Ed Orgeron breaks down LSU's plans for Thanksgiving, then recruiting

LSU's plans are in place for not only an important weekend trip to Texas A&M, but the critical recruiting weeks that follow.

Coach Ed Orgeron discussed the schedule for his No. 7 Tigers' regular-season finale against the No. 22 Aggies (7-4, 4-3) on Wednesday — from preparation, to Thanksgiving celebrations, travel and finally Saturday's 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

Then, come Sunday morning, the staff turns its attentions to the final push toward the Dec. 19 early signing period.

"We're gonna be on the road recruiting," the coach said on his weekly radio show. "In fact, Sunday we have in-home visits. We have a great plan for the next two weeks. I told (wife) Kelly she's not gonna see me. We're gonna be gone. We're gonna be out recruiting. We're gonna see all our recruits in their home.

"We've got some great staff members, great recruiters. We're going into these homes and getting great players to LSU."

The No. 7 Tigers (9-2, 5-2) took advantage of the university's half-day of classes Wednesday to meet at 1 p.m., "which is a little early for our football team, which is good."

LSU then practiced until about 4:30 p.m. and shared a team Thanksgiving dinner this evening.

"Our guys are eating a big meal tonight, and (junior defensive lineman) Breiden (Fehoko) will win the eating contest like he always does," Orgeron joked.

Coaches are also spending Wednesday night breaking down film in preparation for the team's final practices in Baton Rouge for the week.

"We have a team meeting tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.," Orgeron said. "We're gonna meet in the meeting and practice, and everybody's going to be off the field at 10:30 (a.m.). Everybody's going home for Thanksgiving dinner. Those guys that don't have family here, they'll be going with some teammate. Everybody's all set up to go.

"I'm gonna be home, and I'll probably be asleep about 1:30 (p.m.), then wake up to watch the Saints win. Then get up early Friday."

The Tigers will then have an 8 a.m. staff meeting, 10 a.m. team meetings and then practice before flying to College Station, Texas.

"It will be a wonderful weekend," Orgeron said.

The outcome with Texas A&M will determine whether LSU earns inclusion into the prestigious New Year's Six bowl games — likely the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans or Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz.

And while the Tigers won't begin practice for whatever matchup they ultimately earn until after the players' final examinations for the fall semester, the next two weeks will be hectic in many other ways.

"We have two weeks without any practice, and then on the third week you start bowl practice," Orgeron said. "So you have two weeks to see 21 players, and I'm gonna see every one of 'em. We've got to go maybe see two or three a day in our home visits. And I'm gonna home-visit everyone that's going to sign in December.

"Our coaches are going to be in their homes, in their schools. We'll also be junior recruiting. Our guys are going to be lifting weight, going to school, finishing hard. So believe it or not, it's a very busy time for our football team and our staff."

LSU currently holds 20 verbal commitments for its 2019 recruiting class, with the most recent coming Nov. 13 from star Destrehan running back John Emery.

Most of those prospects — led by Emery and fellow Louisiana standouts Derek Stingley Jr. of Dunham, Trey Palmer of Kentwood and Kardell Thomas and Tyrion Davis of Southern Lab — appear likely to sign Dec. 19 rather than waiting until the later February date.

And the Tigers continue to push to add the final pieces to a group shaping up to be one of the nation's best recruiting hauls.

Amite products Devonta Lee, Ishmael Sopsher and Rodney Sopsher remain among the top of mind, with out-of-state cornerbacks Raydarious Jones and Jay Ward, quarterback Knox Kadum, tight end Keon Zipperer and defensive linemen Chester Graves and Marcus Stripling among other among other names to watch.

"First of all, we've got to beat Texas A&M," Orgeron said. "Obviously, that's our mindset, and after that, let's see what happens. First, I think we're doing very well in the state of Louisiana this year. We have most of our guys sewed up. We have one or two or maybe three or four guys left to go. It's gonna come down to the end.

"But, you know what, we're recruiting the right way. We're doing it the right way. We selling LSU as much as we can. We're contacting these guys. We have great relationships with 'em. And we're winning. I think we're in great shape with most of the guys. We're in the lead or maybe tied with a couple other schools for a couple guys. It's gonna come down to finishing strong."