Official Early Signing Day Thread Class of 2023

[LSUDad]

 

[LSUDad]

Overview:

We have 10 of the 25 signee’s from La. 15 will be in for Spring. Then add 8-10 transfers. 23-25 in for Spring, that will be enough to see who wants to play. 

[Herb]

This class has a great position distribution with emphasis on the trenches and the defensive backfield (not to mention our usual haul of WR talent).

Late in the season lack of depth caught up with us and it was obvious we couldn't keep fresh bodies in the game. 

Can't wait to see portal signees announced on Friday.

DL - 3
LB - 2
S - 3
CB - 3 (I'm counting Toviano as a CB)

OL - 4
TE - 3 
WR - 4
RB - 2
QB - 1

I read in a couple of different articles when Ashton Stamps was offered that LSU saw some ball skills and awareness that reminded people of HB7 and LSU wanted to stitch him up before other teams could get to him. I have not seen anything else since then about Stamps. (I am not confusing him with Toviano, so hush on that.)

If we do indeed wind up with Desmond Ricks, this could be a very special DBU class. (I promise I won't get my hopes up.)

[houtiger]

3 hours ago, dachsie said:

I dont know but there was an incident with illegal substances and another when they (Harris and a couple of others) sneaked out of the team hotel the night before a game.  He was suspended indefinitely after that

I'm sure BK has had the talk with Harris.  Either he reforms his ways and stays clean, or next season he won't be on the team.  The kid blew his first chance, if he's smart he should realize he better not blow his second chance.

[Fishhead]

3 hours ago, dachsie said:

I dont know but there was an incident with illegal substances and another when they (Harris and a couple of others) sneaked out of the team hotel the night before a game.  He was suspended indefinitely after that

 

There was more than that. Parking garage fiasco

The illegal substance was weed and it's whatever, but it was in the friggin locker room after a game.  

 

That said, Houtiger is right. I trust Kelly. He's not going to put up with crap and any locker room cancer will be deleted from the roster quickly. 

[Fishhead]

40 minutes ago, Herb said:

This class has a great position distribution with emphasis on the trenches and the defensive backfield (not to mention our usual haul of WR talent).

Late in the season lack of depth caught up with us and it was obvious we couldn't keep fresh bodies in the game. 

Can't wait to see portal signees announced on Friday.

DL - 3
LB - 2
S - 3
CB - 3 (I'm counting Toviano as a CB)

OL - 4
TE - 3 
WR - 4
RB - 2
QB - 1

I read in a couple of different articles when Ashton Stamps was offered that LSU saw some ball skills and awareness that reminded people of HB7 and LSU wanted to stitch him up before other teams could get to him. I have not seen anything else since then about Stamps. (I am not confusing him with Toviano, so hush on that.)

If we do indeed wind up with Desmond Ricks, this could be a very special DBU class. (I promise I won't get my hopes up.)

The CB and DT position will need portal assistance. Simple as that. Even if Ricks picks LSU. Nowhere near enough depth and that's flat out what killed us late in the season. 

ETA: That's not a slight against today's haul. It was always gonna be like this, especially with the early declarees at DT and the bare cupboard at CB we were dealing with. 

[dachsie]

8 hours ago, Fishhead said:

There was more than that. Parking garage fiasco

The illegal substance was weed and it's whatever, but it was in the friggin locker room after a game.  

 

That said, Houtiger is right. I trust Kelly. He's not going to put up with crap and any locker room cancer will be deleted from the roster quickly. 

That's why I say "May be".  Hoping it was just his disrespect for Jimbo that led to all of that.  But I agree Kelly wont put up with it.  

LOL - I was going to type marajuana because I couldn't think of the term "weed" at the time but decided to stick with illegal substance.  lol

[Nutriaitch]

1 hour ago, dachsie said:

That's why I say "May be".  Hoping it was just his disrespect for Jimbo that led to all of that.  But I agree Kelly wont put up with it.

is it really disrespect if your coach has a history of enabling?

[LSUDad]

BATON ROUGE – LSU coach Brian Kelly and his staff hauled in one of the nation’s top signing classes as the Tigers landed 25 signees here on the first day of the early signing period.

LSU’s signing class, the second for Kelly and staff, is ranked No. 6 nationally by On3, Rivals and 247Sports.

LSU’s class includes eight of the top 16 players in the state of Louisiana, along with the No. 1 rated player in Maryland and Minnesota. The class also features three players ranked among the best in Nevada, Missouri and Ohio.

“We are super excited about the 25 freshman we have signed,” Kelly said. “We focused strictly on recruiting to LSU the players we want here, ones that we believe will be successful here and players that we can develop. That was our mindset.

“We recruited those players that we believe understand our mission to graduate champions. We are excited about developing them in the classroom, in the community and on the football field.”

The group of 25 signees include 10 from the state of Louisiana, five from Texas, four from Georgia and one each from Florida, Missouri, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada and Ohio.

“We stayed in an SEC footprint for the most part,” Kelly said. “Twenty-one of the 25 signees are from the SEC footprint. We did move nationally because of our brand recognition.”

This year’s class features 14 players on offense and 11 on defense. The group is led by four on the offensive line and at wide receiver, followed by three at tight end, cornerback and defensive end/edge. LSU also signed a pair of running backs and linebackers along with a quarterback.

“We were looking for balance on offense and defense, which I think is what we got,” Kelly said. “You are always looking for players to impact immediately. This is a class that I believe, when we recruit them, we are asking them to immediately impact LSU football. That means represent LSU in a positive way in the classroom, in the community and as it relates to football, so be ready to compete immediately.”

The Tigers added five players from the Baton Rouge area, a group that is led by 5-star wide receiver Shelton Sampson Jr. from Catholic High School. Other local products include safety Kylin Jackson from Zachary High School, running back Kaleb Jackson from Liberty High School, quarterback Rickie Collins from Woodlawn High School and edge rusher Dylan Carpenter from St. Amant High School.

Other players from Louisiana in LSU’s class include 5-star offensive lineman Lance Heard from Neville, Louisiana’s all-time rushing leader Trey Holly from Union Parish, offensive lineman Tyree Adams from St. Augustine, wide receiver Khai Prean from St. James and cornerback Ashton Stamps from Rummel.

Kelly and his staff landed the top player in Maryland in defensive end Da’Shawn Womack and the No. 1 rated player in Minnesota in edge rusher Jaxon Howard. Other top players from other states joining the LSU roster include cornerback Jeremiah Hughes (Nevada), tight end Mac Markway (Missouri), tight end Jackson McGohan (Ohio), and wide receiver Jalen Brown (Florida).

Linebacker Whit Weeks, the younger brother of LSU linebacker West Weeks, is one of four players from Georgia who signed on Wednesday. Other players from Georgia include offensive lineman DJ Chester, safety Michael Daugherty, and offensive lineman Paul Mubenga.

The five signees from Texas include linebacker Christian Brathwaite, wide receiver Kyle Parker, tight end Ka’Morreun Pimpton, cornerback Javien Toviano and safety Ryan Yaites.

 

 

[Hatchertiger]

Kelly has made it clear that he's not going to the portal every year and that he intends to build his teams via recruiting.  As a result he is going to have to play freshman/young players and has said so.  He can back it up with the true freshman this year that played key roles. The good part is all of them got better as the season went on.  What will a full year into the program bring?

RE Ricks:  Nobody knows anything. If somebody says they do, ask for specifics. All they can point to is recruiting gurus who go back and forth and go on about Gumps and NIL money.  And that may be true. But nobody really knows. We will know today so no use worrying about it.  We beat the boogey man this year with a team cobbled together, so let him go if that is what he wants. Comes here great. If he doesn't ... Tiger Bait.

[LSUDad]

LSU football coach Brian Kelly has his first full recruiting class well within the nation’s Top 10 with room to grow.

A year after taking over three weeks before his first signing class, Kelly showed off his recruiting acumen over the course of his first season and signed 25 high school players Wednesday on the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period.  

“We’re super excited about and I know personally, I’ve gotten the chance to spend a lot of time with each one of them,” Kelly said during a news conference. “And again, as I said earlier, and have said consistently since I’ve taken the job, we’ve got to pull our base and 10 of them are from the state of Louisiana. They’re also part of a very talented group of players from this state. I think eight of them are top 15 players here in the state of Louisiana. And we stayed in an SEC footprint for the most part with 21 of the 25 signees.”

LSU has garnered glowing remarks from 247Sports and On3Sports with the nation’s sixth-rated recruiting class, while Rivals.com ranks the Tigers seventh.

They can further enhance its class ranking depending on the decision of five-star cornerback Desmond Ricks of IMG Academy. He will choose between the Tigers, Alabama and Georgia during a news conference Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Kelly established a foundation for his second class with 10 in-state players with four of from the Baton Rouge metro area. That included On3Sports composite five-star wide receiver Shelton Sampson Jr. of Catholic High, four-star quarterback Rickie Collins of Woodlawn, four-star safety Kylin Jackson of Zachary and four-star running back Kaleb Jackson of Liberty Magnet.

The breakdown for LSU’s class is 14 players on offense and 11 on defense with the possibility of one more on defense should Ricks choose the Tigers.

Kelly plans to address the program’s gains in the NCAA transfer portal Friday where the Tigers have four reported commitments. He said the program’s biggest needs remain on the defensive line and secondary.

“I think you’ll see defensive line, defensive backfield as the particular areas that we still need to address as we move forward,” he said.

The two biggest position groups that were filled on the first day were wide receiver and offensive line with four signees each.
 

Sampson’s part of that wide receiver group that included four-star prospects Jalen Brown of Miami, Florida, four-star Kyle Parker of Lucas, Texas and four-star Khai Prean of St. James.

“I’m kind of a Louisiana kid, my parents are from there,” Parker said after his signing ceremony. “I grew up an LSU fan since I was a young kid. Me getting an offer was just a blessing. I went on the (official) visit, it was a great visit overall. I felt it was the best opportunity for me to go and succeed there and potentially get to the next level would be my goal.”

Kelly anchored his new offensive line haul around five-star offensive tackle Zalance Heard of Neville High in Monroe and four-star offensive lineman Tyree Adams of St. Augustine High in New Orleans. They’re joined by four-star offensive lineman DJ Chester of McDonough, Georgia and three-star guard/center Paul Mubenga of Buford, Georgia.

Led by their respective state’s top players – four-star defensive end Jaxon Howard of Minneapolis, Minnesota and five-star edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack of Baltimore, Maryland – LSU secured two of the nation’s top players on the defensive line. The Tigers were also able to build depth at cornerback with three signees, highlighted by five-star prospect Javien Toviano of Arlington, Texas.

With Kylin Jackson leading the way, LSU signed three safeties with four-star prospects Ryan Yaites of Denton, Texas and Michael Daughtery of Loganville, Georgia.

Collins is expected to be the lone high school quarterback in the class and Kaleb Jackson is part of an all-Louisiana backfield that also features the state’s career rushing leader in four-star Trey Holly of Union Parish.

“I can come to LSU right now if you want me to. I’m ready to play,” Holly said in a Tweet to Kelly.

LSU encountered some give-and-take on signing day with committed players and lost out to a division rival on another uncommitted player.

The Tigers, who have one scholarship tight end on their roster, improved that number with three signees on signing day with the addition of former Vanderbilt commitment Ka’Morreun Pimpton of Ft. Worth, Texas-North Crowley. The 6-6, 220-pounder, who joined Mac Markway and Jackson McGohan in the class, is the nation’s sixth-rated tight end by On3Sports after catching 85 passes for 1,326 yards and 21 touchdowns during his career.

“I don’t know that I’ve had somebody with his raw athletic ability,” Kelly said of Pimpton. “And certainly, there’s work to be done as it relates to the physicality of the position and whether he’s going to be an in-line. We want to develop our tight ends as complete tight ends where they can do everything.

“We want him to be able to get in there and be part of a blocking scheme as well,” Kelly added. “So, he’s committed to that and that’s the one thing that we talk about in developing tight ends. My background and (LSU offensive coordinator) coach (Mike) Denbrock is incredible and the number of tight ends that he’s developed. We wanted that for him (Pimpton) and that resonated with him. And then obviously, the other skills that he brings, you just can’t teach right. His catch radius, his ability to win in one-on-one matchups is going to be exciting.”

LSU did lose out on the services of cornerback Daylen Austin of Long Beach, California who opted for Oregon after being committed to the Tigers since May 16. They were also edged out by Mississippi State, for the services of four-star safety Isaac Smith of Fulton, Mississippi-Itawamba Agricultural.

“We’re looking for a pretty good balance on offense and defense, which I think we’ve gotten,” Kelly said. “And certainly, you’re always looking for players to impact immediately.”

 

[Nutriaitch]

3 minutes ago, Hatchertiger said:

Kelly has made it clear that he's not going to the portal every year and that he intends to build his teams via recruiting.  As a result he is going to have to play freshman/young players and has said so.  He can back it up with the true freshman this year that played key roles. The good part is all of them got better as the season went on.  What will a full year into the program bring?

i think what he meant was he's not going to build his team via portal like we had too for this past season.

We'll still use it to plug a hole or two here or there when we need experienced depth though.
Or if ever there is some can't miss type stud we just have to chase.

 

 

[LSUDad]

Many of the players were asked by folks within the recruiting services, “Why did you stay with Kelly, what did he and his staff tell you?”

Most every player said, Kelly and the staff knew this was a major rebuilding year. They thought 7-8 wins tops, too many things would have to happen. But Kelly and staff mapped out a plan, the players and family bought in. 
 

Kelly and staff sold a plan, a vision for LSU Football, Kelly has built programs before. He knew the end result. It got here fast than even he could have figured. 
 

Kellys not afraid to use True Freshman, the main 4 used this year, all have a shot at being 1st round draft picks. I know that’s a ways off, but each one is playing like someone that’s been in the system. A former LSU coach once said, “The best thing about Freshman, is when they become Sophomores!”

Those 4 have a chance to only play here three years. If they leave after 3 years, it’s because they have done what was needed in this program. 
 

Tomorrow we will know the fate of the portal, yes we will see former La kids returning to the state and the state school. From what’s told to me, Kelly and staff are looking at the number 10, we will see. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by LSUDad

[Hatchertiger]

12 minutes ago, Nutriaitch said:

i think what he meant was he's not going to build his team via portal like we had too for this past season.

We'll still use it to plug a hole or two here or there when we need experienced depth though.
Or if ever there is some can't miss type stud we just have to chase.

 

 

Yes. We will see less and less of the portal transfers coming in. And to accomplish that, he is prepared to put freshman on the field

[dachsie]

Does anyone know how many Louisiana players went elsewhere or how many have yet to declare?  The articles seem to focus on that we only got 1o - is that a good or bad number?  How many of our 10 were in top 25?

 

[Nutriaitch]

Just now, dachsie said:

Does anyone know how many Louisiana players went elsewhere

there's like 250 high schools in Louisiana, i'm not even going to venture to guess how players that extrapolates to.

vast majority of that won't sign anywhere.
another huge chunk goe places without schollies (like NAIA and Div III type schools)

then trickle up to FCS, then group of 5, then FBS.

[houtiger]

15 minutes ago, dachsie said:

Does anyone know how many Louisiana players went elsewhere or how many have yet to declare?  The articles seem to focus on that we only got 1o - is that a good or bad number?  How many of our 10 were in top 25?

This is a disappointment in recruiting this year.  LSU normally signs 8 of the top 10 players in the state to form the core of the class, at least when we are running as a top 10 progam.  This year we only signed 4 of the top 10 players.

The numbers below are the player rank in La.

#1 QB Arch Manning went to Tx, along with #3 player S Derek Williams.  #4 LB Jaiden Ausberry went to ND (his dad works at LSU), and #6 LB Tackett Curtis went to USC.  #7 WR Omarion Miller went to Nebraska and #9 QB Eli Holstein went to Alabama.

With Manning and Holstein at QB going out of state, maybe they are looking at Walker Howard in front of them.  Gumps loses Bryce Young and their backup QB did not look good, so Holstein probably sees an opportunity to play early.  I'm not sure about the rest.  I remember worse showings by LSU, but they are usually when the program is down.  After watching this season, it is unusual for LSU to not be able to flip some of those kids back to LSU.  The QB LSU signed from La. was the third ranked QB in the state.

There is a lot of room for improvement for BK in recruiting the state of La.  When LSU has a run of top 10 in the nation football seasons, they are usually signing 8 of the top 10 kids in La., plus 3 more of the next 5 in the state, for about 11 out of the top 15.

[Nutriaitch]

4 minutes ago, houtiger said:

With Manning  at QB going out of state, maybe they are looking at Walker Howard in front of them.

 

nobody from that family is ever going to LSU.

me and my 44 year old broke up shoulder could have been only QB on the roster, and he still would have signed elsewhere.

[Herb]

3 hours ago, dachsie said:

I was going to type marajuana because I couldn't think of the term "weed" at the time

It does cause short term memory loss...

[LSUDad]

16 minutes ago, houtiger said:

 

There is a lot of room for improvement for BK in recruiting the state of La.  When LSU has a run of top 10 in the nation football seasons, they are usually signing 8 of the top 10 kids in La., plus 3 more of the next 5 in the state, for about 11 out of the top 15.

We signed 10 of the top 15 players from the state of La. That’s real close to 11 of the top 15. This wasn’t a good year for certain positions in the state. Kelly said, he will always hit La the hardest, then go outside from there. There is more D-1 talent, within a 100 mile radius of Houston, than in the entire state of La. When a really good player outside La wants to be recruited by Kelly and LSU, Kelly will make it happen. 

Many kids have never really been out of the state of La. They see something different and new. 
 

One kid wanted to leave the state after his best friend was shot and killed outside his house. 
 

In the right system, our QB may surprise some folks. Kelly and Denbrock was not able to run what they really wanted. We seen some of what was wanted. Both Kelly and Denbrock likes packages with 01, 02, 11, 12, 13, ( I’ve seen an NFL team run 14 personnel. Also 21, 22 and 23 personnel. They like the TE’s within their system. Able to pass and run, not allowing the defense to have the upper hand. 
 

We have seen a number of former La players return to play at LSU. This will continue under Kelly. In the long run, he wants to develop talent. For now, the portal is very usable. 

[dachsie]

39 minutes ago, houtiger said:

This is a disappointment in recruiting this year.  LSU normally signs 8 of the top 10 players in the state to form the core of the class, at least when we are running as a top 10 progam.  This year we only signed 4 of the top 10 players.

The numbers below are the player rank in La.

#1 QB Arch Manning went to Tx, along with #3 player S Derek Williams.  #4 LB Jaiden Ausberry went to ND (his dad works at LSU), and #6 LB Tackett Curtis went to USC.  #7 WR Omarion Miller went to Nebraska and #9 QB Eli Holstein went to Alabama.

With Manning and Holstein at QB going out of state, maybe they are looking at Walker Howard in front of them.  Gumps loses Bryce Young and their backup QB did not look good, so Holstein probably sees an opportunity to play early.  I'm not sure about the rest.  I remember worse showings by LSU, but they are usually when the program is down.  After watching this season, it is unusual for LSU to not be able to flip some of those kids back to LSU.  The QB LSU signed from La. was the third ranked QB in the state.

There is a lot of room for improvement for BK in recruiting the state of La.  When LSU has a run of top 10 in the nation football seasons, they are usually signing 8 of the top 10 kids in La., plus 3 more of the next 5 in the state, for about 11 out of the top 15.

Thanks Houtiger - thats what I was looking for.  Hopefully as CBK builds the program more LA coaches will guide their players to us.   I am glad to see Gumps only got one player from top 10.  And I wonder about him because they also signed a 5 star QB in their class - he may end up in the portal if the other kid wins out

 

[dachsie]

9 minutes ago, Herb said:

It does cause short term memory loss...

Haha - never had it so wouldnt know.

[Herb]

35 minutes ago, houtiger said:

This is a disappointment in recruiting this year.  LSU normally signs 8 of the top 10 players in the state to form the core of the class, at least when we are running as a top 10 progam.  This year we only signed 4 of the top 10 players.

The numbers below are the player rank in La.

#1 QB Arch Manning went to Tx, along with #3 player S Derek Williams.  #4 LB Jaiden Ausberry went to ND (his dad works at LSU), and #6 LB Tackett Curtis went to USC.  #7 WR Omarion Miller went to Nebraska and #9 QB Eli Holstein went to Alabama.

With Manning and Holstein at QB going out of state, maybe they are looking at Walker Howard in front of them.  Gumps loses Bryce Young and their backup QB did not look good, so Holstein probably sees an opportunity to play early.  I'm not sure about the rest.  I remember worse showings by LSU, but they are usually when the program is down.  After watching this season, it is unusual for LSU to not be able to flip some of those kids back to LSU.  The QB LSU signed from La. was the third ranked QB in the state.

There is a lot of room for improvement for BK in recruiting the state of La.  When LSU has a run of top 10 in the nation football seasons, they are usually signing 8 of the top 10 kids in La., plus 3 more of the next 5 in the state, for about 11 out of the top 15.

You have to keep in mind that when we have signed a majority of the top 10 in-state prospects that some of these kids wound up being problems in terms of conduct, grades, or both.

Maybe Kelly and his staff saw that some of the kids they did not sign projected to be trouble in some form or another?

Janzen Jackson was one of the top players in Louisiana when he graduated from high school and many were upset that he didn't come to LSU.

Tre Bradford was a top LHS product, signed his LOI, transferred to Oklahoma, transferred back to LSU and got booted off of he team.

Just because we DON'T sign a highly ranked player from the state does not necessarily make that a disappointment.

[Herb]

3 minutes ago, dachsie said:

Haha - never had it so wouldnt know.

I was pretty confident that was the case...just couldn't resist noting the irony and humor there.

[LSUDad]

2 minutes ago, Herb said:

You have to keep in mind that when we have signed a majority of the top 10 in-state prospects that some of these kids wound up being problems in terms of conduct, grades, or both.

Maybe Kelly and his staff saw that some of the kids they did not sign projected to be trouble in some form or another?

Janzen Jackson was one of the top players in Louisiana when he graduated from high school and many were upset that he didn't come to LSU.

Tre Bradford was a top LHS product, signed his LOI, transferred to Oklahoma, transferred back to LSU and got booted off of he team.

Just because we DON'T sign a highly ranked player from the state does not necessarily make that a disappointment.

I remember a coach saying, sometimes it’s better to lose some players, in the long run, you are better for it. 
 

Some might remember the 5 for 5. We were suppose to get all 5, we only got 2, does anyone remember the 5? Anyone remember the 3 we missed?