It has been a little more than a week since the LSU football team introduced new hires defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, and they’ve already been put to work.
With National Signing Day slowly creeping upon the newly acquired LSU staff, it’s a time of endless phone calls and hours spent on the road in hopes of convincing the top prospects in the country to spend their college careers in Baton Rouge.
Steele and Orgeron, widely renowned for their candid abilities to recruit across the country, will be a huge part of LSU’s recruiting staff these next couple of weeks and for the distant future. With that comes an added state of excitement and hope around Baton Rouge and the team’s recruiting future.
Jason Howell, Mid-South recruiting analyst for recruiting service Rivals.com, said LSU made a statement by hiring Steele and Orgeron.
“It was definitely felt in the recruiting realm. Both [Steele and Orgeron] are known not only for being good quality coaches, but forceful recruiters,” Howell said. “These are guys that are nationally respected wherever they’ve been. Those guys have been known to be able to go into just about any house and at least bend an ear and make them think. That’s a lot of the battle.
“But of course, when you combine that with a guy like [running backs coach and recruiting coordinator] Frank Wilson, who’s already there on campus, those are three guys when you say those names, people know those are dynamic recruiters.”
The loss of former defensive coordinator John Chavis to Texas A&M couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Tigers. His transition to College Station came in the thick of the recruiting race, forcing LSU to resolve its vacancies rapidly to stay on track with its key prospects.
Chavis, who was a key pawn in Wilson’s recruiting game, was more than just a strategic loss on the field. Howell said any time a coach departs a program, it isn’t the best case scenario for a school’s recruiting forecast.
“With recruiting and with college football, you know there are going to be moving pieces,” Howell said. “John Chavis was a very important piece from a recruiting standpoint. He was very active on the recruiting fronts, so it’s going to have an impact. Daylon Mack was one prospect that they were looking at, and after Chavis left, he was like ‘Well, that was my guy, man. So I’m going to go back and look at my options,’ and LSU is probably not going to be one.”
But Steele and Orgeron, who were successful in their individual stints at their respective programs, are widely renowned and respected by prospects everywhere. Steele’s reputation extends back to his days as Nebraska’s linebackers coach, including winning Rivals.com’s 2005 National Recruiter of the Year title.
As far as Orgeron, his success on and off the field has been well documented for numerous years. Orgeron, known widely for his loveable personality, was named SB Nation’s Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2013 after becoming the interim head coach for USC.
Howell said recruits’ respect for Orgeron is immense, and players’ admiration for the Larose, Louisiana native stretches deep beyond the boundaries of the state.
“They all love him. You saw whenever he was going through all that stuff at USC being the interim coach, the kids loved him,” Howell said. “He is a guy that is very personal. He gets to know the kids throughout the recruiting process, and it does right by him. He has that kind of reputation, and the kids like his attitude.”
LSU is currently ranked 10th in the nation in recruiting for the class of 2015, according to 247Sports, after picking up 5-star athlete Donte Jackson. With Jackson’s commitment, the Tigers are right back in the hunt for another successful recruiting campaign.
While the impact Steele and Orgeron will make both short-term and long-term remains to be seen, their presence will be felt regardless.
“A guy like Steele, he’s had the ability to recruit, so he’s had the chance to build relationships with some guys, and you might see it pay off toward the end as signing day approaches,” Howell said. “But I think you’re going to see the bigger payoff into the future. I think next year you’ll really be able to see it. When you’re looking at next year’s class, when they’re really able to dig in and recruit for LSU, that’s when you’re really going to see the most.”
You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @Chascin_TDR.