Recruiting Update

A lot has happened in recruiting lately, as this is the beginning of a brief season between the regular season and the bowl seasons where most of the news of a program will be in recruiting and/or coaching searches.

Winter Haven, Florida 3-star quarterback D.C. Jefferson, formerly a commitment to Rutgers, lately a commitment to LSU, decommitted from LSU and gave his commitment back to Rutgers late yesterday. No one is really sure why, but the answer could be the play of Destrehan 3-star quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who by all accounts showed out very well in the Louisiana state championships this past weekend. He looked so good (completing a pass 65 yards downfield in stride, and throwing very few incomplete passes), that there has been talk of moving him up to 4-star status.

D.C. Jefferson reminded everyone of a young Byron Leftwich, and that comparison still holds. I can't say why D.C. decided not to come to LSU, but I know we will be fine. We have Jarrett Lee who redshirted this year, and Jordan Jefferson who came on very strong at the end of his senior year of high school, plus what is supposed to be a bumper crop of quarterbacks coming along next year.

His scholarship slot opening up is considered by some to be a blessing, as it will allow us to pick up another recruit at another position. It looks like LSU will finish strong this year after a kind of ho-hum early part of the recruiting season. LSU recently got a commitment from Chase Clement, who is a nephew of former LSU great Eric Andolsek. Clement is a 4-star defensive end prospect from Thibodaux and is considered an excellent athlete for someone his size.

If you believe the recruiting services, LSU has solidified itself with other in-state prospects Chris Tolliver (wide receiver) and Tyler Edwards (tight end), who Nick Saban has been hard after this season, and who he had a week-long head start considering LSU was playing in the SEC Championship Game. It is now generally believed that neither will leave Louisiana, and yes, both are key players to this class. We also have at least outside shots at blue chip out-of-state prospects Arthur Brown (5-star linebacker from Kansas), Larentee McCray (4-star Florida linebacker, recently decommitted from Miami), T.J. Bryant (4-star Florida cornerback), Patrick Johnson (5-star Florida cornerback, currently committed to Miami), Antoine McClain (4-star Alabama offensive lineman), and Moses McCray (4-star defensive tackle currently committed to Florida State).

Don't misunderstand me. We will not get all of those 6 out of state guys, and may not get any of them. If we get one, be pleased. If we get two, be very pleased. We have about 6, maybe 7 slots left in this class, and a Tolliver, Edwards, DeAngelo Benton, and one or two others seem to have dibs on the first few slots.