Recruiting Update: LSU Staff Casting Wide Net For Recruits

LSU's coaching staff has been hitting the recruiting trail hard over the last few weeks. We've seen LSU's coaches exploring some new territory, visiting lots of prospects up and down the Atlantic coast. LSU typically doesn't have much success north of the state of Georgia; however, it's clear they're trying to take advantage of some of the conacts provided by new coaches Brick Haley and Ron Cooper. It has already paid dividends with the commitment of Virginia wide receiver Justin Hunter. I can't recall LSU signing a player from Virginia anytime in the last 10 years. The coaches have also spent some time in normal recruiting areas such as Alabama, Florida, Texas, and Tennessee while of course not ignoring the local guys in Louisiana.

I took some guys off my list for various reasons. Taylor Burch is gone because he hasn't emerged as a serious candidate for LSU. Gerald Christian is gone because he committed to Florida. Xavier Grimble committed to USC. I also added several new names of prospects that have emerged as possibilities.

LSU finally extended a scholarship offer to Shreveport athlete Jarrett Fobbs (pictured) last week. I like Fobbs a lot as a player, and I think he can play in the SEC at either WR or DB. I expect that Fobbs will commit to LSU at some point soon. In fact, he may be the next to pull the trigger. Ultimately, I think he ends up in the secondary. He reminds me a lot of current Tiger Ron Brooks.

Karr High School quarterback Munchie Legaux received an offer from Tennessee recently. He's also receiving lots of interest from Baylor and Oregon. Legaux seems content to wait right now. He knows that he's going to get a hard look at LSU's camp next month, and he wants to show LSUs' coaches what he can do.

San Antonio, TX safety Tommie Saunders has LSU in his Top 5, and LSU has extended an offer. Saunders is pretty impressive on film and is definitely not afraid to lay a big hit. Oklahoma looks like the team to beat here. Saunders says he plans on announcing his decision soon. With Eric Reid and possibly Tharold Simon already on board at safety, it's not a huge necessity to get another safety for this class.

LSU has offered San Antonio, TX defensive tackle Torrea Peterson. Peterson also holds offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, and others. He's 6'4" 300 pounds and has some impressive weight room numbers. It's unclear where LSU stands with him, but with the shortage of in-state defensive linemen, LSU has to look out of state. That makes Peterson a guy to keep an eye on.

Alabama defensive end Anthony Wilson has emerged as an interesting prospect. Wilson lived in New Orleans until 2005 when his family evacuated due to Katrina. They landed in Homewood, AL near Birmingham and have been there ever since. He has recently turned in some very impressive camp performances and is starting to garner serious interest from big-time schools. He doesn't have any offers yet, but has stated that LSU is his school of preference. He's 6'4" 220 pounds.

Mississippi defensive end Kaleb Eulls is another guy on the Tigers' radar. 6'4" 245 pounds and rated 4-stars by Rivals, Eulls has offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State. Eulls seems pretty wide open right now, but I get the impression he'll ultimately stay in-state to play college ball.

LSU also paid a visit to Texas cornerback Tony Hurd Jr. Currently without an offer, Hurd continues to favor LSU. He's planning on camping at LSU next month and hoping to earn an offer. He does have offers from Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

LSU continues to pursue North Carolina offensive tackle TJ Leifheit. With a good frame at 6'7" 300 pounds, Leifheit is rated 4-stars by Rivals.com. He also has an impressive offer list including USC, Florida State, Clemson, Tennessee, Arkasnas, and North Carolina. LSU has to make up ground on North Carolina, USC, and Ohio State (has not offered to this point).

Sticking with our Atlantic coast theme, LSU also paid visits to a couple other Virginia recruits in defensive tackle Evan Hailes and defensive end Zach McCray. Hailes, rated 4-stars by both Rivals and Scout, claims that he wants to play in the SEC and he puts LSU in his Top 5. He's also being recruited by Tennessee, Virginia Tech, NC State, and Boston College. McCray, also a 4-star on both sites, has offers from practically everyone. He seems to have developed a good relationship with DL coach Brick Haley, and he claims LSU is near the top of his list. He hopes to visit Baton Rouge soon, and that visit will dictate how serious a player LSU will be for him.

Some other prospects up that way getting hard looks from LSU are Maryland defensive end JR Ferguson and North Carolina defensive end Fre'shad Hunter.

LSU has also thrown their hat into the mix for Michigan defensive end William Gholston. Most don't expect Gholston to leave Big-10 country.

Many argue that LSU should focus their efforts on more regional players rather than trying so hard in the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland. The truth is that LSU simply has to go out of state, and in some cases out of the region, to get quality players at certain positions this year. Defensive line is one of those positions, and that's why you see so many of them offered from that area. If those efforts net just one of those guys, then it will be worth it.

Lastly, Tigerbait.com reports that former University High quarterback Barrett Bailey has decided to walk-on at LSU, passing up a scholarship offer from UAB. That gives LSU another quality practice arm.


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
LB Luke Muncie Klein, TX
OL Jamarcus Hardrick (JUCO)
WR Justin Hunter -- Virginia Beach, VA


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

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

WR
Trovon Reed -- Thibodaux
James Wright -- Belle Chase
DeAndrew White -- Galena Park, TX (Houston area)
Solomon Patton -- Mobile, AL
James Louis -- Delray Beach, FL
Demarco Cobbs -- Tulsa, OK
Glen Coleman -- West Jefferson
Martavious Lee -- CA (JUCO)
Kevin Johnson -- Houston, TX

TE
Travis Dickson -- Ocean Springs, MS
Naquan Lee -- Crockett, TX
Garrett Uekman -- Little Rock, AK

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

DT
Rissean Broussard -- Washington Marion Lake Charles (Tennessee commitment)
Torrea Peterson -- San Antonio, TX
Churphy Stewart -- Breaux Bridge
LaCraig Brown-- Monroe

DE
Jordan Allen -- West Monroe
Houston Bates -- St Pauls Covington
Kaleb Eulls -- Yazoo City, MS
Anthony Wilson -- Homewood, AL
Joseph Okafor -- Houston, TX
Zach McCray -- VA
JR Ferguson -- MD
Benay Pryor -- MS JUCO
Walker Ashburn -- John Curtis
Brandon Willis -- Duncan, SC

LB
Shaun Lewis -- Missouri City, TX (Houston area)
Justin Maclin -- Memphis, TN
Kurt Killens -- Round Rock, TX (Austin area)
Pat Swilling Jr. -- Brother Martin New Orleans
Corey Nelson -- Dallas, TX

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

S
Tommie Saunders -- San Antonio, TX

ATH
Ronnie Vinson (CB or S) -- Newman New Orleans
Jarett Fobbs (CB or WR) -- Huntington Shreveport
Curtis Carter -- North DeSoto
James Haynes (CB or WR) -- Orange, TX