Rouses_FINAL_September-October-2017

INTERVIEW

[PAGE 8] No. 77 Ed Orgeron, Northwestern State [LEFT] LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron – Photo credit Advocate photographer Hilary Scheinuk [RIGHT] Bobby Hebert

“When I walk into Tiger Stadium and I see that ‘Welcome to Death Valley,’ I feel connected to every person in that stadium. One team, one heartbeat. This is home. There’s a bigger responsibility. I want to represent the people of Louisiana the best way I can.” —Coach O

COACH O: Here comes “Big Foot” Keith Crosby ... I played right tackle, he came in as the tight end.Now look, this guy took a pirogue to school. His foot was as wide as it was long! I loved this guy.Well, Big Foot, he’s hooting and hollering, ‘Woooooh! We’re gonna win the game.’ I said, ‘Big Foot, step down!’‘Woooooh.’ I said, ‘Big Foot, step down!’ ‘Woooooh, we’re gonna win the game.’ He didn’t step down. Steve Deery steps over my leg and blocks the extra point.The ball rolls over the cross bar, and we win the game. BOBBY: Two miracle plays. BOBBY: When I was in 9th grade, I was 5 foot 8, 115 pounds.Then all of a sudden I’m like 6 foot 2, 190 in three years. Bé Bé, you were a man at 15 years old. You were starting on varsity for three years. You were the only 10th grader who played on varsity. COACH O: I played offense and defense. I never got off the field. BOBBY: You were recruited by LSU from Day One. Me, I was just trying to get a scholarship. I was lucky we won State and the recruiter from Northwestern saw me. So you go to LSU, and it doesn’t work out, and you end up with me at Northwestern. COACH O: I was digging ditches for Latelco (Lafourche Telephone Company) when you called me. I went because I knew you’d show me the ropes. BOBBY: We lived together in the football dorm. I was a great roommate. I used to wake you up for class. COACH O: Your grandmother would come for these games and she’d bring us white beans with some bell peppers in it. Big chunks of bell peppers on some white beans. God, that was good!

BOBBY: That was my Grandma Birdie,my dad’s mom ...Your dad and Mangus Arceneaux would come and celebrate and have like a boucherie on campus at Northwestern. Everyone wanted to be a part of it. COACH O: We brought South Louisiana to Natchitoches. They loved it. BOBBY: Then, senior year, you break your arm. COACH O: The next day I became a graduate assistant coach. BOBBY: After Northwestern, you went to McNeese State with Bill Johnson, who’d also been a GA at Northwestern. He was the defensive line coach at McNeese ... COACH O: He was the defensive line coach for the Saints for eight years, too. BOBBY: After you left McNeese, you went to Arkansas.There was a pause in there, though ... COACH: I was actually shoveling shrimp in Grand Isle at Johnny’s Shrimp Shed and the phone rang. Someone yelled ‘Bé Bé, you got a call from Arkansas.’ It was Brad Scott, who I was GA with at Northwestern. He said, ‘Hey man, do you want the assistant strength coach job here at Arkansas?’ I said, ‘Hold on.’ I had my shrimp boots on. I had a shovel. Pshhhhh, I threw the shovel in the bayou. I said, ‘Hell yeah, I’m coming, man — just give me the directions!’ I lived in the dorm. I made $25 every two weeks.The first time I went down to the cafeteria and saw white gravy, I said, ‘What’s that?’ and someone said, ‘Oh, that’s gravy.’ And I said, ‘No it’s not, gravy is brown.’ I was GA for a year. I coached the six technique. I coached Wayne Martin, who became All-Pro with the Saints.

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