Ed Orgeron loves his gumbo. It’s one of the many reasons the Louisiana native and LSU football coach likes to recruit in his home state, and it’s also contributing to him not keeping his New Year’s resolution, which was to simply eat less (though he admitted he probably wasn’t going to stick to that one).
At his press conference in December ahead of the SEC championship game, he spoke about his upcoming recruiting plans in Louisiana and said: “I’m going to be in about 18 to 22 homes next week, so that means about 18 to 22 gumbos.”
LSU safety Grant Delpit even told ESPN that the first thing Orgeron said during his in-home visit was, “‘Mama, where’s the gumbo?'”
So unsurprisingly, gumbo came up multiple times during Orgeron’s press conference Saturday ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday against Clemson in New Orleans. Sometimes, he was specifically asked about it, and other times, he just naturally worked it into his answer to a question about football.
So here all the times Orgeron talked about gumbo during his media day press conference Saturday, thanks to ASAP Sports.
1. Four bowls of gumbo
The national championship game is basically at home for LSU because New Orleans is about an hour away from campus in Baton Rouge. And it definitely feels like that, Orgeron said.
Probably the most underrated Ed Orgeron quality is that when you ask him about food before a massive #LSU game … instead of laughing off the dumb question, he answers like he’s been waiting for it all day.
On 4 bowls of gumbo & significance of a CFP shot in Louisiana ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/OERBaDwD45
— Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) January 11, 2020
When he was asked about the significance of the game being in New Orleans and all the things that come with that, he said:
“We had gumbo, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese last night. All the family was there. We loved it. I ate about four bowls. It was good. But you know what? Just to show up at the hotel and to see all the fans there, just to hear ’em, just to hear ’em when we walk out here.
“When we left Baton Rouge neighborhoods, there was hundreds of people in front of the neighborhoods and just seeing the little kids. So understand the magnitude of this football team and what it means to them and who we represent.”
2. Orgeron doesn’t discriminate when it comes to food
As we previously mentioned, the LSU coach’s New Year’s resolution was to eat less. He knew that probably wouldn’t work out from the start, but confirmed how it’s going Saturday: “It won’t happen, and it hasn’t happened. Guarantee.”
In response to a question about the hardest food to try to eat less of, Orgeron explained his dilemma.
“Well, here’s what happens,” he said. “You’re with the team, who always eats. It’s buffet. And then there’s rice and gravy. Once I start eating any type of rice and gravy, whether it’s étouffée, gumbo, jambalaya, spaghetti, it don’t matter. I can’t discriminate on any of them.”
3. How Orgeron prefers his gumbo
Referring to his prediction last month that he’d eat gumbo 18 to 22 times on the same number of in-house visits, Orgeron admitted he was probably exaggerating a little — though he said he did “at least 16” times, which is still a lot.
That led to a natural follow-up question about his favorite style of gumbo. When asked if he prefers seafood or chicken and sausage, Orgeron said:
“That’s hard. I like eggs in my gumbo with seafood. Not a lot of people put eggs in their gumbo. … [I]f I had preference, it would be chicken and sausage, but seafood is a close, close second.”
4. “At home” recruiting in Louisiana
Orgeron tried to describe why exactly he loves to recruit players from Louisiana and why that experience is different for him compared with other places. He mentioned several factors that have to do with his background and being from the state, but, of course, gumbo is involved.
“[T]here’s something about being in Louisiana, wearing the purple and gold and going into a school or a home in the state of Louisiana. I feel like I’m at home. I feel like I can relate to the guys. If they talk some Cajun French, I can talk to him. I probably know them. I know their coach for sure, and there’s relationships.
“What’s happened for us in the last couple of years, when we go to a home on a home visit in Louisiana, it’s not an official home visit, it’s a party. There’s 30, 40 people there, there’s jambalaya, there’s gumbo, food, music and it’s just a festivity. That’s the great part about being in Louisiana.”
5. An illegal amount of gumbo
Orgeron described sophomore nose tackle Tyler Shelvin as “one of the most athletic linemen that we’ve had here in a while.” But he also stressed how important it was for Shelvin to shed a few pounds and said he dropped from 390 to 345 pounds.
While talking about recruiting Shelvin, who’s from Lafayette, Louisiana, Orgeron praised him and his family.
“He has a tremendous family,” Orgeron said. “He’s one of the first — I think he’s the first home I went into as the head coach at LSU, and there was more gumbo in there than the law allows, I promise you. But it was a great day. Tyler has a good heart. He’s a good young man.”
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