Recruiting Update: Louisiana Class of 2010 Deep After All?; Other Recruiting Notes

It initially looked like a pretty shallow year for quality Division 1 prospects in the state of Louisiana for the Class of 2010. However, several prospects have emerged recently which has things looking a bit more promising. Are these late blooming prospects good enough to warrant serious consideration from LSU? The evaluation process is still ongoing, but it looks like a few of these players may get serious looks.

Houma defensive tackle Damien Jacobs is gaining more and more interest from big-time schools. Jacobs is 6'3" 300 pounds and logged 90 tackles and 8 sacks as a junior. He currently holds offers from Florida State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Louisiana Tech as well as some smaller schools. He also visited Auburn last weekend, and they are showing strong interest. Without any defensive tackle commitments and without any coming in the near future, you can bet that LSU will give Jacobs a hard look. It's unknown whether Jacobs is attending LSU's camp next month, but if he covets an LSU offer, he should go show what he's got.

Slidell High School wide receiver Armand Williams (pictured) wowed scouts at a recent combine. With great size at 6'3" 185 pounds, Williams recorded a vertical leap of 42.6 inches, ran a 4.51 in the 40, and jumped 11'7" in the broad jump. He's also a state champion in the high jump. Those physical skills are as good, or better, than you'll see for any 5-star prospect out there. The question is whether Williams can run routes, catch the football, and block. He states that he's planning on attending LSU's camp so the staff will get a real good look at him. With two WRs already committed and Trovon Reed expected to be a 3rd, Williams will be competing with many others for the final WR spot in LSU's class if they decide to take one. Right now, junior college wideout Martavious Lee and Belle Chase receiver James Wright are thought to be the front runners for that last spot. Williams could shake that up with a good showing at LSU's camp. Williams currently has offers from Tulsa and Tulane.

Shaw High School defensive tackle Elliott Porter is another guy starting to get interest from some BCS programs. Porter is 6"4" 280 pounds and holds offers from Nebraska, Florida State, Mississippi State, Texas Tech, and some other smaller schools. Ole Miss is very interested and LSU is talking to him some. He also has very good weight room numbers with a reported 385 pound bench and 510 pound squat. Porter indicates that he would love to receive an offer from LSU.

Edna Karr High School defensive tackle Harold Legania is also seeing his stock rise. With recent offers from Ole Miss and Mississippi State, he claims that Mississippi State is standing out right now. Legania is 6'3" 270 pounds and looks OK, but not spectacular on film. LSU is talking to him , and he may be someone they look at down the line.

Another late riser is Port Allen cornerback Andre Hal. Hal is 6'0" 170 pounds with very good speed, running the 200 in 22 seconds for track and field. Hal currently holds offers from Nebraska and Vanderbilt though Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, and LSU are talking to him. He plans to camp at LSU. With so many cornerbacks on LSU's board, it's hard for me to envision Hall as part of LSU's class unless he really impresses the staff at camp.

Looking out of state, some other prospects have popped up on LSU's radar.

North Carolina linebacker Kendall Moore has a lot of connections to LSU's program. Moore and his family used to live in south Louisiana, and he claims an uncle that lives in Baton Rouge and several cousins who live in Mandeville and attend Fontainbleau high school. Moore attended an LSU game last fall and is very familiar with the area. In addition, his mother attended LSU while his father attended Southern. In addition, LSU tight-ends coach and recruiting coordinator Dan Yanowsky is very good friends with Moore's high school coach. They both previously coached together at East Carolina. Moore projects as an inside linebacker, standing 6'3" 232 pounds. He has good weight room numbers with a 320 pound bench and 500 pound squat. Moore is rated 4-stars by Rivals.com and is on their current Rivals 250 list. He also holds offers from Clemson, North Carolina, Notre Dame, NC State, Florida State, and many others. He recently claimed a Top 4 of Notre Dame, NC State, FSU, and LSU. LSU has yet to offer him, and with other big name linebackers still on the board such as Shaun Lewis and Justin Maclin, it's tough to see him getting one anytime soon. But Moore is definitely a guy to watch.

LSU has thrown their hat into the mix for Mississippi offensive tackle Damien Robinson. Robinson is widely believed to be one of the nation's elite tackle prospects. Rivals rates him as their #67 overall player. Scout ranks him a 5-star and the nation's 4th best OT. ESPN has him on their Top 150 Watch list and has a great evaluation of him here. Robinson hasn't tipped his hand as to who leads for his services but Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn, and Florida State are recruiting him hard. Robinson attends Olive Branch high school, and two former Olive Branch players are big contributors for Ole Miss right now (Markeith Summers and Allen Walker). That will probably give the Rebels a slight edge. We'll see if anything develops between Robinson and LSU.

Georgia linebacker Telvin Smith recently received an LSU offer to go along with offers from Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, and Louisville. At 6'4" 198 pounds, Smith fits the mold of the smaller, faster type of linebacker that John Chavis seems to be recruiting to LSU. Smith is rated 3-stars by both Rivals and Scout while ESPN has yet to evaluate him. He claims a Top 3 of Georgia, Florida State, and LSU.

LSU recently offered Fort Lauderdale kicker/punter Michael Palardy. Palardy seems to have legitimate interest in LSU and is planning a visit sometime this summer. Palardy also has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Miami, Tennessee, and others. Alabama already has a kicker committed, so the Tide are probably not an option for Palardy anymore.

Lastly, California QB Jesse Scroggins received offers from both Florida and USC offer recently. That significantly lowers LSU's chances with Scroggins. Though he continues to mention LSU, he's made no secret that he coveted a USC offer. He also seems enamored with being the QB for Urban Meyer.

Switching gears to basketball for a bit, LSU may not be done with the Class of 2009 just yet. Georgia small forward Noel Johnson signed a letter of intent with USC. However when news broke that USC head coach paid former player OJ Mayo, Johnson asked for and was issued a release from his letter of intent. That puts him back on the market, and LSU is heavily involved. Johnson is 6'7" and shot over 40% from 3-point range his senior season. Rivals rates him as the #53 overall prospect in the nation. LSU has a few things going in their favor. Johnson seems to come from a strong family background which fits nicely with the types of things that Trent Johnson is trying to do with LSU's program. LSU can also offer immediate playing time to Johnson. Johnson is former AAU teammates with current Tiger Dennis Harris. And maybe the most peculiar, Johnson is working with former LSU legend Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Chris Jackson) who is doing his part to convince him that LSU is the place to be. Georgia Tech is considered the favorite right now, but LSU is in the mix.

Looking to the Class of 2010, LSU is one of 2 leaders for Alabama point guard Andre Stringer. Stringer is just 5'9" 160 pounds but is highly thought of by everyone and is ranked as the #82 player in the nation by Rivals. He is also strongly considering Alabama.

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 HS New Orleans
Zach Lee -- McKinney, TX (Dallas area)
Terrance Broadway -- Capitol
Sam Carter -- Houston, TX
Jake Heaps -- WA
Jesse Scroggins -- CA

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
Demarco Cobbs -- Tulsa, OK
Glen Coleman -- West Jefferson
Martavious Lee -- CA (JUCO)
Kevin Johnson -- Houston, TX
Armand Williams -- Slidell

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
Daryl Williams -- Corinth, TX
James Stone -- Nashville, TN
Damien Robinson -- Olive Branch, MS
TJ Leifheit -- Wilmington, NC
Luke Charpentier -- John Curtis
Alex Hill -- Slidell

DT
Rissean Broussard -- Washington Marion Lake Charles (Tennessee commitment)
Torrea Peterson -- San Antonio, TX
Damien Jacobs -- Houma, LA
Harold Legania -- Karr HS New Orleans
Elliott Porter -- Shaw HS New Orleans
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
Corey Nelson -- Dallas, TX
Kendall Moore -- Raleigh, NC
Telvin Smith -- Valdosta, GA
Kurt Killens -- Round Rock, TX (Austin area)
Pat Swilling Jr. -- Brother Martin New Orleans

CB
Tony Hurd -- Missouri City, TX (Houston area)
Tyler Stephenson -- Lancaster, TX (Dallas 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