Recruiting Update

It's been several weeks since I've done a recruiting update. The LSU coaches have been pretty busy working the phones and hosting prospects on campus, and the results have been encouraging. This was a year when I wasn't expecting LSU to make a run at the nation's #1 recruiting class. It's a bit of a down year in the state of Louisiana and history shows that when LA is down, LSU isn't able to bring in a Top 5 class. But LSU's coaching staff is doing everything they can to attract top out of state talent, and we'll see where it takes us.

Since the last update, LSU picked up their biggest commitment to date in Dutchtown safety Eric Reid. Reid looks the part of a big-time safety, has multiple offers, and is highly rated by the scouting sites. He's in the first version of the Rivals Top 100 and just outside of Scout's Top 100. Reid's father ran track at LSU and now works for the university, so it's unlikely that we need to worry about Reid going back on his verbal commitment.

Here are some updates on guys we've already discussed or some new names to watch that we haven't discussed at all yet.

Oklahoma athlete Demarco Cobbs visited LSU's campus a couple of weeks ago and had really great things to say. LSU has dablled with recruiting the state of Oklahoma in the past, but with zero success. LSU has been on Cobbs for some time now and former coach Josh Henson was the main recruiter. With Henson leaving to go to Missouri, LSU fell off the radar for Cobbs but after his visit, LSU is back in the mix. He's probably a receiver in college and stands 6'1" 195 pounds. He has offers from Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, USC, and Arkansas. He was also in the initial Rivals Top 100. LSU appears to be a major player for Cobbs and he's a guy we'll add to the list and keep an eye on.

Georgia running back Storm Johnson visited LSU last weekend and came away extremely impressed. In fact, it looks that LSU is clearly the team to beat for Johnson right now. He did not commit publicly, but he may have done so privately. We'll see if he's still high on LSU once the luster from the visit wears off and he visits some other schools. Johnson is a big-time player though and has offers from major programs such as Florida State, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, and Penn State. He's also in the early version of Rivals Top 250 list. He's a bigger back at 6'0" 205 pounds. With LSU looking for at least 2 running backs in this class, Johnson would be a great start.

Houston area linebacker Shaun Lewis is saying very good things about LSU lately. Lewis is a speedy outside linebacker who holds offers from every major program that isn't burnt orange. He's current'y 6'1" and just 200 pounds but he has lots of speed. He's also in the initial Rivals Top 250 list. Lewis is apparently good friends with Tony Hurd, Lache Seastrunk, and Travon Reed. I'm going to start calling these guys "The Crew" because they seem to do everything together and they plan their trips together. It could be beneficial to LSU if they decide to play college football together. Lewis has been unable to visit LSU yet, but is trying to get on campus for the spring game.

Speaking of "The Crew", the rest of them visited LSU last week. Running back Lache Seastrunk and receiver Travon Reed are LSU's two most important recruits so it's good that they're continuing to visit LSU and continuing to do it together. I have a hard time believing that Travon Reed will end up anywhere but LSU. Seastrunk recently made some waves by stating that Auburn was his leader. While everyone believed that LSU, Texas, or USC would be Lache's final destination, Auburn came out of nowhere. Apparently the running backs coach at Auburn has a family connection which put Auburn in the picture. When everything shakes out, I think Auburn may get an official visit, but I don't think they'll be a serious player for him.

Cornerback Tony Hurd also visited LSU with Seastrunk and Reed. Hurd has made no secret that he thinks highly of LSU and that he's waiting on LSU to offer. He didn't receive his offer while on campus, but LSU's coaches encouraged him to come to camp in the summer and earn one. Hurd is small at only 5'9", but he's a real tough guy and he seems to win MVP awards at every camp he attends. The smart money is that Hurd earns his offer this summer and ultimately ends up at LSU.

Belle Chase receiver James Wright visited LSU this past weekend and left without an offer. To me, I think Wright has as good of film as any receiver LSU is recruiting. I don't understand the lack of an offer, but then again, his only offers are from Minnesota, Texas Tech, Stanford, and Tulsa. So I'm clearly just missing something. LSU has lots of players interested at the wide receiver position, so the staff is being smart and taking things slow.

Houston area offensive guard Chad Lindsay has stated that he's down to two schools, LSU and Alabama, and that he'll be making his decision in the next couple of weeks. Lindsay is a devastating run blocker and has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, FSU, Ole Miss, Oklahoma ,Tennessee, and many others. If there's a negative with Lindsay, it's that he's a little stiff and not that great when moving laterally. But for straight ahead run blocking, I don't know that I've seen any better at the high school level. Lindsay has a sister at LSU and a parent who graduated from LSU, so conventional thinking is that the Tigers are the team to beat.

LSU is making a move on Las Vegas tight-end Xavier Grimble. Grimble is a very good looking prospect who is getting attention from a lot of big schools. He has offers from nearly everyone, but LSU looks to be near the top of his list along with Florida and USC. He's 6'6" 245 pounds and has great speed and athleticism. He's ranked as the #39 overall player in Rivals early Top 100 list. He reminds me of Oklahoma's Jermaine Gresham.

One surprise thus far in this recruiting year has been the lack of attention given to Capital High QB Terrance Broadway. We've been hearing about Broadway since his sophomore season, but he's just not getting the offers that most anticipated. Alabama, UCONN, Nebraska, and LA Tech are his only offers. LSU supposedly likes him as a safety more than a QB. Many thought Broadway would be one of the state's Top 3 prospects, but it doesn't look like that's the case at this stage.

While Broadway's star seems to be fading, LSU is still chasing some top QBs. Texas dual-threat QB Zach Lee is on LSU's wish list. Lee looks like a very good fit as a passer/runner in Gary Crowton's offense. He's 6'4" 200 pounds with a very strong arm. Lee is also a big-time Major League Baseball prospect, so that could be a factor in his recruitment. He has offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Texas Tech, and some smaller schools.



COMMITMENTS:
ATH Tharold Simon (WR or S) -- Eunice
TE Nick Jacobs -- Many
WR Mike Davis -- Dallas, TX
FB Brandon Worle - LaGrange, GA
LB DJ Welter -- Crowley Notre Dame
S Eric Reid - Dutchtown


PROSPECTS:
QB
Terrance Broadway -- Capitol
Sam Carter -- Houston, TX
Taylor Burch -- Neville, Monroe
Jake Heaps -- WA
Munchie Legaux -- Karr
Zach Lee -- McKinney, TX (Dallas area)

RB
Lache Seastrunk -- Temple, TX
Dontae Williams -- Houston, TX
Storm Johnson -- Loganville, GA (Atlanta area)
James Gillum -- Pearl River
Michael Dyer -- Little Rock, AR

WR
Travon Reed -- Thibodaux
James Wright -- Belle Chase
Martavious Lee -- CA (JUCO)
Kevin Johnson -- Houston, TX
Shedrick Davis -- Central Baton Rouge
DeAndrew White -- Galena Park, TX (Houston area)
Solomon Patton -- Mobile, AL
James Louis -- Delray Beach, FL

TE
Travis Dickson -- Ocean Springs, MS
Naquan Lee -- Crockett, TX
Xavier Grimble -- Las Vegas, NE

OL
Luke Charpentier -- John Curtis
Evan Washington -- DeSoto, TX (Dallas area)
Chad Lindsay -- Houston, TX
OC Brown -- Memphis, TN
Wes Rea -- Gulfport, MS
Adam Shead -- Cedar Hill, TX (Dallas area)
Daryl Williams -- Corinth, TX
James Stone -- Nashville, TN

DT
Rissean Broussard -- Washington Marion Lake Charles
Churphy Stewart -- Breaux Bridge
LaCraig Brown-- Monroe

DE
Jordan Allen -- West Monroe
Houston Bates - St Pauls Covington
Rashad Givens -- MS JUCO
Joseph Okafor -- Houston, TX
Zach McCray -- VA
JR Ferguson -- MD
Benay Pryor -- MS JUCO
Walker Ashburn -- John Curtis
Brandon Willis -- Duncan, SC

LB
Justin Maclin -- Memphis, TN
Kurt Killens -- Round Rock, TX (Austin area)
Shaun Lewis -- Missouri City, TX (Houston area)
Pat Swilling Jr. -- Brother Martin New Orleans
Gerald Christian -- West Palm Beach, FL
Corey Nelson -- Dallas, TX
LaDarius Owens -- Birmingham, AL

CB
Tony Hurd -- Missouri City, TX (Houston area)
Jonathon McKnight -- John Curtis

S

ATH
Ronnie Vinson (CB or S) -- Newman New Orleans
James Haynes (CB or WR) -- Orange, TX
Jarett Fobbs (CB or WR) -- Huntington Shreveport
Gavin Webster -- Lutcher
Demarco Cobbs -- Tulsa, OK

K
Cade Foster -- Dallas