After LSU’s 29-0 loss, coach Ed Orgeron made multiple statements about needing to recruit better and play better along the trenches to compete with Alabama.
Former defensive tackle Greg Gilmore (2013-2017) posted a tweet regarding Orgeron’s remarks.
You can read all of Orgeron’s responses about the offensive and defensive line below.
Q: Ed, is that where you have to win on recruiting day?
EO: “Got to. I recruited [Alabama defensive lineman Raekwon Davis] and [Alabama defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs]. Very close with those guys — we got beat.
Q: It seems like you guys came into the game with a lot of energy. At what point did that start to wane?
EO: I told the guys the table was set. The fans, the energy, all day. There was want to… Everything was set, but hey, we got beat at the line of scrimmage. We got to get better. We’ve got to recruit better defensive lineman. I got to get defensive linemen like them. I got to recruit better offensive linemen. Same old thing, you got to beat Alabama at the line of scrimmage.
Q: So, when you look back at on this game, do you think you’ll look at your own issues more were the problem or Alabama just outplayed y’all?
EO: I think Alabama overpowered us. When you max protect and you’re doing everything you can, and they beat you, you got to look at personnel and get better. I don’t think it was scheme at all. I just think they overpowered us and there was nothing we could do about it.
Q: When you’re struggling with blocking, does the play-calling matter?
EO: We tried everything, everything we could. Max protect, quick, we threw quick, they were batting the balls down, we didn’t cut well. We just didn’t play well along the line of scrimmage. They dominated us the whole night.
Q: Does this show how close you are or far you are from reaching that level?
EO: Yeah, we’re not there. We’re not there along the line of scrimmage, obviously tonight. We’ve got a ways to go.
Q: From a recruiting standpoint up front, is this something that can happen in one year or does it have to happen over a span of years?
EO: I don’t know that. I know we have to get bigger, stronger offensive linemen to block these guys, and I do believe we have an excellent recruiting class coming. We need to find bigger and quicker defensive linemen to get where they’re at. We’re not where we’re at.