Official Early Signing Day Thread Class of 2023

[LSUDad]

 

[Herb]

Landon Collins, Denzel Devall, and Torshiro Davis?

[LSUDad]

1 hour ago, Herb said:

Landon Collins, Denzel Devall, and Torshiro Davis?

Nope, hint, LSU got Fournette and Jamal Adams, by far the two best in the group. 
 

One played against Joe Burrow. One got busted, at a school that has played heck beating LSU. The other, never really heard much from him. That’s the three. 
 

Oh, one guy his sister ran track at LSU. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by LSUDad

[LSUDad]

Here’s one: 

 

 

[LSUDad]

The second:

 

Tony M. Brown Jr. (born July 13, 1995) is an American footballcornerback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played college footballat Alabama, and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018.

 

The parts I remember most:

 

On January 18, 2014, he was arrested in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. On December 31, 2015, he was suspended and sent home for starting a fight while preparing for the 2015 Cotton Bowl.

[LSUDad]

The third:

 

Gerald Willis III (born August 23, 1995) is an American footballdefensive tackle for the Orlando Guardians. He played college football for the Florida Gayturds and Miami Hurricanes.

 

He was widely considered to be one of the top defensive line prospects in his class and committed to play college football at the University of Floridaover offers from Texas, LSU, Florida State, and Alabama, among others.

College career

Willis began his college career at Florida. He appeared in five games as a freshman, making 14 tackles. Willis forced a key red zone fumble in the Gayturds' 28–20 win in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl over East Carolina. After the season, Florida announced that Willis was (dismissed from the team after several on and off the field incidents.)

Despite being projected to be a mid-round pick, Willis went unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent shortly after the conclusion of the draft on April 27, 2019.[8] Willis was released by the Baltimore Ravens on August 31, 2019. 
 

He was waived on July 26, 2020. That was the end of his playing days. 
 

Willis is the younger brother of All-Pro safety Landon Collins of the New York Giants.
 

That might be where your thoughts on Collins came from. 

[LSUDad]

1 hour ago, LSUDad said:

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? 

This was the time, it was ok to lose a player, or two, or, all three. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by LSUDad

[LSUDad]

I’ve sat down with a number of coaches, threw up a name, like these three, sit back, wait for the stories to unfold. 

[LSUDad]

Last year we missed on a 5* TE, ended up with a three star, how did that one end up. We had two OT, rated 4*, by the end of the year, both starting. Who from last years class, would you call a 5* player?

 

I think this Head Coach and staff does a great job with talent evaluation and player development. Sit back and enjoy. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by LSUDad

[houtiger]

7 hours ago, LSUDad said:

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? 

I think Jamal Adams was in that group, an excellent get, one of the top safeties in LSU history.

I remember a LB that went to Gumps, I don't think he ever started.

I could look it up, but that's cheating.  You asked if we remembered.  I remember the incident, the "five Boom".

[LSUDad]

1 hour ago, houtiger said:

I think Jamal Adams was in that group, an excellent get, one of the top safeties in LSU history.

I remember a LB that went to Gumps, I don't think he ever started.

I could look it up, but that's cheating.  You asked if we remembered.  I remember the incident, the "five Boom".

Adams and Fournette 

[LSUDad]

The Early Signing Period has gone as planned for Brian Kelly and his LSU football program. After securing 25 signees and reloading the roster for the future, Kelly has his first actual recruiting class under his belt, with a few more pieces to potentially be added during the February signing period.

But for now, this program is overjoyed with what they’ve locked in. The ability to recruit in-state was a piece of this class Kelly was most pleased about. The passion his Louisiana prospects have for LSU showed during the process, ultimately putting pen to paper on Wednesday.

“They’re so committed to LSU,” Kelly said. “There was no stone unturned with our local players but there’s such a passion for LSU and it’s seen by a strong high school football in this particular area.”

The Louisiana talent certainly stands out, but the national talent is a significant takeaway from this 2023 class. From going all the way up to Minnesota and stealing their No. 1 player to hitting the East coast and grabbing one of their top-graded safeties, this recruiting staff did their homework to make sure the best of the best got to Baton Rouge.

Kelly is pleased with the work this staff has done, the balance of both offensive and defensive prospects.

Kelly is all about relationships. It’s easy to go out and offer the country’s top players, but getting a better understanding of who they are both on and off the field is a top priority for him. For LSU to “Graduate Champions,” they must recruit elite-level people, not just players.

Following the signing period on Wednesday, Kelly detailed the relationships he’s built with this class:

“This recruiting has been great in the sense that they’ve been in my home, I’ve been in their home, been on campus several times so that you get a connection,” Kelly said. “You feel so much better that you’ve made the right choices, and they’ve made the right choices that LSU is the right place for them and that you’re selling the right vision for them. We are super excited about the 25 we signed, and I know I’ve gotten the chance to spend a lot of time with each one of them.”

As for the class, this cycle has seen LSU add gifted offensive weapons such as 5-star Shelton Sampson Jr. and 4-star quarterback Rickie Collins, but the defense has also seen a complete overhaul.

The Tigers reeled in 5-star EDGE Dashawn Womack and lockdown cornerback Javien Toviano. The balance on both sides of the ball has prepared this program for the future.

“We’re looking for a pretty good balance on offense and defense which I think we’ve gotten,” Kelly said. “You’re always looking for players to impact immediately but this is a class I believe when we recruit them, what we’re asking them to do is immediately impact LSU football. That means represent LSU in the classroom, in the community and as it relates to football, be ready to compete immediately.”

With their first true recruiting class under their belt, this coaching staff exceeded expectations. The ability to go out and have all 25 commitments put pen to paper proves this class believes in Kelly’s vision for this program going forward.

“It takes a village to put together a class. It starts with evaluation and then recruitment,” Kelly said. “When you’re doing recruiting weekends, we’re showing them why they should come to LSU and putting together a collaborative, cohesive, high performance staff is everybody working together.”

The Tigers will have 15 early enrollees as the future of this program begins to make their way to Baton Rouge.

[Fishhead]

23 hours 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.

 

Where are these numbers coming from?

[Fishhead]

15 hours ago, houtiger said:

I think Jamal Adams was in that group, an excellent get, one of the top safeties in LSU history.

I remember a LB that went to Gumps, I don't think he ever started.

I could look it up, but that's cheating.  You asked if we remembered.  I remember the incident, the "five Boom".

Jamal was who we got outside the group. 

Fournette, Noil, Tony Brown,  Gerald Williams, and I don't remember who else. 

Which is funny because we got whoever the other was. 

The three we didn't get flaked out completely

[Fishhead]

14 hours ago, LSUDad said:

Adams

I don't think he was part of 5 for 5

He was lagniappe

[Nutriaitch]

10 minutes ago, Fishhead said:

Jamal was who we got outside the group. 

Fournette, Noil, Tony Brown,  Gerald Williams, and I don't remember who else. 

Which is funny because we got whoever the other was. 

The three we didn't get flaked out completely

was that Malachi Dupre?

[Fishhead]

Maybe

[Nutriaitch]

4 minutes ago, Fishhead said:

Maybe

trying to remember who else was the big names that class.

[Fishhead]

15 minutes ago, Nutriaitch said:

trying to remember who else was the big names that class.

It was Fournette and Dupre

Adams was lagniappe

Clifton Garrett was a 5* flop

The 5 for 5 was...

Fournette

Dupre 

Noil

Williams 

Tony Brown

[dachsie]

I wonder why Malachi never made it in the NFL.  He was pretty good for us, wasn't he?

 

[Fishhead]

3 minutes ago, dachsie said:

I wonder why Malachi never made it in the NFL.  He was pretty good for us, wasn't he?

 

He played for Green Bay and got severely concussed in a preseason game his rookie year

He was too damn skinny

[houtiger]

1 hour ago, Fishhead said:

Where are these numbers coming from?

That is from dandy don's list of the top La. prospects.

[Fishhead]

OK was just wondering. Does Scott make up his own list? Haven't followed DD in like 15 years

[houtiger]

14 minutes ago, Fishhead said:

OK was just wondering. Does Scott make up his own list? Haven't followed DD in like 15 years

I think he makes up his own, not sure how he does it.  His list is 100 players.  In the spring he asks his readers to submit names to him that they see as stars.  I'm sure he uses the recruiting services for information.  His top 15 always to to prestige D1 schools.

Outside the top 10 he has Kylin Jackson at safety #11, Kaleb Jackson at RB #14, Khai Prean WR #16 and Ricky Collins QB #17.

[Nutriaitch]

35 minutes ago, dachsie said:

I wonder why Malachi never made it in the NFL.  He was pretty good for us, wasn't he?

 

he had a bad case of the JoJo Lafells, except he never grew out of them like Lafell did.