Ed Orgeron has what seems like a genuine fondness for the state of Nebraska.Â
"I've always liked Nebraska," he said Friday from New Orleans. "Football, man. Blue collar. Tough people. You know what I mean?"Â
Orgeron, the former LSU head coach who guided the Tigers to the 2019 national championship, seems genuinely thrilled that Mickey Joseph on Friday officially joined Nebraska's coaching staff. The 53-year-old Joseph holds the title of wide receivers coach, associate head coach and passing game coordinator. Â
"Oh, man, Mickey's like my brother," Orgeron says. "I elevated him to assistant head coach in 2020 at LSU. I trust Mickey Joseph. The players love Mickey Joseph. Mickey Joseph can handle anything."Â
Joseph was the first piece to fall into place for Scott Frost as the fourth-year Nebraska head coach revamps his coaching staff in the wake of a 3-9 finish (1-8 Big Ten) in 2021. Many Husker fans are thrilled with the hire of Joseph, in part because they recall his playing days at NU and in part because they understand his prowess as a recruiter and key cog in LSU's undefeated title run in 2019.Â
A native of New Orleans, Joseph spent five seasons on Orgeron's staff at LSU. In October, LSU and Orgeron announced they had reached a separation agreement and that he would not return as the Tigers' coach next season.
Joseph became available, and Frost acted on it. Good move.
"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.Â
"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. C'mon, now!"Â
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.Â
"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."Â
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.
"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."Â
Joseph knows an incredible amount of people in his hometown. He's well-respected. People know he's an honest man, Orgeron says. "Mickey and his brothers were known all over the city," he says.Â
Louisianans also remember Joseph's prowess as a gifted, run-oriented quarterback during the mid-1980s at Archbishop Shaw High School, where he played for the legendary Hank Tierney.
Joseph, in fact, "was recruited as heavily as anyone we ever recruited," former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne recalls.Â
But how can Joseph help Frost? Â
"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."Â
Deion Smith, of Jackson, Mississippi, chose LSU over Mississippi and Mississippi State and a long list of other suitors.Â
"Mickey went and got Brian Thomas out of Walker, Louisiana, last year," Orgeron says. "Brian Thomas was going to Texas A&M. But Mickey stuck with him, stuck with him. Mickey had the guts and fortitude to do it."Â
Nebraska, by the way, hasn't had a first-round pick in the NFL Draft since 2011, when cornerback Prince Amukamara went 19th overall to the New York Giants.
Wait a minute, Orgeron says suddenly as another of Joseph's big-time LSU recruits pops into his cranium.Â
"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."Â Â
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.Â
"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?"Â Â
Absolutely. Seems like an excellent hire.
The turning point in every Nebraska football game in 2021