton Rouge?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I think that's the Louisiana in us. We got it for a reason, so I think that's what that's from. Q. A little pride in that? JA'MARR CHASE: Yeah, yeah.


      Q. Who do you know on Oklahoma? Do you know anyone? Did you go to camp with any of those dudes growing up or anything?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I know T.J. Pledger, Bookie Radley. I don't really know them like that, but in high school we went to (indiscernible) with those guys. They're cool cats.


      Q. Do you know Jalen at all, Jalen Hurts?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I met him here a couple of weeks ago, but I don't really know him too much.


      Q. Do you respect him? Obviously you do. How much do you respect a story like his, what he's been able to do?
      JA'MARR CHASE: That's incredible. I'm glad he made it this far as a person, as a player. But I hope the best for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 26, 2019
Lloyd Cushenberry III
Atlanta, Georgia


      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: A lot of confidence. It doesn't really matter who's in there. Up front we've got to do our job, so those guys can make plays. We've got to control the guys up front so they can do what they do. They're very well-coached, have a Super Bowl winning guy in their room. They're prepared.


      Q. It's one thing for you to do your job, but when you're confident the other guys are going to do their job, you aren't trying to overkill, do too much, you just focus on getting it done. Is that the advantage of having some young guys, like I trust them to hit the right hole, I don't have to do anything extra?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah, just that trust you build in practice, and obviously because we know -- we know everybody on this team puts in a lot of work this off-season, this summer, coming in extra on Saturday. Running plays, getting that execution down. We all trust one another and we know the work that we all put in.


      Q. I wanted to ask you about Joe. Obviously we know his importance to this offense. But when he came in, how much did things change? Obviously him and Steve were working together, but when they started making that change, how much did things change around?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: It changed a lot. We knew from day one this offense was going to be completely different. I knew we were changing things a lot, but yeah, it's been a lot of change, and change for the better.


      Q. What is he like? Obviously you don't work with him directly that much, but I guess he's around.
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Just like one of us. He's a young guy. He always -- he's clowning with his receivers all the time. He wears the shoes we wear. He wears the things we wear. He's just like one of the guys.


      Q. Is he relatable?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah.


      Q. What other qualities does he have as a QB? How would you describe him?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Very smart. He knows a lot about a lot of things. Dealing with football, he knows what he's supposed to do. He knows his receivers. He knows a lot. Very relatable and very smart.


      Q. The guys have talked about Clyde, how he shares a lot of advice. That has to help, right?        LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah, I feel like not a lot has changed with Clyde being out. He's been talking to those guys a lot in between practices and getting them ready for Saturday. I feel like they've been great, so not a lot has really been different.


      Q. The maturity that they have, do they understand the moment that they're in right now?     
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah, I think so. Haven't got a chance to really talk to them about that. So I don't want to hype it up too much. But I feel like they'll be ready. I feel like they've prepared all season for this moment, and I feel like they're going to do great.


      Q. In regards to the trust on this team, I feel like a lot of your success has been because of the trust you have in one another and your willingness to do your job.
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY III: Yeah, I feel like we all know the work that we put in during the off-season and the summer, so we all trust one another to do their job and get the job done on the field.
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December 26, 2019
K'Lavon Chaisson
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. Even with all the other stuff they throw in on you guys at a bowl, you all still manage to --        K'LAVON CHAISSON: Still manage. I mean, you practice on Christmas Day, I think that should tell you now.


      Q. Was it difficult at all, after the Alabama game, to kind of hit the reset button and say we've got to move on to the next goal? It seemed like that had been a big focus.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Maybe a big focus for the outside, not a big focus on the inside. I mean, it was great to win that game. I feel like it was good for the state. It was good for the city of Baton Rouge, but it was a regular game. I feel like with the confidence level we have on this team and so much we have in the offense and the offense has in us, we went into that game knowing we were going to win. We were prepared for it. So it wasn't really just a reset. But it was more so like we need to keep it moving. We don't need to start slacking and going down.


      Q. Name your position and one fun thing you like about Bowl Week so far.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Hey y'all, this is K'Lavon Chaisson, Number 18, outside linebacker at LSU. Everything is going great. We're in the big College Football Hall of Fame, you know. This is great. Glad to click in with y'all at the Peach Bowl. See y'all Saturday.


      Q. The game plan for Jalen, is it one of those deals where you want to rush him enough to not get him outside the pocket and make sure -- kind of keep eyes on him?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Yeah, a lot. It's one of them. It's more so of a lot of his plays is not really too much of a quick game. It's more letting things develop, probably a play action or a looky passing thing. So it's about rushing him, keeping consistent pressure him all game but don't rush past the quarterback and create open wide lanes. Going into the game with the mindset -- going into the Texas game and kind of took the wrong approach and tried to keep him in the pocket. He beat us with his arm all game. We're going in with our approach and we'll make something out of it.


      Q. Is it rush to the level? What do you call it?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Just level rush, that's it. Don't slow your rush down. Don't bull or anything. But keeping conscious and keep in mind don't rush past the quarterback and give him a wide lane to run the ball. We trust our defensive backs enough, where they're going to make him hold the ball long enough. They have one great receiver. Other than that, we have four great defensive backs that many can't handle.


      Q. You're right, he'll run receivers out. That's what he does.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Exactly.


      Q. So it's kind of knowing that going in, do you have to have that patience, I guess?     
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Especially as a pass rusher, something that you kind of don't want to think about going against. It's like, man, I got to worry about him running the ball. I'd rather he sit in the pocket like a duck and let me grab you. It's something great on his part. He knows that. He knows as a team that plays a lot of man that we trust our defensive backs against any receiver in the country. He's going to get sometimes in the open field and make something out of. With people manned up, with their backs turned to the quarterback, that's his time to shine.


      Q. Coach Aranda called a triple option. I thought that was interesting. You really have to read your keys.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Exactly. We all know the Ole Miss game, when he just did it. He just has a better arm than the Ole Miss quarterback. It's something you have to watch. 255 yards rushing for a quarterback is not common.


      Q. What about this team? I was talking to Coach O and he was talking about the leadership. For me, it clicked in my head, trust is what the team is built on. You trust each other to make the plays. They trust you to be business-like. And you trust them to put you in the right spot. Is that what you've been successful?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Of course, this team is more player driven than anything. Go with the simple fact that a lot of players, we want this ourselves. We know this is a special year for us. We knew from the get-go it would be a special year. It's all about how the players approach the game. In the past, I've been part of teams where it's more so thinking about the next level and not right now. So, man, I say everybody -- especially on this defense and this offense and the special teams players -- all clicked and they all bought in. It's all about the team and nobody has any individual goals.


      Q. I think it's interesting that you knew it early. We didn't know it. We didn't know the offense would be as good as it was. Everybody we talked to was like, yeah, we knew this team had this potential. Why?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: We're the ones in this program so we know. I mean, a lot of people, they caught -- so it's like man, you go get a quarterback who doesn't even play at Ohio State and you try everything that works. So we knew -- from the get-go, we knew how good it would be, seeing Coach Brady come in and help in the spring, changed a lot of things up. As especially a defense, we win most of our scrimmages in the spring and fall on campus. When the offense wins scrimmages, you're like whoa, wait a minute. You start thinking are we just terrible or is the offense just great? The offense is great. That's what it is.


      Q. The last four or five games, you've really turned it on. I mean, it's been incredible. Is it just something within you, or is it something with the people around you that have kind of helped you? Less people double-teaming you? What's been the difference in the stretch for you?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Personally, it's been good getting in a groove, getting healthier, getting your knowledge on the game. You only get better as your experience gets more -- as your experience gets older. So I feel like that's coming around, getting my experience up and getting my knowledge going with the game. Playing with great defensive linemen doing their jobs, I can count on them to make my job easier. I feel like just with the help of others and getting my knowledge of the game up and my experience, that's what's making me keep on going.


      Q. The defense has really responded to the challenge. After the Ole Miss game, they responded. When you got knocked down to Number 2 in the standings, the defense took that as a personal affront. Talk about the last two games. What happened with the defense? Was it a matter of people getting healthy or a matter of, all right, we've got all this talent. Let's play like we have the talent.
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Both. I feel like it's more of a 90 percent healthy and 10 percent play like it. That's been intentional from the get-go. We never wanted to slack off. As a defense, we're not going to keep getting disrespected. LSU has never been disrespected for the defense. Always the offense. When the defense started getting disrespected, people started talking to us. I get DMs and text messages daily talking about the defense. It's not speaking on the defense's mindset. It's getting people healthy. A lot of people weren't healthy. We know we're not going to be 100 percent healthy. You play in a tough conference like that, you got to be at least 80 or 85. You're going against NFL talent every week.


      Q. Does this defense in a sense still kind of feel disrespected going into the game, in the sense when you hear people talk about Jalen Hurts, they say look what happened with LSU against Ole Miss. They discounted everything that's happened between that game and do you feel like every game, you've got to go out and prove something?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Yeah, every game. Even if people ranked us the Number 1 defense, you'd still have something to prove. We're not taking anything for granted. We're not taking anybody lightly, man. Everybody got to get the work that we're given. So, I mean, as a defense -- man, we know as an offense, their expectations and they're receiving so much praise. The defense wants the same. It's kind of so much a competition if you ask me. So the defense, we take it personally. Every day, we're talking about something we can work on. Come Saturday, we can put it on the field.


      Q. I'm kind of doing a sad story here. I know you guys know Ed Aschoff, who passed, right? I was talking to Grant about him. He ate with you guys in the cafeteria. Do you have any memories, anything that pops up?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: Yeah, that's the first thing when we speak about him. He said we was going to lose -- was it 'Bama and Florida. Or A&M. It was one of them three teams. I was like man, what? Are you serious? I really think he said something about A&M. That's what got me the most. I was like, Bro, you work for who? He was a cool dude overall. Honestly, I didn't know nothing about that, man. That's what kind of threw me off. To see it was his birthday, that kind of hurt me as well, Bro. Me and Grant talked about it, and he was such a positive person, always smiling. So it kind of threw me off. You would never expect him to have anything. It's true when you say you never know what people is going through outside of stuff. He didn't bring anything down, no negative energy from anybody from the time I was with him. So it was a sad case, man. I hope his family is taking it well and getting better and grieving at the right pace. But in my opinion, I feel like he was such a great dude. Everybody -- God has a plan for everybody. Hopefully, this comes out for the better, helping his family out with a new situation.


      Q. I want to ask you about Stingley. How quickly did you guys know he would make this kind of an impact?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: The first day he got here, when he was working with the defensive backs, was working with Grant, working with Greedy, working with Kristian, he was clicking. I used to watch him all the time with his dad work out. I feel like that comes with being part of this program, this tremendous program. You get the help of Coach Raymond, who is one of the best defensive back coaches in the country. If anybody don't know that, that's just the truth of it. Check his resum� and you should probably do an article on that. He's one of the top dogs and that goes along with this great program.


      Q. Physically, what has allowed him to adjust so quickly?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel like he's a great athlete. I mean, from -- speed-wise. In the weight room, he gets after it too. Like I said, overall, I don't want to put too much praise on him, because it's not only about him. I know you're asking about him, but this is something that goes with being a part of DBU, the tremendous university of defensive backs. This is something that was expected out of him that Grant put the pressure on him, that Kristian put the pressure on him, Greedy, every defensive back in the past, Carey puts the pressure on, the expectations that he needs to achieve and he's done it so far.
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December 26, 2019
Grant Delpit
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. (Indiscernible).
      GRANT DELPIT: Georgia tired them a lot in the SEC championship game. I guess that's the offense Georgia has. Oklahoma is going to do the same thing. They have great receivers, so I don't think they're going to shy away from any competition.


      Q. Is it like a matter of you've got to throw to somebody?
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, you've got to throw to somebody.


      Q. Even though you have 13 games of tape on them --
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, I don't know. Maybe it go from just the QB favorite receiver being on that side, or I guess throw it to freshman, but he's definitely proved himself.


      Q. I think you were really highly recruited. I don't know exactly what your ranking was, but there were a lot of five stars. When he got on campus as No. 1 corner in the country -- you guys were like, hey, five-star freshman, not like carry my towels but prove yourself? Do you give him a harder time?
      GRANT DELPIT: We didn't give him a hard time. Probably the fans wanted to make a lot of plays and stuff like that, but we just took him under our wing and tried to show him the ropes. He's definitely proved himself.


      Q. What's been the biggest key outside of superstars like yourself and Joe and several others? What would you say one of the keys has been to your team getting to this point?       
      GRANT DELPIT: Just finishing games. You know, I think that we put some good film on the past couple weeks, and that's kind of landed us in the No. 1 spot. Just finishing games, though, we had a rough game at Ole Miss. They had a great game plan for us, but as far as the last couple games we've played pretty good as a team overall, especially as a defense. So hopefully we can keep that going.


      Q. How do you see your match-ups on the back end?
      GRANT DELPIT: Great receivers against great DBs. So we're going to put on a show because they're going to throw the ball around a lot, try and get CeeDee the ball, he's a great player, and Jalen is going to run the ball a lot, and it's going to be a good match-up.


      Q. Oklahoma, after injuries and graduation, they're playing with a whole lot of new people offensively. When you look at their personnel and your personnel, how do you see the match-up?
      GRANT DELPIT: You know, I don't really see an advantage or anything like that. CeeDee was a Biletnikoff finalist, Jalen was a Heisman finalist. They've got good speed in the receiving room, good running backs. So it's going to be tough to stop. Those guys definitely have seen it all in the Big 12. They play good teams, and we're just ready for the game.


      Q. Oklahoma has been able to take advantage of a lot the H-back coming out of the back field and the tight end coming down the seam. What kind of adjustments do you make as a safety when you've got to worry about CeeDee on the outside when you never know if the halfback is going to run right down the seam?
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, it's going to be tough. We watch a lot of film trying to prepare for that. They've got a lot of trick plays and plays to get the playmakers the ball. It's going to be tough to stop. They have a great offensive scheme. They do a great job. It's going to be a fun game.


      Q. Does Jalen look any different at Oklahoma to the Alabama version?
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, I'll be seeing the little workouts he do and how big he's gotten. He looks like a running back to be honest. But he's definitely matured, I think, at Oklahoma. He's the Heisman finalist for a reason. He had a great year. It's going to be hard to stop.


      Q. Does it help that you've seen him before?
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, it's tough because of the different offense. He runs the ball a lot more at Oklahoma. They try to make plays around him to fit his play style. Alabama I think he was still a sophomore when he played, but he's definitely matured, gotten way better since then.


      Q. Does he throw the ball better or just more?
      GRANT DELPIT: Man, I don't know. I think they run the ball more than they did at Alabama with him. They've got a lot of good receivers at Oklahoma. They try to -- it's a good scheme. I don't know which Jalen Hurts was better, but he's a great player overall.


      Q. Do you like -- when the other team has a receiver like CeeDee Lamb, Charleston Rambo, does that get your juices going a little bit?
      GRANT DELPIT: A little bit. It's great to see some competition. We see competition every week in the SEC. This guy, these guys at Oklahoma, they definitely are great players. CeeDee is a great player. I played with CeeDee little league, a lot of people don't know that, in Texas, sixth to eighth grade. We played on the same team, so I know all about CeeDee. We talk all the time. He's a great player.
      Q. You'll have conversations with him out there during the game?
      GRANT DELPIT: Oh, during the game definitely. He was the first person I called when I was watching TV and it came out the playoff rankings that we were playing him, so he was the first person I called. It's going to be some competition.


      Q. Were you defense, offense?
      GRANT DELPIT: I played defense. I played corner. I was small, small. It was like sixth through eighth grade, so it was probably the smallest one on the team. I didn't get my growth spurt until like junior year in high school. He was one of the biggest ones on the team. He played running back and receiver. We never lost a game in three years. So it was a cool experience.


      Q. How old were you guys?
      GRANT DELPIT: How old were we, sixth through eighth grade and then we played on a seven-on-seven travel team in high school. So we always was around each other.


      Q. Wow, that's cool.
      GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, it's pretty cool.
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December 26, 2019
Derek Stingley
Atlanta, Georgia




      Q. Does it almost give you like goosebumps every time, no matter how much you prepare for it?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Every single time.


      Q. A lot of one-on-one opportunities with CeeDee. Or how do you look at it going in based on how you looked at plays in practice?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Yeah, I mean, based on, like, if it ends up like that, like without defensive play call, then it will be a nice matchup, in my opinion.


      Q. How much of what you see in practice can help you prepare for these receivers?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Going against Ja'Marr and Terrace, every day they've been much help me prepare for games like this.


      Q. When you CeeDee and his yards after catch, what makes him so dangerous?
      DEREK STINGLEY: His ability to make people miss in the open field. He's strong and fast so it will be kind of hard to tackle him if you're not in the right position.


      Q. I know you obviously weren't here when Jalen was at Alabama, but how much have the older guys and Dave Aranda sort of helped you prepare for what kind of player he is?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Well, I mean, they pretty much talk about, like, his running abilities, and if he gets running, you got to treat him like a running back because he's a bigger guy. Really good. You know, he'll run you over. Throwing-wise, we know that he's good throwing the ball. I've seen that on TV last year.


      Q. You've not faced a lot of quarterbacks like Jalen. You do think quarterbacks Bo Nix and like the quarterback from Ole Miss have prepared you for Jalen?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Oh, yeah. After those games, we went back to see what we did wrong, and we tried our best to learn from him.
      Q. Jalen's style is a little different as a runner than Plumlee or Bo Nix. What kind of adjustments do you make in that regard?
      DEREK STINGLEY: We just got to be ready for it. If it's a passing play and somehow he breaks out of the pocket, we've got to make sure the secondary stay on our receivers and the interior level is there, everybody gets to him in time.


      Q. Everyone asks about CeeDee. How exciting is it to go up against guys like Jerry Jeudy, big-time receivers?
      DEREK STINGLEY: It's crazy because, like, last year, I'm watching these people on TV, and now I'm lining up right across from them. Like the coolest thing about it to me is whenever I go line up on the opposite side, seeing all the coaches that I see on TV all the time, and they're right there by my face. It's cool. It's cool to be in this position.


      Q. Did you expect everything to culminate the way it did so quickly?
      DEREK STINGLEY: No, I didn't think it would be like this. I figured I'd do all right, but not they way I'm doing right now.


      Q. In the Ole Miss game when Plumlee ran crazy on you guys, after that happened, did you all kind of really tighten up things?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Yeah, I feel like after that game, the defense we sat down, talked about a lot of things, tried to fix it the best we could.


      Q. Is this something you kind of expected? You were one of the top recruits in the country, now playing in the Peach Bowl against probably one of the best wide receivers in college football. Is this something you expected of yourself in the first year?
      DEREK STINGLEY: No. I never would have thought that things would end up this way. But it's cool, though, to like -- I don't know, like, it's just one of the best feelings in the world.


      Q. Is that kind of like the dream, coming to LSU? Because you're from Louisiana and everything. Coming to LSU and getting to play so much as a freshman?
      DEREK STINGLEY: Yeah, that's really been a dream of mine for a long time.
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12-26-19
Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!

12/24/2019


    Chosen members of the LSU Offense & Defense met with media this morning to answer questions. Below is a link to the photos from the event.  You may need to copy and paste it to your browser... ....  Enjoy!




https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNy1_3NbhuNf5Cuy2HrVgFrSugyzBCIRJ087F5Q




(Photos provided by: Peach Bowl Media Member)

12/24/2019


​  Below is a link to photos of LSU's practice from this morning in Mercedes Benz Stadium...
   You may need to copy &paste the link to your browser...  Pictures courtesy of Peach Bowl... Enjoy..




https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipN3amSrruQ58l6Vot-ri0ukJ3niH0iNgJEEHfwH




12-24-19
Terrill J. Weil

12/24/2019


Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Dave Aranda
K'Lavon Chaisson
Grant Delpit
Patrick Queen
LSU Tigers


      THE MODERATOR: Welcome, gentlemen. We're now joined by the LSU defense, featuring defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, linebacker Patrick Queen, safety Grant Delpit and linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson. Coach, give us an opening statement on bowl preparations so far and what the trip has been like so far for you guys.
      DAVE ARANDA: It's been great. We're excited to be here. We fully understand the challenge that's ahead of us, the offense that we're facing. For me personally, it's great to reconnect. Bill Bedenbaugh, the offensive line coach for Oklahoma, I was a GA with for three years. We shared the same offense -- or office, great friends with him. Dennis Simmons, the receiver coach, Lincoln showed up at Texas Tech after I left. Ruffin was a GA for when -- Ruffin was a linebacker coach at OU -- or at Texas Tech. So it's great to be able to reconnect and see them. On other side of it, we've got quarterback runs and speed shot throws and we've got looky passes off of run actions. It's a triple option offense kind of wrapped up in a spread packaging. So it's a whole bunch for us to digest. We're trying to take that bite by bite.


      THE MODERATOR: For the players, let's go down the row. In looking at film so far on Oklahoma, talk about what your position group sees out of their defense and what you expect in the game from each of those units.
      PATRICK QUEEN: Their offense, Jalen's a great quarterback, you know. CeeDee Lamb is a great wide receiver. They do a lot of plays, like Coach said. Looking at the film, everybody's got to do their job. We're going to stick to the game plan. We trust Coach with his game plan. It's a great one. We'll see what happens.  


      THE MODERATOR: Grant, what about the receiver group? What do you see out of them on tape?
      GRANT DELPIT: They've got playmakers all in that room. CeeDee was a Biletnikof finalist for a reason. He's probably the second best receiver in the country besides Ja'Marr. They try to get him the ball a lot. He's truly a playmaker. They've got other speedy guys and guys that can catch the ball in the room. So it's going to be hard to stop. But, you know, CeeDee is a great player. They've got a lot of talent in the room. It's going to be a fun game.


      THE MODERATOR: K'Lavon, for you. Oklahoma is associated with a pretty heavy passing attack. They actually run the ball pretty well too. What do you expect out of their backs?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel like the running game is probably more underrated than what it is. People think they're more of a passing team, but they're running the ball in tremendous ways, I feel like they take over the Big 12 by running the ball. They're definitely a top team for a reason. When you have your quarterback leading, I think, the conference in rushing yards with almost 1,300 rushing yards, that's a lethal weapon, something you don't see often in the game of football at this age. It's going to be a task, a challenge that we're put up to, but I feel like we're well prepared for it, thanks to Coach Aranda.


      Q. Dave, throughout the season you guys have had rotations on defense, the line, and other things like that with more personnel in a game at a time, how has that affected how you approach game-planning and scheming players throughout a game?
      DAVE ARANDA: We want to be able to play our best in the fourth quarter so we go into every game anticipating that that fourth quarter is a must-win. And so the more that we can rotate early in the game, keeping guys fresh for late in the game, I think we've been able to develop that. I think the front, specifically, has helped us here in this late stretch of games. Just the depth that they've got.  We don't miss a beat when the 1s aren't there, so to speak. Linebacker wise, DB-wise, the emergence of Flott and Maurice Hampton has allowed and freed up other defenders to do other things. Earlier in the year, when we didn't have that depth, I thought a lot of our DBs were covering guys. When we added more DB depth, we added the ability for DBs to blitz and do different stuff. That's what they've been doing lately. I think the inclusion of guys has been big.


      Q. Coach Aranda, can you just give us a timeline on your talks with UNLV at the time and were they serious talks, or is it just a mere flirtation between you two?
      DAVE ARANDA: I think we had this discussion earlier with a couple other guys. I think any time that you're presented with an opportunity, I think you -- for you and for your family, you want to be able to look into it. I think they're just preliminary talks. And it was nothing more than that. I feel like that program is in a great situation. I think the AD there and the people associated there are going to be on a great track. I wish them well.


      Q. Coach, would you say Hurts is the best scrambler since the Ole Miss quarterback Plumlee. What did you take away from the second half of that game, how you played defensively, and the concerns you have regarding Hurts in this game?
      DAVE ARANDA: I would say yes. I think it's a different style of runner. Hurts like to put his foot in the ground quite a bit, where I think Plumlee is more of a straight line guy, where I think Hurts will try to set you up and cut it back on him. I think the lessons learned would be the team defense aspect. I think that's the challenge with Oklahoma is what we talked about before, the spread offense. There's so many plays, gadget plays, or it's a run and there's a tight end over here blocking, and then he releases late. Or it's a run this way or looks like a run. The receiver is shallow like he's going to run a mesh route and takes up off the field. There's so many plays that they've got that are triple option plays, and you have to stay on your guy. You've got to build a heavy rise in the right spot. So I feel like the mistake I made in the Ole Miss game was when we had a breakdown here or breakdown there, I didn't pull everybody to the side and get them together and say, hey, this is what happened. This is where I went wrong. This is how we fix it. I feel I try to do that as best I can. I feel like in the past, I have. I don't know why in that game I did not. What ended up happening is one thing started to fester, the next thing. So the outside guy is going to try to make plays inside. The inside guy is going to try to make plays outside. We're missing guys now. The math doesn't add up. Oklahoma will put you in that situation in a fast way, and so we're going to collectively play team defense. As adjustments come up, we're going to have to make those adjustments as a team.


      Q. Dave, in your history of coaching, have you been part of a staff where the offense, I guess, maybe didn't perform on this level, but leads the NCAA in scoring and they score pretty quickly, averaging like two minutes a drive? What challenges does that present a defensive coordinator? Is there even a learning curve even for someone like you to kind of catching up to that as the season goes on?
      DAVE ARANDA: I think what I'm proud of with this group is the improvements that we've made, is the ability, when you're winning, to look at yourself critically and what can I do better and how can I improve and just all of that. I think some of that stuff is hard when you're winning. I was at Texas Tech, Kliff Kingsbury was our quarterback, and Coach Leach was our head coach and was calling the plays. They score quite a bit and score early. At Hawaii, Bryant Moniz was there. They score quite a bit, score early, score fast. Any time it's like that, the scoreboard doesn't matter. It's between you and yourself. You're not going to let them score. No matter what it is, you're not going to let them in, you're not going to give them an inch. You're not going to give them a yard. You're not going to make a mistake, even though it's 30 to something. And so it's not about necessarily winning the game. It's about completely shutting them down. That's a completely different mindset. So I think we're working to cultivate that mindset.


      Q. Coach, early in the season, there was a narrative and some criticism about the points and the statistics you guys were surrendering. There was an obvious shift the last two weeks against A&M and against Georgia. What changed? And you noted the evolution of this group. Define that evolution. But what changed the last couple of weeks?
      DAVE ARANDA: Well, I think -- I appreciate your question. I feel like there was positive things throughout the year, whether it was the second half of Florida -- I'm going to bring up halves now. Or let's say the first three quarters of Arkansas. The first three quarters and couple minutes of Arkansas. Or Auburn, right, the first three quarters of the Auburn game. So our issue, or one of our issues, has been finishing, has been four quarters. And a lot of it had to do like there is no scoreboard, man. There isn't. It's not about the "W" or the "L." It's about shutting people down. It's about stopping people. So that's a mindset that you've got to be able to have. I think these guys have been able to get into it. I stand at the 20 after our offense scores and we're waiting -- that's where we're anticipating we're going to start, the kickoff and that. As the defense walks over, jogs over, runs over, I can tell by the look in their eye that this is going to be three and out, that they're not going to score right now. No matter what the scoreboard says, you can see it. Just as a coach, you can see it. I imagine the fans, with their rightful criticism, I imagine they could see it too. Good and bad. So I think we've got it to where we want it to be and we're working to get it better.


      Q. Patrick and Grant, Stingley was practicing with you guys last year for the bowl game. I'm wondering, what did you guys see from him then and did you expect him to have the impact he's had this season?
      PATRICK QUEEN: Derek was very mature for his age when he came in. He was different. He didn't really talk a lot. I guess him not knowing a lot of us. But he really didn't ask any questions when he came in. He came in, went to work, and you could see in his eyes that he was hungry, going against our best wide receivers at the time. It translates to this year. He's doing the same thing that he did when he came in. Just proud of that kid and hope he'll keep playing.


      THE MODERATOR: Grant?
      GRANT DELPIT: He came in last year, mature beyond his age. He's a great player. He surprised a lot of us, the amount of plays he was making. I think he's proved himself throughout this year. Georgia was trying him a lot two weeks ago. I think he's trying to kind of prove himself in the SEC now. I think it's time for him to do it on a bigger stage. We've got all the confidence in him.


      Q. K'Lavon, at the beginning of the season, I guess throughout the season, there's been times where starters have been injured but now it seems the past few games, couple of games, you've had everybody at full strength. How noticeable is the difference when you guys are all out there together versus when you're having to play against some backups at times?
      K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel that's more of a confidence within the unit, when you know -- especially I feel like a defensive line interior, they know that having me on the outside, they know he can trust me and I'm going to do my job regardless of what the case may be on the inside. I trust the starters on the inside will do their job no matter what the case will be. So I feel like it's more of a confidence in where -- if it's a backup, you have people worrying about, you know, what I'm saying, the backup is going to do his job. So people try to do a little extra or maybe try to do the other person's job and they just don't want to do it right. They want to focus mainly on theirs. I think it's more about the cohesive unit. The starters and the 1s that have been working and grinding this summer together and fall camp. Just being in confidence and everybody trusting and believing that the person is going to do their job. That's what made the cohesive unit work together and flash.


      Q. Dave, I know you're preparing for OU's offense. I wanted to get your perspective on the job Alex Grinch has done with Oklahoma's defense this year. Just as someone that is well respected as a defensive coordinator and calls football, how do you think Alex has done turning around Oklahoma's defense this season?
      DAVE ARANDA: I think he's done a great job. I remember talking to him when he was still back out west and we talked about the stemming that he was using and the different stunts. He moves his front more than really anybody. Was really impressed in the talk that we had, because he organized all that. I think that's what I had never seen before was organizing the stems and the stunts and being able to have so much multiplicity with one word calls and able to get in and out of things. I feel when I watch Oklahoma's defense play, which I've watched quite a few games, the violence they play with, how hard they play, the speed in which they play with, I mean, that's the first thing you see and that's a great quality to jump off the screen. I think he's done a great job.
      THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen.

12/24/2019


     The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl committee has kept the Tigers busy since they arrived yesterday. Press Conferences, Visit to the College Football Hall of Fame, A visit to Children's Hospital, some friendly competition games with the Sooners' players.  Below are links to photos from these events for you to enjoy..  You may need to copy and paste links to your browser...


https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMDSLjxx4r6rZAa8eAvyuCaHandl3YSx-NpT_iE


https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMzi3q6qcAwU6KWCR72VTfgX-gS_6c2wQPlWXTx


https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMuRFyajnJHHoKD4QBMrrkKFWDCWTAFEckuZbOV


12-24-19

12/24/2019


December 24, 2019
Steve Ensminger
Ja'marr Chase
Justin Jefferson
Joe Burrow
Atlanta, Georgia


      THE MODERATOR: We're joined by LSU's offense, with offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, quarterback Joe Burrow, wide receiver Justin Jefferson, and wide receiver Ja'marr Chase. Coach, we'll start with you. Give us an opening statement on getting to Atlanta and bowl preparations so far and how the trip has been to this point.
      STEVE ENSMINGER: Well, the trip has been great. It's been a great season. Obviously, we're excited about being in the playoffs and everything else. We're excited about playing Oklahoma. It's a great matchup. From watching film and everything else, it's two great teams that's going to put on a show and we're looking forward to it. But the trip and Atlanta and -- thank you -- everything has been special, really has.


      THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. Starting with you, Joe, talk about your experience so far. I know you got to do the Battle for Bowl Week event last night and tour the Hall of Fame. What was the experience like? JOE BURROW: It was a lot of fun. We were here last week as well. The Family Feud last night was a lot of fun.
      JUSTIN JEFFERSON: It's been a lot of fun, but we're here to handle business. So we're excited for this game. We're excited for this matchup, and we're just ready to go.
      JA'MARR CHASE: We're loving it right now out here. We're having a lot of fun with the guys. As Justin said, we're came out here to handle business. We're taking care of the fun stuff right now. Once that's over with, we'll get to work.


      Q. Steve, I wonder what your younger self would have enjoyed doing with this offense?
      STEVE ENSMINGER: Well, back in the stone ages, we didn't do this kind of stuff. But it is fun for a number of reasons. Because there's guys sitting next to me who can make those plays. It's fun. As an offensive coordinator, you go years -- I think it's my 38th year of coaching -- to coach a quarterback like Joe and have receivers and running backs like we have. It's a special year. So I would have loved to have been through this, but I don't think this offense was thought of back then.


      Q. Coach, just curious, how gratifying has this year been for you? How much have you enjoyed this year? And what makes you able to work with Joe Brady the way that you have while he's gotten some national accolades and put your ego aside and so forth?
      STEVE ENSMINGER: It's been a fantastic year. You go undefeated and you put the numbers we put, it's gratifying. As far as Joe Brady is concerned, I love him to death. Coach O asked me -- he walked in my office, I can't remember when, but I think the Saints just lost the game they shouldn't have lost, and he said, What do you think about Joe Brady? I said, Get him here tomorrow. And he's brought a lot to our offense. To be honest, I'm appreciative of him. He deserves everything he's gotten, I can promise you that. It's just fun sitting up in the box and dissecting defenses. And it's amazing because we practice all week, and probably the last five games for sure, you don't see the defense you practice against. It's always something different. So sitting up here, making adjustments, and counting on your quarterback, your receivers, and running backs to make those adjustments, it's exciting. Because with this guy right here, you can call a play and even if you feel like they're going to roll the coverage, they're going to do something wrong, he's going to take care of it.


      Q. Steve, Oklahoma's defense has taken a big jump like your offense has taken this year. What have you seen from them? And what makes them so tough?
      STEVE ENSMINGER: I don't put anything down against the defenses we play, because we play some great defenses. This might be the fastest defense we face. They can run. Their defensive line can run, their line backers can run, their secondary can run. They present problems with their speed. And so it's protection first. You got to be able to run the football against this team. Nobody has. You put up explosive runs on tape, and they're not very many of them, so it's got to be a good mixture. I think you -- the defensive coordinator does a great job of checking the check and everything else. I think you have to be a little bit faster with this defense as far as calling plays and getting it in and let's go. It will be a challenge.


      Q. For Joe Burrow, we talked about the relationship between you and Coach O and how much guys mean to each other. But what does it feel like to have a relationship with, of course, Mr. Steve and Joe Brady, the quarterbacks coach just coming from last year to this year?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah, I think the biggest thing that they do that I appreciate is they ask for my input in the offense. And they not only ask for it, but they implement it. And, you know, Coach E and Coach Joe come to me on Monday, ask for ideas, and they'll be in the game plan Tuesday. Thursday and Friday, I'll get a play sheet and cross out the ones I don't like, and they won't call it. So it's been a great meshing together.


      Q. Coach, during this year with the success you've had with both Joes, Brady and Burrow, has it made you think the longevity of your career, maybe extending it a little bit further than maybe what you had thought before the season started?
      STEVE ENSMINGER: Hell, I'm young. (Laughter.)
      STEVE ENSMINGER: I'm 61. I won't be like Coach Robinson. I won't coach until I'm 80, but do I look forward to the rest -- I look forward to finishing this season and we'll make that decision after. I still want to coach. I enjoy coaching. I think we have special athletes. I'm sitting next to three of them right here. So as long as I feel like I can contribute to LSU, I will be there. If I feel like -- it's kind of like, you know, Joe Brady coming in here and helping us. If I feel like, hey, somebody else can do it better, I'll walk away from it. That's the way it is.


      Q. Good morning, guys. This is for Joe first, but I'd like to have the rest of your input as well, please. Joe, if you were to tell your story to someone who had never heard it, didn't know a thing about you, what would you say?
      JOE BURROW: How long do you have?


      Q. I got all morning. Go ahead.
      JOE BURROW: It's been a long one, you know. I think that's kind of been the story of college football season with three of the Heisman finalists being transfers and having long roads and battling through adversity. I just try to leave a legacy of hard work and leadership and loyalty and let the rest take care of itself.


      Q. I want to hear from the rest of you guys. If you were telling Joe's story to somebody that didn't know it, how would you describe his journey from that small town in Ohio to Heisman to playoff?
      JUSTIN JEFFERSON: To be honest, he's been blessed, to be in this situation from a small town to Ohio, to Ohio State, and then transfer to LSU, and then being in a situation like he is now, then being up for the Heisman and winning the Heisman, he just had a long journey. And, I mean, he's been blessed to be in this situation and so is the rest of us.


      THE MODERATOR: Ja'Marr?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I could tell Joe's been through a lot with the transfer portals and stuff. But he's a hard worker and he comes in every day, ready to work. So with a quarterback like that, that means he's great, you know. Make sure his receivers are good, his running backs, his line, you know. He takes care of everyone around him. So that just means he's ready.


      Q. Steve, are y'all practicing as if you might have -- might not have Clyde, just in case? And what do you think of the other three backs and what kind of job they might do if you don't have Clyde?
      STEVE ENSMINGER: I'm excited about the other three backs. I do believe we will have Clyde. That's my opinion. Coach O and Jack don't confer with me that much, but I think Clyde will be there. If he's not, we have capable backs. Ty Davis is a bull runner. John Emery can make people miss in space. Chris Curry, I think Chris Curry runs the ball hard. You saw him at the end of the game last week or two weeks ago, runs the ball hard. He's very secure with the ball. I have no problems with our backs if Clyde's not there. But I truly expect him to be there.


      Q. To follow up on that, Joe and the receivers as well, if you are having to rely on some young running backs, do you feel that puts more pressure on the passing game side of your offense?
      JOE BURROW: Clyde is -- you know, Clyde is a running back, but what makes Clyde so good is you can't cover him with the linebacker. Teams have to go dime or put another safety in there, another DB to cover Clyde, and then we can run the ball down and throw it. So Clyde, you know, super versatile and puts a lot of pressure on the defense. We're not going to change our offense if Clyde isn't out there, you know. Our offense is our offense. And those guys will step up, and I know they will, and they work hard for it. But Clyde is a big part of it.


      THE MODERATOR: Justin?
      JUSTIN JEFFERSON: Like Coach said, next man up. So if Clyde was not with us, we definitely have faith in Ty, John, and Chris. So, I mean, they're some good backs. They're not here for a reason. I mean, we rely on everybody. So if Clyde would so happen not to play, we can rely on the other backs as well.


      THE MODERATOR: Ja'Marr?
      JA'MARR CHASE: I don't know, the freshman just to play a game, they should look at it like every other game. If Clyde isn't there, there's always the next man up. I think our guys will be ready for it.


      Q. Joe, $482,326 have been raised so far on Facebook for the Athens County Food Pantry. That charitable work and money that spilled over to other charitable causes, springing from what you said at the Heisman speech last Saturday, I'm sure you've taken note of it. How much has that surprised you, overwhelmed you? What have you thought about it?
      JOE BURROW: I think it's awesome. I think their annual budget was something like 70 or 80,000, and it's up close to 500,000 now. I didn't expect that. I didn't say what I said -- I just said it from my heart. That's what I was feeling at the time and someone took it and ran with it. It's been awesome. I couldn't be happier for my area that it's happening. I think it's going to help a lot of people this Christmas.


      Q. For Joe, Justin, Ja'Marr, Coach alluded to looking at Oklahoma's defense as being the fastest you guys have seen on tape. From your perspective, is there a better defense that you feel you guys have played against that could possibly -- that you guys could possibly look at, or do you feel exactly the same way as him?
      JOE BURROW: When you watch them on tape, they definitely pop. They're fast all over the field. And their scheme is really effective. I was with Coach Grinch for the first spring at Ohio State, he's a great coach, great guy. He does a really good job with them.
      JUSTIN JEFFERSON: What we caught on the tape, we seen they were fast. We have fast receivers in our room too. So we're not really afraid of the speed they have. We just got to go in the game, focus, ready to go, and make some big plays.

      THE MODERATOR: Ja'Marr?
      JA'MARR CHASE: We see they're fast, of course. But it's all about working hard. It's all about technique on the field. You can't always rely on speed. So it's either a game of heart or a game of speed.


      Q. Joe, what has your life been like the last week and a half since you won the Heisman? I'm sure you've gotten countless requests for pictures, autographs, so forth. How have you handled that and your motivation? Do you still kind of pretend like you're the guy who wasn't recruited well? How do you keep your edge after you get so much recognition like that?
      JOE BURROW: Not hard. Not hard. I want to win a national title. That's always been my drive since I was a sophomore in high school. I never dreamed of -- when I envisioned myself growing up, being a football player, it wasn't in the NFL. It was playing on January 13 in a dome somewhere for the national title.


      Q. (No microphone)
      JOE BURROW: It's been kind of exhausting the last couple weeks, so I've been excited this week to get here and kind of get away from it all, get onto the practice field and just focus on ball.


      THE MODERATOR: Coach, we've got a question for you. Kenneth Murray on OU's defensive side can be a disrupter on just about every play. What are you expecting out of him and how do you think he can impact your --
      STEVE ENSMINGER: What's his number? I can tell you numbers. Number 9 is, I think, a special player, defensive lineman right there. But I think number 9, the linebacker, might be the best linebacker in the country. Really do. He's instinctive, he's fast. He does swinging routes and runs down backs. He's a special player, and we have to account for him on every play. We have a plan to account for him on every play, and I look forward to seeing how our guys react to him. But that guy right there is special.


      Q. To the two wide receivers, what's it been like to play in this trio. I know you have Racey and other guys. Talk to me about Terrace. I hear he's not as maybe outspoken or he's a little more quiet but has just as much drive and competitiveness as you two guys have.
      JUSTIN JEFFERSON: The funny part is we come to practice every day competitive. Dealing with these guys every single day is definitely stressful. But they have been working their butts off, and they're the reason why I'm like I am today. So I mean, I'm excited to be playing with these guys and even Joe. So I definitely can tell my kids I played with a Heisman quarterback when I have kids one day.
      THE MODERATOR: Ja'Marr?
      JA'MARR CHASE: Terrace is very outspoken, you know. He's competitive with all of us, all the receivers. I can say we'll turn a simple drill into something we all want to win just so we can be competitive. But I think having a receiver corps like that is good for a team, pushing each other, keeping each other high, balanced, keep us out of trouble. I think that's good for us.


      Q. Joe, if I'm not mistaken, you had mentioned that Lincoln Riley offered you when he was the offensive coordinator at East Carolina. That was one of our first offers. Can you speak to the level of respect you have for him not just as a coach, but him seeing the greatness in you early when a lot of other programs maybe didn't?
      JOE BURROW: Yeah. He -- so my only offer at the time was my dad's team, and I didn't really think that was a real offer. I thought it was just my dad's team just throwing an offer out there. And Coach Riley called me and offered me a couple months later. So I've always had a bunch of respect for him. I was actually really impressed with him on the phone very early. I didn't really want to go to East Carolina, but I thought about it because of Coach Riley. He's a great coach. You can see that the last couple of years.


      Q. Steve, was there a point in the preseason or was it during the season where you realized what the offense is capable of with kind of the rapport that Joe and the receivers and the backs all had?
      STEVE ENSMINGER: I felt like spring practice -- I felt like in spring, going against a very good defense, the way we performed, I thought we had a chance to be a real good offense. The first game of the season, I thought that team was a very good team. And your concern as a coordinator, how are you going to move the football and everything else? We took it down there the first three drives. I'll never forget the one play, we're down on the goal line and we had a duo play called, a run play called. We looked over, and I put a run tag on it. I think Joe threw a touchdown to Jordan -- I mean, to Justin. And then Brady looked up and says how do you like this offense now? Pretty damn good. (Laughter.)
      THE MODERATOR: Thank you, gentlemen.

12/24/2019


​Link below is for LSU at team Andretti... Go-Cart racing....


Copy & paste link to your browser....  Enjoy...


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12-24-19
Terrill Weil

12/23/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


December 23, 2019
Ed Orgeron
Atlanta, Georgia


THE MODERATOR: Take a short opening statement from you.
     ED ORGERON: First of all, it's an honor to be playing in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. These guys have been phenomenal, accommodations, the welcome, the hospitality. The food obviously has been phenomenal, practice facilities, hotel. Everything's been great. We arrived yesterday. The guys had dinner, had a team meeting. Everybody was in the curfew, 100% ready to go. Everybody was early for the meetings today. We had a (indiscernible) Monday practice, we practiced in the Dome. Different feeling about this team this week. This is a playoff game for us. You can feel the intensity ratcheting up. Pretty good. Focusing on the details was very good today. So we're excited to be here, very pleased with our coaching staff, the way they're working. We have our wives and have our family here, but everybody knows it's a playoff game and we're coming to win it.


      Q. On the status of Clyde Edwards-Helaire. ED ORGERON: Clyde's a little bit better than we thought. He's off the crutches and off the scooter. We're going to see if he can do something tomorrow. It's going to be a day-by-day deal. But I promise you this, a little bit better than what I thought last week. He has a chance to play. I don't know if he's going to play, it will be day by day.


      Q. On how the team will celebrate the holidays.
      ED ORGERON: I do believe when we took off Thursday, I think the coaches went home with their families Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. And some of the guys went home and had Christmas with their families. Obviously, Christmas will be another day for us. Obviously, we're going to honor it because it's the birthday of Jesus Christ. No question about that. But it won't be a lot of big festivities. It's going to be a practice day. It's going to be a work day for us.


      Q. On how Coach is preparing the running backs.
      ED ORGERON: All three of them are getting reps, all of them are playing, all of them are getting ready to go. All three of them.


      Q. On offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.
      ED ORGERON: He's a phenomenal coach, a phenomenal offensive coach. He has a great scheme. The scheme plays into it. He has great talent. He adjusts his scheme according to the quarterback. Jalen is a fantastic quarterback, fantastic runner. He's going to be very difficult to stop.


      Q. On LSU's other running backs if Clyde Edwards-Helaire isn't able to play.
      ED ORGERON: You know, John had a problem with fumbling the football at the beginning of the year so he lost some reps there. But he's worked hard on it. Two different running backs like thunder and lightning. I think Tyrion has been the most consistent back, can run the football in the middle, can get to the outside. John has the ability to break the long one, he has a little bit better speed than Tyrion. Also Chris Curry. Chris has come along. Chris is a very bruising back, a dominating back. I think all three of those guys do different things. You know, with Clyde, he did everything well. He blocked well, he ran inside, ran outside and caught the football well. We're going to have to adjust if Clyde doesn't play and rotate the backs to do what they can do best.


      Q. On Oklahoma's preparation for LSU's running backs.
      ED ORGERON: No, I don't think so because I don't think they know our backs. I don't think they know what our backs can do, like we do. And, obviously, we're not going to do the same thing with the same back in every time. We're going to switch things up.


      Q. On the current transfer rule.
      ED ORGERON: You know, I think the transfer rule for graduate assistants is really good; for graduate students, really good. I think there's some cases where a young man ought to transfer if the situation for him in that school is not right. Obviously, on the other end, with coaches, we have to choose the right transfers. And, obviously, we got it right, and they got it right. Two fantastic young men that got their opportunity, made the best of it. I'm proud of Jalen Hurts. I know him. I think he's a great young man. I got to meet him at a couple of deals. He has great parents, outstanding character, and obviously very proud of Joe and what he's done. Those two are very similar in character, and they're team players.


      Q. On the impact of having a Heisman winner on your team when playing for a berth in the CFP National Championship.
      ED ORGERON: I think so. I think so. I think I've been fortunate to be in four National Championships, and two at Miami and two at USC. We had great quarterbacks. Two of them Heisman Trophy winners -- three of them were Heisman Trophy winners out of the four. They make a difference, obviously.


      Q. On Joe's last few weeks after winning the Heisman, heading into this game.
      ED ORGERON: I think he's been fine. I think he's a little tired. When he got back, obviously a little tired. We rested him last week a bunch. But I think he's fine, he's back to normal now and ready to go.


      Q. On the best team LSU has played.
      ED ORGERON: Who's the best team we've played? I've got to say Alabama. Alabama, Auburn, Florida. Those three guys were very good.


      Q. On the team's focus this week, after winning several awards.
      ED ORGERON: Been phenomenal. But it started with me. I think the intensity in the meeting with myself and the focus and talking to them about why we're here and what we're going to do and what's the expectation, the LSU standard performance. There's not a lot of free time to where guys are going out and visit the town and stuff like that. We're here to win a game. We're going to prepare. I think these guys know how to prepare and today's been a phenomenal start.


      Q. On defensive coordinator Dave Aranda's preparation.
      ED ORGERON: He's got a lot of stuff in. He's got a lot of stuff in, and he's got a lot of ammunition. And Dave's a great gameday caller. Obviously we can't run it off. But I think that today was one of our better days as far as technique-wise. We've been seeing their plays. We have a lot of plays. You can't rep every play, but we're repping their top plays and our guys defend it well. Obviously, with this team, you've got to tackle. You've gotta tackle to one-on-one and in space. You've got to tackle Jalen. You got to cover CeeDee. And if you do cover them, you've got to tackle them, so. It's going to come down to winning you one-on-one as a tackler.


      Q. On the team having more ammunition this season.
      ED ORGERON: I think so. I think we've been more creative with third down. We started attacking more on third down. Our third down package has been more. We're causing more turnovers, getting more sacks. But with this team, you have to stop the run. There's no question that you have to stop the run first.


      Q. On offensive line coach James Cregg.
      ED ORGERON: Phenomenal. A-plus. You know, again, on vacation, James didn't take one day of vacation. His offensive line worked out four days a week at 6:00 in the morning. He was with them every day. And the time that -- you know, you have two hours that you can coach them. He used those two hours every time -- every week. You know, John Robinson, who is a big-time consultant for him as an offensive line guy sat in every meeting. Now, he doesn't coach 'em, he listens up. He came to me, I guess, about three weeks in camp, he said Coach, I'm gonna tell you what. You have an excellent offensive line, coach. He is building something special. The guys got camaraderie, led by Lloyd Cushenberry and D-Lew. Now that we've got everybody healthy, Saahdiq is playing, Austin is playing, we've got backups. Proud of what they've done. Obviously, we've got more to go. But so far, those guys have been excellent.


      Q. On LSU's offensive line.
      ED ORGERON: Yeah, very rewarding. Lloyd said -- and all of us get that. The good thing about it, we use it as internal motivation. Any time people question you, if you're using it as a term of motivation, it works. That great leadership, Lloyd mentioned that. I think he took the offensive line this summer and said, Hey, man, we're the question mark on this team. We're going to turn it into a positive by the way we work. We're going to keep our mouths shut, and those guys did it.


      Q. On offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.
      ED ORGERON: Yeah. Well, again, I've known Steve since 1979. I was Steve's graduate assistant coach at McNeese. He and I have been friends. I trust Steve. I really trust him as a person. I trust him as a coach. Again, we didn't score any points against Alabama. It was a low point and I told him, I said, listen, we've got to go to the spread. And he said, you're right. I said, are you going to be receptive, someone coming in teaching us the spread? He said yes, I will. When Steve tells you yes, it means yes. And obviously, Joe came in. Steve worked his tail off to learn the new terminology, the new words. He calls most of the plays. He's done a fantastic job. Him and Joe have meshed perfectly. There's no egos with both of those guys. It's not us, us, us. It's we, we, we. They work great together. Steve has been the MVP of the whole deal.


      Q. On the importance of linebacker Jacob Phillips.
      ED ORGERON: It was really important. It was. Internally at that time, we needed some middle linebackers. Jake was the number one player in the state of Tennessee. He called me and said coach, I need you to come see me. I got on a plane, was there the next morning. His mom and daddy trust us. They love Dave Aranda. They love the scheme. Jake has been one of the best players we've had on our football team. He's a great young man, great character. I'm glad we got him.


      Q. On signing a QB, T.J. Finely, last week.
      ED ORGERON: You know, his family has had a plan. His high school coaches had a plan. They're very aggressive. They are into the rules, into everything. T.J. is very motivated. And it was totally legal, went through compliance. We got it done. That's the first time it's ever been done. And you know what, T.J. has come to every football practice that he can since he's been off of school. So it's wonderful to see. We expect other midyear graduates to come see us a little bit later on if we do have another game. And we're going to get as many midyear graduates at our practice as we can.


      Q. On graduates coming to watch the game.
      ED ORGERON: I don't know yet. Three, four, five, obviously -- maybe in January. To be on campus, yeah.


      Q. On the importance of having graduates around.
      ED ORGERON: Very important. As many times as you can get in our meeting, as many times as you can get an installation, learning the plays and seeing the speed of practice, it's important. It's important to have midyears.


      Q. On taking the Oklahoma players that are out into consideration when playing.
      ED ORGERON: You know, I'm sure Coach Riley has the same thing. We have a next man up theory. We put 11 men on the field and we fight like Tigers, and we don't blink. I'm sure it's a top program, they've done a great job recruiting. I'm sure the next guy is chomping at the bit, may have his best game. We don't even factor that in, you know, say hey, this is going to be an advantage. It's not going to be an advantage, uh-uh. We're going. And, again, it's never going to be about our opponent. It's always about us and the way we execute.


      Q. On picking Lincoln Riley's brain.
      ED ORGERON: Here's what he told me. Here's exactly when what he told me. I want to put it in. I liked it. He says, Coach, you have to be committed to it. And you have to run it a lot because you're going to see a lot of different defense. People are going to try to stop it all different ways. We practice it and we practice as many looks as we possibly can. Obviously, anything that we do, I do believe he won't be surprised by what we're doing. But I think it's not what you do, it's how you do it. You've got to have a player on the quarterback. You've got to have a player on the tailback. You've got to follow the count or not follow the count or squeeze the count. You got to play good inside. It's all about how you do it.


      Q. On your feelings going into this game at Mercedes-Benz after the SEC Championship.            ED ORGERON: It's the number one play on offense. It's their number one play on offense. The number one run play that you have to stop. If you don't stop it, he's going to keep running at you.


      Q. On having three weeks between games.
      ED ORGERON: You know, I think that we needed the rest, first of all. I think the rest was good. I went home Thursday, got home at my home in Mandeville at 3:00 and got up at 8:00 the next morning. I knew if I was tired, my players were tired. So we always took some time out. But I think we come in here, we're excited. We're in the same hotel. You go into the Dome today and you see College Football Playoffs Semifinals. The magnitude of the football game, everybody's awareness and alertness is heightening. I don't think there's any anxiety or sense of confidence, but a sense of knowing we got to go get the job done. Thank you, guys. Go Tigers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


December 23, 2019
Lloyd Cushenberry
Atlanta, Georgia


      Q. So I feel like there's so many things like knowing the offensive line. Scheme's part of it. You guys developing continuity. If you had to single one out, what jumps out to you the most?        LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Just our mindset. I said it before. I feel like we had a different swag than we had last year and even in the past years. And just knowing we had something to prove. We always say you block out the noise, but at the end of the week, we hear the talk. We see the comments and posts about the O-line. We've seen it for the whole year, especially me. I remember all that, so I try to pass that on to my guys. We've got something to prove every week. Especially more now that we've got the award. I told the guys now, we're the most hated. They're going to try to give us their all so we've got to prove something.


      Q. How much do you think what you guys are doing now kind of sets a foundation for the next few classes?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: It's great, because they see -- even the freshmen now, they see how we work, like, you know, young guys. So I was trying to teach them. They see how I prepare every week. And they see what's been happening. So they know what it takes. They see what it takes and look to them in the future to do it.


      Q. Rashard said Coach made it very clear this is a playoff game and not a bowl game. How did he break down the distinction?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Pretty much in meetings, he said it's not a bowl game. We're not here to have fun and enjoy these bowl events. We're here to come win a playoff game and come home and (indiscernible).


      Q. Rashard touched on this isn't the last game we want to be playing those teams. This isn't the last game we want to be playing?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: This isn't our final destination. That's the goal and mindset we've had since we've started.


     Q. Do you think because of the maturity of this team, he's kind of been able to not necessarily look forward, but keep the long-term goal in mind?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Yeah. Feel like our whole team, for the most part are mature guys who understand we've got bigger goals. Even all these individual awards, none of those guys got a big head. They know what we set out to do back in January, what we worked so hard for. So everybody understands that.


      Q. Lloyd, with the running backs who are getting prepared, how do you see them banding together? What do you see?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Coach T-Rob and Coach Faulk, they're going to get those guys right. They work hard. I know Clyde will be in their ear trying to get them prepared. Whoever gets carries, it's on us up front to do our job so they can make plays.


      Q. Now, we saw Clyde coming off the bus and he's got his teammates, spending time together. How have you seen him kind of recovering and getting ready?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: I'm not sure how he's doing as far as the hamstring, but I know Clyde's going to do all he can to get back as soon as possible, and our training staff is going to do --


      Q. As an offensive line, you guys have improved so much, which that includes the run game as well. Considering perhaps the hurdle you have to go through this week, how do you approach talking about that with your offensive line?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: It doesn't change nothing for us. No matter who's back there, we got to do our job so it really doesn't matter who's running, who's -- it doesn't matter. So we've got to (indiscernible).


      Q. Did you kind give that message to your running backs?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Not yet, but, you know, I'm definitely going to mention that to them. But it all starts up front.


      Q. Lloyd, Oklahoma's defense has kind of made a jump, transformation like you guys have on offense. What have you seen from them on the defense?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: All those guys, they play hard and a lot of speed. And not really, you know, bigger guys that we've seen just throughout the season, but they play fast and they play hard.


      Q. Three weeks between games, Lloyd. Is there curiosity about or challenge -- how do you keep your edge, be the same team you were against Georgia?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: I mean, it's the playoffs. If you don't -- if you don't have an edge and ready to go for this one, then I don't know what to tell you. I feel like this whole team, you know, we know this is win or go home. So our mindset, this is not our final destination so we've got to take care of business and go home for a National Championship.


      Q. Being away for Christmas, that's a good problem to have?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: It's a little weird, but families understand. We're going to be here as a team, as a family, and enjoy the day.


      Q. Coach talked about the curfew being earlier because this is not really a bowl game. How much different than last year?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Lot different. Curfew was a lot earlier last night, and everybody was on time. So I feel like we got off to a good start with that, and everybody's locked in and doing what they need to do.


      Q. Lloyd, no matter if Corren plays or not, which it looks like he won't, whoever starts at running back, schematically do you guys as an offensive line look at the running game different, block different?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Doesn't matter who's back there, who's catching the balls, whatever. We've got to do our job. Doesn't change nothing up front. We've got to take care of those guys and get the job done.


      Q. Would you talk about the job Coach Ensminger has done with the offense. Not just changing, but accepting change, allowing Coach Brady to come in and add things to the offense and stuff like that. The kind of person he is, does it surprise you that he was able to do that?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Not at all. Coach Ensminger, since I've been here, he's always adapted and willing to do whatever's best for LSU. Obviously, he played here so he's going to want the best for the program. They felt like going to the spread was the best way to go. He's done a great job, him and Coach Brady, of kind of collaborating and working together to get the job done.


      Q. Is the O-line at its best right now, do you think?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: I think so. Guys healthy, guys a lot better shape. We've had confidence, but we've got a lot of confidence now and believe in one another.


      Q. How do you block out all the distractions, Christmas, being away from home, playoff, everything?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: We got to understand what the end goal is, and that's the National Championship. If you're not focused and locked in on that, I don't know what to tell you. I feel like the whole team is just pretty much focused. Coach O and the staff does a great job of letting us know that it's not a bowl game. It's a playoff game. It's different.


      Q. Seems like the coaching staff was trusting thank you Davis-Price in some of the biggest spots, second half against Florida. What has he done, I guess, behind the scenes to earn some of your guys' trust?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Coming in early, talking to Coach Faulk, getting in, watching film, getting in the play book, doing things that Clyde do, trying to follow in his footsteps, learn from him. Just doing his job pretty much.


      Q. O was talking about, and he's told us all year about how offensive line was the biggest question mark. Did he come to you, specifically, in the summer and say you need to rally these guys? How far have you all come to get that award last week?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: He hasn't really -- he didn't really come and say, you know, I need to rally them, but he told me and Damien Lewis, we're going to lead the team and it starts with the O-line. We knew that. We had that mindset since January. So, you know, we always say block out the noise. But at the same time, we're young. We see the comments. We see the remarks on social media about the O-line. We saw that last year. I remember all that so, you know, I try to pass that on to the O-line and just let it be known that we're coming out -- we had a point to prove this year.


      Q. You took it personally?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: I did. I always take it -- I save stuff. I screenshot, bookmark, all that. Everything I see, I try to just --


      Q. Going to that award, getting that award last week, how fulfilling was that for you guys?          LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Oh, it was special. But, you know, we're not satisfied at all. Now that we got it -- Coach Ensminger told us now that we got it, we're the most hated, so guys will be coming at our neck so we got to step it up even more.


      Q. Anybody that you played this year that Oklahoma's defensive front reminds you of in your prep?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Maybe Texas. I mean, because they're in the same conference. But as far as SEC, size-wise, no. But a lot -- Oklahoma does some great things. They move a lot up front and play with a lot of speed. So they're probably the fastest team we've played all year. We got to get ready for that.


      Q. Do you see a difference in the big 12 line versus an SEC line?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Yeah, the size. But they got great players. I feel like they're much faster than a lot of SEC teams. That's what they do. They play fast, they play hard.


      Q. So they're smaller but faster than an SEC line?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Yeah. Not much smaller, but they're still big guys, but they play a lot faster.


      Q. Is there something that you have to focus on when you play a defensive line that has a lot of speed?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Yeah, because they do -- a lot of things they do schematically, they move a lot, do a lot of the line games. So we really got to lock in on our technique and just do our job.


      Q. First time you've been away from home for Christmas?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Yeah, this is the first time.


      Q. Any advantages to being out here the whole week and practicing for this game?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Yeah, it's getting used to the surroundings. Even though we were here, we get to kind of explore the city a little bit, I guess. Getting used to the field some more. We didn't have that -- wasn't here all week the last time. So getting our cleats in the ground, getting the right cleats, and so we're not slipping out there on Saturday.


      Q. Was that an issue in the championship game?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: It was a little bit. Even today at practice, a few guys slipping. So just getting the right cleats and getting feet on the ground.


      Q. Earlier in the year, O said that this team kind of really likes to kind of be away from everybody and that was one of the reasons you guys were so good on the road. Does that kind of play into it all? Like we're all in the hotel, like we're all --
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: I feel like we all got that mindset, like us against the world when we're on the road. And myself and I know a lot of the guys love that on the road, all we've got is each other. We like going into different environments that we're not used to and silencing people, silencing the crowd.


      Q. Talking about some of the doubters, is there a certain comment that kind of sticks out to you about the performances?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: No, I'm not going to point out people.


      Q. Not the people, just the comment.
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: I don't know. You know, I just know it was a lot being said, and just took it personal and tried to get better from it. A lot of things that were being said, you know, is justified. We didn't play well last year. We understood that. So we had to come out this year and prove a point.


      Q. Everyone talks about the spread offense, the offensive weapons on the outside. Do you get the feeling that football is football is football. Whoever blocks, tackles, and wins the trenches is going to win this?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: Yeah, that's what it comes down to. Blocking, tackling. Coach O says all the schemes you come up with, the trick plays, whatever, that don't work. You got to block, you got to tackle, and you got to do the fundamentals, the little things. So that's what we try to do every week.


      Q. You're going to try to do anything special this week to try to make Christmas, like, really happening on Wednesday?
      LLOYD CUSHENBERRY: I'm not sure. They got a big schedule for us. So whatever we're doing on that day, I'm pretty sure the bowl people will make it special.
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December 23, 2019
Rashard Lawrence
Atlanta, Georgia


      Q. Rashard, after the SEC championship game, you said, we're mean, we're tough, and we're nasty. Is there something that changed in y'all's identity as a defensive line in that game against Georgia?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Yeah, they had a great offensive line. They had top picks all across it, and, you know, we didn't want to go out there and get embarrassed, honestly, you know. And we got great guys on our defensive line. So we had to set a tempo and set the tone for that game. We know they want to run the ball. So we're definitely trying to keep it going for this game.


      Q. You face an offense where once again everything is predicated on the run. Jalen Hurts can beat you with the run?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Jalen Hurts is like a running back there. He's almost like a running back back there with him. They use him as an extra blocker. We got our hands full. I think having the extra week definitely helped us, though, and we'll be ready to play.


      Q. Rashard, how much comfort was it walking back into the stadium today, having some good memories of the SEC Championship?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: It felt good. Practicing there all week is going to be good too. We're just going to try to take a day at a time, you know. We don't want to make the game bigger than it is. When you do that, you kind of overlook the things that actually matter, which is the plays they're going to be running and what they do. So I think we're going to keep it simple. We're glad to be back, definitely. But we got to keep it simple and, you know, go through a regular week of practice.


      Q. Is this -- the week with Christmas and the playoff really tough to block out the noise, stay focused?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Oh, Coach O ain't gonna let us do that. He came in the meeting today and he set the tone for the week of practice, especially with the defensive line. Thursday. We didn't have our best practice up front, and he came in the room and he came in the team meeting, and he set the tone. So this week is going to be a great week of practice, you know, great days, you know, great events and everything. But we came down here to win.


      Q. How did he set the tone?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: He didn't say anything different. It's just his demeanor and how he came in and how he kind of, you know, presented everything on the table, you know. So we get it. We've seen it for three years now, and we know when he comes in like that that he means business and that, you know, we've got big things to do this week.


      Q. The significance of having two Heisman finalists, transfer quarterbacks in a playoff game, really big game.
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Yeah, it's going to be really cool. Obviously, both of these guys took a different path to get here. You know, everything happens for a reason, and that's the ultimate testimony for these guys. They trust the process, didn't complain, and now they're here and on the biggest stage in college football.


      Q. What did it look like coming in this morning? You're used to it, but what does his intensity look like in there?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: It's just the way he says things. It's nothing that's hollering and screaming and doing anything different. But when you're around a coach long enough, you get how he is and you know when he's in a good mood and when he's in a bad mood. Just with anybody. He wasn't in a bad mood, but he wasn't in a good mood. He was in a mood that, hey, we got things to fix and this week is about improving and getting ready for Saturday.


      Q. (Indiscernible) spread offenses, but do you have a feeling this game is going to be played in the trenches, really won in the trenches?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Well, you know, I think it's a narrative out there that Oklahoma is a spread team that wants to just throw the ball. But when you look at the film, you know, they do a lot of gap scheme plays, a lot of counters, a lot of powers. And then they got probably one of the best quarterbacks back there running it. So for us, we know what we got to do. We got to stop the run. That's any game, but really important to this game. Because you let Jalen Hurts loose back there, and you've got a long game. So you got to keep it simple.


      Q. What's been Aranda's message the past three weeks in preparing for this game?       
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Preparing for this game hasn't been any different. But we knew and he kind of presented to us that looking at the film, this is something that we kind of saw against Ole Miss. But now they got a guy that can throw the ball, and he's thrown for 400 yards pretty much in every game. So it's going to be a big challenge. But the biggest thing that he's told us is that we cannot let him run in between the tackles. Once that happens, that opens up the whole offense. So we just got to keep it simple and really focus on him, focus on the great running backs they have and keep it in a good manner.


      Q. In your tenure and also his, Dave Aranda's, it seems like to be the first year there's been major questions about his scheme. Has he used that, has he talked about that, has he --
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: What was the question again?


      Q. It's the first time it seems like in his time as the defensive coordinator that there's been major questions about the defense in the season.
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Right.


      Q. Has he used that at all? Has he talked about that?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Yeah, multiple times he's brought in the leaders on the defense and we've talked about it and kind of how to address it. The good thing about football is that you want to ascend as the season goes on. I think this defense has did that. We struggled. We had different injuries. We weren't playing well at all. But now, with this time of the season coming around, with postseason ball, we're going in the right direction. And we got a big challenge Saturday, but this is a defense we've been playing good together. Everybody's healthy, everybody's feeling good, and I think we'll have our best showing Saturday.


      Q. You went through that yourself, getting healthy. How big a difference is it before everybody, you know, not healthy and now what you have?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Right. I think it's a big difference. Any time you got a guy like Grant Delpit out, kind of banged up, it shows. But when Grant's at 100 percent, you look at the past couple weeks, I mean, unbelievable, a game changer he is. So I think that matters. K'Lavon Chaisson had an ankle injury earlier. Now he's playing his best ball. It all matters. You want your best guys out there this time of the season.


      Q. Three weeks have gone by since your last game. People say college football loses momentum a little bit. How do you guard against LSU losing their momentum in these three weeks?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: I think just trusting our process, how we do things. We keep things simple here. We don't make things bigger than they are. That's a testament to Coach O and how we do things. We've been practicing hard. Not long, but hard. When we hit, we hit. When we lay off, we lay off. When we're in the film room, that's where we do most things right now, especially during this season. Everybody's kind of banged up, but where we, I think, can get head is watching film, extended meetings. That's kind of how we keep the momentum going.


      Q. Across the country, there's a lot of people on couches and in pajamas this week. This is as intense as you've got to be all year, right? How are you dealing with the dynamic of Christmas on the road?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Yeah, we're going to enjoy each other on Christmas Day and on Christmas Eve. We enjoy practicing together. For us, we are excited to practice on Christmas. We've never did that before. So obviously, it's a good thing when you're doing that. So we're going to enjoy it and just trust the process.


      Q. The challenge of Jalen Hurts, Coach talked about it. He can double-team a wide receiver. If we do that, we free him up, Hurts to run. Talk about the challenge?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: The challenge is they've got a lot of great playmakers all across the ball. Look at CeeDee Lamb, Jalen, a great running back, and all the players they have, they can hurt you in different ways. We have to stay on our keys, trust what we see, and not try to overrun things and do too much. If we do that, we'll be fine.


      Q. How much of the play book opened up with the health on the team?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Pretty good amount of it. And looking at some of the installs we have, we have a lot more things coming IN this week. That's why kind of walk-throughs and meetings are so important, especially around this time. We've got a lot of different things going in, and rightfully so. Jalen Hurts and that offense deserves the full menu to see, you know. So getting healthy definitely helped us out with extending things.


      Q. Are there pieces of the play book that you have -- oh, wait, we haven't gotten to that yet? Do you prepare yourself that way?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Yeah, there's definitely things we see that we don't call that much during practice. But in the game, we walk through it a couple times. We talk about it in the meeting, we call it. So we definitely do see things like that sometimes.


      Q. You talked about the offensive line every day. What's the biggest difference you've seen last year compared to this year?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Physicality and that guy over there, Lloyd doing things the right way. People have been talking about how they saw -- they talked about how they were there every Saturday. They really were, you know. They're a unit now. They play great together. They love each other. And Lloyd, Number 18, made all the difference.


      Q. What was it like watching that Cheyenne Trest award come into practice?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: It was special, man. They deserved it. A lot of hard work. A lot of dedication and just the mindset, you know. It was cool. I ain't never seen an award that big. I don't know how much it weighed, but I don't know how they move that thing around.


      Q. Didn't they put planks across the turf inside to slide it through?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Yeah. I feel sorry for whoever had to get that. But I'm glad we got it.


      Q. A year ago at this time, you had the huge game in the Fiesta Bowl. You had a decision to make. Could have gone pro. Glad you didn't, I'm sure, huh? This is what you want --
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Yeah. It was a big decision at the time. It was a great decision I made. I look at some of the guys we brought back. Kristian had the same decision. He could have went pro. He was probably going to be a first rounder, to be honest. So guys like Devin, we talked about it. Every time, he's like man, we talked about that, Rashard, Chris, and guys that have been around for four years, kind of seen it all. So to come back and play for something like this, going forward, it's big.


      Q. Kristian Fulton doesn't really get targeted at all. Therefore, he doesn't get any attention. What do you make the year he's had this year?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Solid. Kristian, kind of like Derek Stingley, don't say much. They love to play football, they love to cover guys. So he'll get tested Saturday. They got a lot of great receivers. But we know him and Derek will handle themselves. Kristian, man, he's probably the most underrated cornerback in college football. But the good thing about that is you don't want to hear a cornerback's name get called a lot, you know, getting picked on. People don't pick on Kristian. So solid season.


      Q. Rashard, you may have answered this already, but you saw Jalen Hurts in '16 and '17, you played against him. What difference do you see in him now?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: I think the biggest thing is he can sit back there and throw it. They've got a lot of different designed runs for him, but he'll sit back there and throw it. So it's going to be tough with all the different things that they can do. And then Lincoln Riley is, I mean, I knew about him before I even got into college football. He's a good offensive coach. He'll have some things dialed up. So Jalen, he can throw it, he can run it, and he's also the heart and soul of that team.


      Q. Does he seem like a more physical guy now? Has he put on some pounds?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: Yeah. There's been times guys have tried to tackle him in the backfield and he's dragged them two or three yards. Every yard counts. We've got to rally up and get to him. We've got to hit him often because if he gets a feel for the game, it could be a long night. So us personally, we've got to hit him. We've got to hit him hard. He's going to pop right back up, though. That's what a champion does. We'll be up for it.


      Q. Rashard, so much has to happen, like you were talking about coming back to school, going pro. You talk about Grant getting healthy, K'Lavon getting healthy. This is a broad question. Why did this season happen?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: You got to look at the head coach. Coach O, he set a tempo at the beginning of spring ball. He brought in some great coaches, Coach Brady. Brought in more analysts, more than we've ever had since I've been here. And he's the head of it. We got a Heisman Trophy winner and many people didn't know about him at the beginning of the year. But I look at fall camp and how he shredded us apart. And when the defense is together and how we play, a lot of things have to happen. You have to kind of almost get lucky in college football sometimes. It's a process and everything, but things have to go your way. And I look at all the things that kind of went our way with all the different hirings, guys coming back to school, and, I mean, ultimately Joe just taking over this program. That's kind of how it happened. The quarterback starts it and the head coach starts it, and we go as they go. The head coach, he's sometimes not talked about that much. But now he's had a chance to really be in the spotlight and show what he is and who he is. So it starts with the head coach.


      Q. Would you be able to tell Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy?
      RASHARD LAWRENCE: No.

12/23/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


                                                    Tigers ready to battle Sooners


​      LSU will face Oklahoma Saturday, December 28th in Mercedes Benz Stadium.  The Tigers enter the game with a 13-0 record and ranked #1.  They arrived in Atlanta yesterday. Below is a link to photos of their arrival, courtesy of the Peach Bowl ...  Enjoy...


https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipM_uZ0tQu9XRj2fFPvnulMLj2cLIlskFr6Lgu54




12-23-19
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!

12/18/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


       The 2019 LSU Football team continues to claim top, prestige awards. The Tigers offensive line was awarded the Joe Moore Award today, which goes to the most outstanding offensive line in college football.  Members of the O-line unit consist of Lloyd Cushenberry, Damein Lewis, Adrian Magee, Austin Deculus, and Saahdiq Charles.  Badara Traoae, Dare Rosenthal, and Ed Ingram also filled in solidly.  LSU set several offensive school single game records this season, in points (621), scoring average (47.8), 40 or more points in a game (10), and 50 point games (6), total offense (7,207), and passing yards (5,209).  It all starts with the O-Line unit.  They helped pave the way to a 13-0 season and a trip to the college football playoffs. They protected Joe Burrow all season long and opened massive holes for the backs to run through.  The award is judged on: toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique, & finishing.  The voters consist of FBS offensive line coaches, former players, and media members.  The Joe Moore Award is the only award that recognizes a group or a unit. It is also the largest trophy in college football, standing at a height of almost seven feet and weighing in at over 800 pounds. It will be displayed on the LSU campus until the conclusion of the 2020 college football season. 
      “In an unprecedented recognition of physicality in pass protection, Coach Cregg’s unit separated itself in the eyes of the voters by their effort and strain in the run game, and by how consistently they demonstrated that pass protection is not passive,” said Aaron Taylor, CBS college football analyst and co-founder of the Joe Moore Award. Taylor played guard and tackle at the University of Notre Dame for the Award’s namesake, the legendary offensive line coach Joe Moore.


12-18-19
By: Terrill J. Weil

12/18/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


                                                  Injury news reported

     Reports coming out of LSU are that Clyde Edwards-Helaire has suffered a non-contact injury yesterday at practice.  Apparently, the junior running back injured his hamstring while juking a defender. The seriousness of the injury is unknown at this time. Coach Orgeron will meet with the media later today with more information. This is huge news as the Tigers will be playing Oklahoma ten days from now in the College Football Playoffs. 
      Even though LSU has been known for their explosive passing attack this season, lead by Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, Clyde as been a major piece to the Tigers offensive attack puzzle.  He has rushed for 1,290 yards with 16 touchdowns, has 399 yards receiving.  His play has added balance to LSU's attack, and he has made several big plays at key moments throughout the season.  It would be a huge blow If this reported injury would force him out against the Sooners. If so, true freshmen, Tyrion Davis-Price & John Emery Jr. will need to carry the load in LSU's "Next Man Up" mentality. 


12-18-19
By: Terrill J. Weil

12/15/2019
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


       Joe Burrow became only the second Heisman Trophy winner in LSU history last night, joining the great Billy Cannon who won the award in 1959.  It has been an eventful week for the record setting quarterback, as he has been presented with award after award.  Burrow said jokingly that he will need to expand the wall in his basement back at home in Ohio where he keeps all of his high school awards, when asked where will he store all of his new prestigious hardware.  
       On his trip to New York, Burrow read a letter that was delivered to him by Billy Cannon's family.  The great Billy Cannon, a two time All-American, helped lead LSU to the 1958 national championship, before winning the Heisman Trophy the following season. His legendary punt return against Ole Miss on Halloween night in 1959 remains the greatest play in LSU football history. Neither Burrow or Cannon ever had the opportunity to meet, as Cannon past away on May 20, 2018, only a couple of days after Joe Burrow's transfer to the bayou was announced. 
      This morning LSU released the contents of the letter in an amazing video, featuring the lovely daughter of the Tiger Legend, Bunnie Cannon....  
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                                  THE CANNON FAMILY LETTER


      Dear Joe,
              You are about to embark upon an incredible journey. It's a journey that my family has been on since 1959.  At this point in time, you will be considered the best college football player in the nation. For the rest of your life, you will be known as, Heisman Trophy Winner, Joe Burrow.  You are already a Louisiana hero, but you will now become a national hero.  There are so many similarities that I've seen in you, that I also saw in my father. Our family could not be prouder of you, and all that you have done and are still doing for LSU, Baton Rouge, and the entire State of Louisiana.  #20 & #9 will be linked forever in LSU football history.  Where ever life takes you, always remember, you can always come home.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The Cannon Family