LSU football coach Ed Orgeron is a happy camper

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Orgeron is having a blast, patting the behemoths on the helmet or rear end and simultaneously offering congrats and motivation.

One minute, he's watching Kardell Thomas and Anthony Bradford, two of his prized Class of 2019 offensive line commitments, drive pass rushers into the ground.

"Let's go, Kardell, nice job, Anthony!" Orgeron growled above the whistle blowing a play dead

Then in a blink, he's huddled with two defensive linemen, successfully designing a twist to confuse Thomas and Bradford.

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Yet, he still walks to every position station, both on the outdoor and indoor practice fields. He shakes hands with parents and high school coaches, whether they are involved with legit prospects that the Tigers are recruiting or not.

There are some head coaches who will admit privately that camps are necessary evils in recruiting.

Orgeron is a recruiting fanatic who can't get enough of camps, because it's the biggest piece of the recruiting puzzle.

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"I love camps, I've always loved camps, coaching kids and teaching them new things that they haven't been taught before," Orgeron said. "Having a kid standing in front of me is different than watching him on tape. This is the most important evaluation to me."

Coaches know by watching videotape whether a player is a legit prospect. But inviting him to camp and getting him to attend (for which the prospect pays a registration fee) is vital.

"I tell our coaches," Orgeron said, "that 'if you can't recruit a kid to come to our camp, how are you going to sign him?' I've very rarely signed someone who I haven't put my eyes on in person."

Most of the time, tape doesn't lie about a prospect. But camps take recruiting evaluations several steps further.

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"I had a 7 o'clock (coaches) meeting this morning to go over all the guys here who have committed," Orgeron said. "This camp is like a Super Bowl for us. This sets our recruiting board going into the season."

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