Tigers win some, lose some recruits
Published 7:00 pm Thursday, December 19, 2019
Unlike LSU’s perfect regular season and SEC title, the Tigers won some and lost some while restocking the roster on the early national signing day for recruits.
LSU’s list of 19 recruits included two ESPN top 100 players who hadn’t previously committed, but the Tigers had three they were counting on “flip” to other schools.
Head coach Ed Orgeron saw the glass as half full.
Trending
“What a great day for the Tigers,” Orgeron said. “We are very pleased with the guys we have.”
The Tigers certainly searched far and wide for them.
The newest class, which could grow in the coming days and certainly will on the later signing date in February, included only five players from Louisiana but went coast to coast to dip into 10 other states.
In the end, the 247Sports web site ranked the Tigers’ class No. 5 in the country behind Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia.
ESPN had LSU No. 4, ahead of Georgia, after Orgeron got 14 of ESPN’s top 100.
Orgeron said defensive line, cornerback and safety will be priorities in finishing the class, which could also include some transfers.
Trending
The Tigers did not sign a running back on the first day. But the Tigers are very much in the hunt for Zach Evans of Houston, who’s considered the No. 1 running back prospect in the nation. He will not likely sign until February. LSU is considered the favorite for Evans, with strong competition from Texas A&M and Georgia.
The pleasant surprises were outside linebacker Phillip Webb of Buford, Ga., and offensive tackle Marcus Dumerville of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. Dumerville was considerd the top uncommitted tackle and joins his teammate and fellow offensive lineman Marlon Martinez.
Other highlights were Gatorade national player of the year Arik Gilbert out of Marietta, Ga. He’s the first tight end ever to win the Gatorade award, although LSU lists the 6-6, 250-pounder as an athlete.
For the second year in a row the Tigers also landed the nation’s top-rated cornerback, this time with Elias Ricks from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., who played high school at IMG Academy in Florida. Last year it was Derek Stingley, who was an immediate starter and a first-team All-American.
Orgeron said he had known Ricks since he was 7 years old, dating back to Orgeron’s days at Southern Cal.
“We needed more speed, we needed more pass rush,” Orgeron said in mentioning Webb, along with BJ Ojulari, a teammate of Gilbert’s in Georgia.
It wasn’t all good news.
Oddly for a team that unveiled a new high-powered passing game to rave reviews this year, two of the biggest fish that got away from the Tigers Wednesday were wide receivers.
Also, LSU, which fashions itself DBU lost a coveted defensive back in a week when ex-Tigers were named NFL defensive players in both conferences — Patrick Peterson in the NFC and Tre White in the AFC.
But one of the top wide receivers LSU had committed, Rakim Jarrett of Washington, D.C., made a late switch to nearby Maryland and another, Jermaine Burton changed his mind and signed with Georgia.
Another flip of an LSU commit came with safety Malcolm Greene of Virginia, who signed instead with Clemson.
“Obviously distance was a factor with two of them,” Orgeron said of those that got away. “Maybe three of them.
