Trump calls LSU head coach ahead of national title game

President Trump phoned Louisiana State University’s (LSU) head football coach on Monday to offer his encouragement as the school prepares to play Clemson University in the national championship game next month.

Ed Orgeron said at a press conference Tuesday that the call the day before surprised him as he returned from LSU’s semifinal game in Atlanta and that the president was “complimentary” of his team’s performance, according to The Advocate.

“I was very honored to get a call from President Trump,” Orgeron said, according to the Baton Rouge paper. “He was very pleasant to talk to. Very complimentary of our football team, our coaching staff. Complimentary of the way the state of Louisiana has rallied around us. Was complimentary of the way we played all year and wished us good luck in the game.”

LSU defeated the University of Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl on Saturday, bringing the school to its first national title game in eight years. LSU will face off against Clemson, the reigning champion, in New Orleans on Jan. 13.

Trump attended LSU’s victory over archrival Alabama last month, receiving a warm welcome in Tuscaloosa after being booed at October sporting events in New York and Washington, D.C.