What has Mickey pulled off that was amazing? I like the hire, don't get me wrong, but is pulling high rated guys out of the school's own backyard anything special really? According to this, just 1 of his top 15 all time recruits were from outside Louisiana and that was one state over.
https://247sports.com/Coach/Mickey-Joseph-3745/AllTimeRecruits/
"You're talking about a coach who would go get kids out of their apartment and get them to class," says Orgeron, 60, who plans to take some time away from coaching and enjoy, well, being Ed Orgeron.
"Hey, check this out. You know Justin Jefferson?" says Orgeron, referring to the wide receiver from Destrehan, Louisiana, a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. "Mickey closed the recruitment of Justin Jefferson. Everyone else had given up on him, thinking he'd be ineligible. C'mon, now!"
Jefferson caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns for LSU in 2019.
"Get this: We're playing for the championship in 2019, and we're leaving for the game on Friday. Tuesday through Thursday, Mickey's guys were crammed in his office on the computer doing their schoolwork so they can pass tests on Friday so they can get on the bus to go play for the championship," says Orgeron, his booming voice rising.
"Whatever it takes to get the job done, Mickey's going to do it. And you know what? He did it the right way. Everything's above board."
Joseph recruited so many excellent players to LSU that Orgeron literally has trouble deciding which of Joseph's recruiting success stories to tell you about. He rips through the names and stories quickly. He gets to the one about Ja'Marr Chase, a first-rounder from LSU in 2021 who originally was committed to Florida. "Flipped him at the end," he states.
"You know what, Mickey wasn't intimidated," Orgeron says. "He knows how to develop relationships. When I put Mickey in New Orleans, all my problems were solved."
But how can Joseph help Frost?
"Number one, he'll identify and recruit the best players in Nebraska and then go to Kansas City and then go to other cities, just as he did here by going into Houston and other spots in Texas," Orgeron says. "He'll go get potential first-round draft choices. Think about this: Mickey Joseph signed the No. 1 player in the state of Mississippi, which had never been done at LSU." Deion Smith, of Jackson, Mississippi, chose LSU over Mississippi and Mississippi State and a long list of other suitors.
Wait a minute, Orgeron says suddenly as another of Joseph's big-time LSU recruits pops into his cranium.
"Malik Nabers," the coach says of the four-star receiver from Lafayette, Louisiana. "Guess when we signed him? It was on signing day. I woke up and we had a scholarship left. I said, 'Mickey, can Malik Nabers play?' He said, 'Hell, yes.' I said, 'Get him on the phone.' The kid was committed to Mississippi State. Mickey Joseph stayed on the phone with him for four hours. By 1 o'clock, the guy signed with us. Unbelievable."
Whatever it takes. Keep in mind, Joseph comes from a football background, a football family. A younger brother, Vance Joseph, became the Denver Broncos' head coach (2017-18) and now works as the Arizona Cardinals' defensive coordinator.
Mickey Joseph
understands what it takes. And let's be clear, he's more than just a recruiter.
"Think about this," Orgeron says. "You think of him becoming (Nebraska's) passing game coordinator. He has all that knowledge from Joe Brady (LSU's passing game coordinator in 2019). Mickey knows every route from Joe Brady, and then we had an analyst who came from the New Orleans Saints, so he has all of Sean Payton's expertise.
"What else do you need, bro? You know what I mean?"
