Ed Orgeron knows the importance of quarterbacks to teams as much as the New Orleans Saints to the state of Louisiana, and the LSU Tigers football coach couldn’t help but express how bad he felt about Drew Brees’ injury when addressing the media Monday.
Brees tore a ligament in the thumb of his throwing hand Sunday versus the Los Angeles Rams, and the Super Bowl MVP is expected to miss six weeks with the injury.
“When I heard it, I felt bad,” Orgeron said. “I felt bad for him, his family, the Saints, and the state of Louisiana because I know how much he means to all of us.”
However, Orgeron used the injury to remind some of his quarterback recruits just how much they mean to their teams, and to be careful with their bodies.
“I was talking to some quarterback recruits last night, and to remind them how much that they mean to their team — not in a selfish way, but the quarterback is the man, especially when he’s a great one,” Orgeron said.
Orgeron, who is 28-9 with LSU, has to remind his starting quarterback Joe Burrow to not take as many unnecessary hits.
Said Orgeron: “I’m still going to have to remind Joe to run out of bounds. He ain’t going to want to run out of bounds. I’ll have to remind him to do it. Joe means a lot to our football team.”
Orgeron’s concern for Burrow is more so to protect his future, as he sees him being in the same caliber as Gino Torretta, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, all three Heisman Trophy winners.
“I’ve seen a lot of similarities or maybe some things even better that I remember those guys doing,” said Orgeron. “So he could become that quarterback. Still has a ways to go, but he’s going to have to protect himself.”