You win some, you lose some, so it’s always tough to figure out if that recruiting glass is half full or half empty at the end of national signing day.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron, for instance, added three players to an already strong class Wednesday, but couldn’t help but bemoan a couple of high-profile players who slipped through the Tigers’ grasp.
“Great day for LSU,” Orgeron said in summing up the 23 players who signed.
“Obviously we lost some guys at the end that we’re very disappointed about, but this is a great class. We feel that we have made an excellent start with this recruiting class.”
Most recruiting services had the Tigers ranked in the top seven nationally, all of them listing LSU as No. 3 in the Southeastern Conference behind Alabama and Georgia.
But Orgeron said it was just what the Tigers needed.
“Our priority was to get linebackers and I think we solidified that position with this class,” he said. “We got some of the best in the country.”
The Tigers didn’t have the recruiting drop-off that many programs suffer with a first-year head coach.
Orgeron was named interim head coach in late September, but did not get the job full-time until after the final regular-season game.
It helped, he said, that he had been recruiting coordinator before taking the interim head job.
“We kept in touch, but we didn’t really start recruiting until I became (permanent) head coach,” he said.
“Our guys did a tremendous job. I think most of the recruits were looking for the staff to remain intact and for me to be the head coach,” he said. “It was more or less a celebration when I went into these homes.”
The Tigers went into national signing day with a class ranked No. 6 and added three more highly touted stars who had not previously revealed their choices.
The highlight was outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson of Houston, whom Orgeron called the best pass rusher in the nation.
“He reminds us a lot of Arden Key,” Orgeron said in comparing Chaisson to the Tigers’ current defensive star.
Also revealing plans for the first time were safety Todd Harris of Plaquemine and defensive lineman Tyler Shelvin of Notre Dame in Crowley, a consensus five-star rated by most as Louisiana’s top player.
On the downside, the Tigers missed out on a handful players on their wish list going into the day, including the nation’s No.1-rated defensive tackle, Marvin Wilson of Houston, who picked Florida State over LSU and Ohio State.
“We missed on a couple of big guys, but that’s OK,” Orgeron said. “The guys we have are the guys we’re going to win with.”
Others the Tigers were hopeful for who chose elsewhere on Wednesday included Amite wide receiver Devonta Smith (Alabama), linebacker Willie Gay of Starkville (Mississippi State) and defensive end Markeviest Bryant from Cordella, Georgia (Auburn).
There was also defensive end Phidarian Mathis of Monroe, who announced late Tuesday that he would (and did) sign with Alabama.
In spurning LSU, both Wilson and Mathis mentioned that they had not been personally recruited by defensive line coach Pete Jenkins, the 75-year-old legend who does not recruit on the road. His place is taken by Austin Thomas.
“We got the guys we want,” Orgeron said. “The guys we didn’t want, we’ll play against them. Pete Jenkins is a great coach. That’s all I’ll say about that.”
Orgeron also noted that Thomas personally went to Tennessee and landed two of the Tigers’ big prizes, Jacoby Stevens of Murfreesboro (who some services rate as the best safety prospect in the nation) and five-star linebacker Jacob Phillips of Nashville.
LSU didn’t lose any committed players on Wednesday, although junior college wide receiver Stephen Guidry of New Roads revealed that academics will force him back to Hinds (Miss.) Junior College. He said he plans to enroll at LSU in December.
“We still have work to do,” Orgeron said. “We missed out on some guys. Those are some of the things we need to get fixed. We have to build relationships early, and the more we win, the more we win championships, the more those players will come here.”
At least one recruiting expert predicted that Orgeron will eventually build a wall around Louisiana that might even deter Alabama, which as usual had the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class, including six Louisiana players.
“He (Orgeron) has the love of the high school coaches,” said CBS recruiting guru Tom Lemmings. “Especially in south Louisiana. Now as head coach he is going to put a fence around that state. Alabama and all of the other schools who normally take somebody out of Louisiana … almost every top player is going to wind up there (LSU). And that is a loaded state.”
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