You could tell me that Ed Orgeron rode Devin White’s horse, Daisy Mae, through the locker room before a big game and it wouldn’t surprise me.

This is the same guy who once held a worm in his mouth to deliver the punchline of a pregame speech. Remember when that story went viral a few years ago? That was actually from our story a couple years ago on the LSU coach. As one of his friends was quoted in that piece, “he could motivate a statue.”

So when Greedy Williams told another epic story about Orgeron firing up the troops, nobody was surprised.

Williams, who’s expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, was asked at the Combine about Orgeron’s consumption of Monster Energy drinks. That, of course, led to a story about what Orgeron once did to a poor can of Red Bull.

“One time I saw him do something crazy was when I walked into a meeting room and he slammed a Red Bull on his chest,” Williams told reporters. “It kinda got everybody pumped.”

Wait a minute. Like a full can of Red Bull?

“Yeah, it was still full. He (popped it open),” Williams said.

Goodness. The internet needs/deserves video of that. If anyone has it, I’m willing to offer a cash reward (yes, I just put video of a coach smashing an energy drink on his chest in the same category of importance as finding a lost dog).

This is certainly more impressive than surprising. Obviously Orgeron still looks like he’s not skipping chest day. He deserves some credit for deciding to smash the Red Bull on his chest instead of on his forehead. Remember, we’re living in a post-concussion awareness world. When it comes to smashing full energy drinks against oneself, the chest is always best.

What is it with SEC coaches and Red Bull?

Chad Morris is basically a Red Bull pitchman. Remember when this went viral when Morris was running Dabo Swinney’s offense at Clemson?

Besides his constant Red Bull consumption, he literally hands the stuff out like candy:

https://twitter.com/coachchadmorris/status/991672057925701632

Morris and Orgeron might be the two most high-motor coaches in the SEC, and it’s not hard to see why. I’d love to follow them around on a fall Saturday from start to finish to see how much Red Bull they consume. Clearly, it’s a big part of their fuel, and not to get all Darren Rovell here, but it’s a big part of their personal brands, too.

Jokes aside, Orgeron is a master at finding unique ways to motivate his team. It says a lot that someone on the brink of NFL millions remembered that moment. You bet it got players fired up to watch their coach do something like that.

Orgeron actually has a pregame routine … that obviously involves Red Bull. A year ago, Danny Etling outlined what all that entailed.

“Before one of the games,” Etling said via AL.com, “he’ll come down and drink a whole Red Bull, smashes it on his head, lifts off his shirt and he’s punching himself in the jaw getting us ready, pumped up to play. That’s Coach O for you.”

So if you’re keeping track, full Red Bulls get smashed on Orgeron’s chest, but empty Red Bulls after he chugs them are smashed on Orgeron’s head. Got it.

Former LSU offensive lineman Toby Weathersby piggybacked off Etling’s comments about the Orgeron pregame ritual.

“It’s a real serious punch,” said Weathersby. “Then he’ll look at us and start growling. He’ll give us a growl and you know what time it means. It’s time to go win a ball game.”

And it’s also probably time to get Coach O another Red Bull.

More Florida-Georgia fuel

A lot can change in a month, especially in the recruiting world.

A month ago, 2020 quarterback recruit Carson Beck was committed to Alabama. That had been the case since June 2018. That, however, was put on hold after Alabama essentially overhauled its offensive staff. The 4-star recruit then lined up an unofficial visit at Florida, and then dropped his Alabama commitment. Not surprisingly, Beck named Florida his leader.

So next came the Florida commitment, right? Not exactly. In fact, it was essentially the exact opposite of that.

Last week, Beck got an offer from Georgia. He then visited Athens for Junior Day and committed just days after that.

In an interview that Beck did with First Coast News, he revealed that he might have had some ulterior, Georgia-based motives to announce Florida as his leader.

“I had obviously named Florida my leader,” he said. “I put that out there to say ‘hey, this is the team coming at me the hardest. This is the team where I can see myself at.’ But also, I kind of had two schools at the back of my head, one of them being Georgia, where, if I got that offer, I would pause for a second and say ‘OK, hold on a second, I’ve got to pause and take this in.’ I took a visit up there (to Athens) and it was absolutely awesome and everything I expected.”

Wow. That’s some major transparency. That’s some rare transparency.

That had to be a kick to the gut to Florida fans, who clearly have a top enemy if and when Beck arrives in Athens.

In a way, it actually makes a lot of sense that a recruit would do something like this. What’s the best way to get someone’s attention? Make them jealous. What’s true in relationships is also apparently true in the recruiting world.

If you include Florida, Beck has been strongly linked to or committed to 3 SEC schools in the past 5 weeks. He still has roughly 9 1/2 months until he signs on the dotted line, so who knows what’s in store. Though Beck did say that his recruitment is “no longer open.” Take that for what you will.

All I know is that Florida and Georgia fans have been given a ton of reasons to jaw this offseason. Beck might not know it, but he just poured some more gas on the fire.