Signing Day Recap

What a day!  LSU enjoyed some very positive surprises on National Signing Day, and those surprises transformed a class that was starting to look like a bit of a disappointment into a huge success.  LSU went into Wednesday with 25 verbal commitments, but they added four very good players.   If you missed it, be sure to check my breakdown of the entire Class of 2010 which has been updated to include the complete class. 

As long as I've been following recruiting, the strength of LSU's signing class is always dependent on the level of talent in the state of Louisiana.  With this year being a bit down in Louisiana, LSU was forced to go out of state to meet their needs.  LSU looked to have done just that before suffering de-commitments from out of state stars such as WR Justin Hunter, WR Mike Davis, DT Cassius Marsh, and OT Jamarcus Hardrick. 

I think these de-commitments actually speak well to the LSU staff's ability to evaluate talent.  LSU recruited and secured commitments from those guys before many of the other big time schools showed interest.  Once those guys played their senior seasons and went to the various All-American games, they ALL saw their stock rise and their rankings improve.  More schools began recruiting them hard and schools that were closer to home eventually won out.  The same can be said for running back Spencer Ware, but he chose to honor his commitment to LSU. 

The staff was then obviously forced to fill the voids left by those de-commitments, and that has been the focus of the final few weeks of this recruiting season.  Signing Day brought some great surprises in helping to fill those holes. 

The morning started with Florida receiver Kadron Boone choosing LSU over Georgia, Louisville, and Texas Tech. 

Soon after, LSU got another surprise.  Despite claiming that he was signing with Tennessee as recently as Tuesday evening, J.C. Copeland faxed in his letter of intent to LSU on Wednesday. 

Shreveport athlete Jarrett Fobbs has been a commitment to Texas A&M for many months.  LSU recruited him very hard over the last month and seemed to have a lot of momentum.  But Fobbs took a visit to College Station on the final weekend before Signing Day and it didn't look good for LSU.   But on Tuesday, word began to spread that Fobbs was once again leaning towards the Tigers and LSU fans were happy to see his letter of intent come through on Wednesday. 

The biggest surprise of the day was when Maryland defensive lineman Ego Ferguson chose LSU.  Most thought he was headed to Miami, but Ferguson felt most comfortable with the Tigers. 

In order to make the numbers work, it appears that St. Pauls HS defensive end / linebacker Houston Bates is going to "grayshirt" which means he won't be on football scholarship until the Spring of 2011.  He will therefore count against the numbers for the Class 2011. 

Selma, AL defensive tackle Dexter Blackmon did not sign, and his status is unclear right now.  He reportedly has some work to do academically, so perhaps Junior College is a likely destination.  I'm just speculating there, but I'm sure we'll learn more about his situation shortly.  

As far as my thoughts on the players, most of that is covered in my last update.  But here is my ranking of the Top 15 players in the class:

1.  S Eric Reid
2.  RB  Spencer Ware
3.  DL  Ego Ferguson
4.  DT  J.C. Copeland
5.  DB  Ronnie Vinson
6.  OL  Evan Washington
7.  QB  Zach Lee
8.  TE  Travis Dickson
9.  ATH  Tharold Simon
10.  WR James Wright
11.  LB  Justin Maclin
12.  WR Kadron Boone
13.  RB  Jahkori Gore
14.  ATH  Jarrett Fobbs
15.  RB Alfred Blue