Jim Gazzolo, Special to the American Press

For a read-option quarterback the play always comes down to taking the easiest out.

Defenses determine which decision is right and which is wrong.

Cody Orgeron runs the read-option as well as anybody, on the field. But when it comes to his decisions off the field, nobody dictates his moves.

And he is never looking for the easy way out.

So it was last summer, when the McNeese State senior quarterback could have made the safe play and transferred out of Lake Charles. Instead, he stayed. Through the pandemic, through the school’s decision to not play football in the fall and through not one but two hurricanes, Orgeron stayed.

It was not the easy choice, the safe move or even the norm in college football. But for Orgeron, it was his only option.

“It never crossed my mind to leave my teammates,” said Orgeron, who along with the rest of the Cowboys will start their spring football season in February.

“I want to be a big part of this football program, a big part of this community and how would it have looked if I just left,” he said. “I want to give back to this community, maybe help in a way to recovery.”

It is a common theme by many of the players who have decided to stay with McNeese, even when other schools came calling with open arms. A total of 20 players have left the program in the last year, 10 transferring out to play elsewhere, the rest to join the work force. But having the starting quarterback around was more than a little something for the Cowboys to build on, it was more like somebody was there to rally around.

“Cody is a real leader,” said McNeese head coach Frank Wilson, who took over the program last January. “I have been around him a long time and I have always been impressed with his play, but more with the type of young man he is.

“Kids rally around him. They are looking at him for leadership every day.”

Orgeron graduated from McNeese last May, so entering the transfer portal to play elsewhere would have been easy.

“We have unfinished business here,” said Orgeron. “I don’t want to leave this school without a ring.”

Orgeron admits that the fall was tough, with the two hurricanes in six weeks and no season to work toward.

“I was one of the lucky ones, I got to stay at home, work out and be taken care of,” he said. “A lot of guys were in a lot tougher shape. They didn’t know where their next meals would be, where they would sleep that night.

“Those were my guys. I want to be with them when they go back on the field.”

Of course Orgeron is different. He has a lot of options off the field as well, where he wants to follow in his famous father’s footsteps and into coaching. Ed Orgeron is the head coach at LSU.

“I look at it as I get to get my Masters and that should set me up for the rest of my life,” Cody said. “And my father always taught me to finish what I start.”

With that he plans to even play again in the fall, taking the extra year the NCAA is giving players for COVID-19. Maybe that might be more about getting a chance to play against his dad. The Cowboys are slated to play their second game this fall in Tiger Stadium.

“I love football,” Cody said. “I want to play it as long as I can. And I would not miss playing against my dad. That will be fun.”

Cody is also playing for his twin brother Parker, a receiver who started at McNeese before giving up the game after several concussions.

“My brother would love to still be playing, a lot of guys would be,” he said. “I get to showcase my skills and have fun.”

In 2019, his first full year as a starter, Cody hit on 58 percent of his attempts for 2,628 yards and 24 touchdowns against just nine interceptions. He also ran for another 482 yards and three scores.

While those numbers are nice, this spring is more about what Orgeron means to his teammates, the program and the community.

His option to stay is a sign that despite the storms not everyone will abandon McNeese and Lake Charles.

It’s a more powerful play than another touchdown he might throw.McNeese State Cowboys quarterback Cody Orgeron (8) throws a pass during a Southland Conference game at Cowboy Stadium Oct.19, 2019.

Rick Hickman