Ed Orgeron “can’t imagine” being without football

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) - LSU football is less than a week away from welcoming players back to campus and if all goes well with COVID-19 testing, training will resume June 8th.

“We are so excited that the NCAA decided our players can come back," Ed Orgeron said during a Wednesday appearance on FOX News. "The SEC has decided that the first day we can come start is June 8th. We’re going to bring our players in June 1st, go through the proper protocol, make sure everybody is safe, spend a week testing and then on June 8th, they’re going to s tart with our great strength coach, Tommy Moffett, as you know - that Louisiana heat in the summer , you’ve got to prepare them. Get bigger, faster, stronger - but safety is the number one priority for all of our players.”

The Tigers have been working remotely since March but the promise of returning to the football field leaves Orgeron encouraged that life in Louisiana, specifically the economy is returning to normal “I couldn’t imagine it, if I’m honest with you. The money that we get from the TV contract, the money that we get from the fans in the stadium fuels everything around here, everything with our University, all the sports, all the facilities...the best thing that we can give our players and as you know, Baton Rouge on a Saturday is hopping - there’s tailgating, the restaurants are full, the hotels are full, the economy is booming. It would be a big blow to not only our University but also the economy. I do believe we need football.”

While the exact environment of games remains to be seen, Orgeron is eager for the return of fans “I hope that Death Valley is screaming. As you know, that’s the best place in the world to play on Saturday night but again, the safety of our players, the safety of our fans. We’ll follow all the rules but I think eventually, the fans are going to be in the stadium. Eventually we’ll get back to normal and I can’t wait.”

LSU is scheduled to open the season Saturday, September 5th hosting UT-San Antonio.