Whatever shortcomings the 2013 football season wrought, LSU coach Les Miles did his best to make up for it on the recruiting trail this season.
LSU produced a consensus No. 2 recruiting class this year, hauling in 21 signees on the Feb. 5 National Signing Day after losing six underclassmen to the draft.
“This class is a must,” Miles said. “It’s an opportunity to replace guys that have graduated from college and gone on to business or gone on to the NFL, to replace those when they’re juniors, and that in three years have gone on to the NFL.”
The Tigers signed four 5-star athletes and 13 4-stars, according to Scout.com rankings, none bigger than the No. 1 overall player in the country in New Orleans’ own Leonard Fournette out of Saint Augustine High School.
Fournette announced his decision to join “The University of LSU” back in early January at the Under Armour All American Game along with the likes of 5-star safety Jamal Adams.
Miles set his expectations for Fournette high following his signing, saying he wouldn’t be surprised if the running back follows in the footsteps of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel or Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston and take home a Heisman Trophy after his freshman season.
“[Fournette] has all the natural skill and ability that there is,” Miles said. “He’d be miserable if somebody didn’t have expectations that he’d have a great freshman year.”
While the early commitment of Fournette certainly took a significant portion of pressure off LSU’s Signing Day festivities, the Tigers still had work to do.
John Curtis High School 5-star wide receiver Malachi Dupre waited until the last minute to declare his loyalties to Miles’ program in what was considered to be a dead heat between going Baton Rouge or joining teammate Kenny Young at UCLA. Dupre added to the drama when he tweeted out “No hurt feelings strictly business” the day before signing day.
“It was a great situation to be in, but at the same time, I don’t think people understand how hard it is because each opportunity is so great, and I was blessed to have all of them,” Dupre told The Daily Reveille in February. “Not too many people have that chance.”
Looking ahead to 2015, LSU jumped to an early lead after securing 247sports’ No. 1 ranking for next year just weeks after signing day.
The Tigers have since fallen to the No. 6 spot as other teams reign in commitments, but LSU is still the only school with two 5-star players in cornerback Kevin Toliver and offensive tackle Maea Teuhema.
“In terms of numbers, [LSU] is average,” said TigerSportsDigest.com recruiting expert Hunter Paniagua in February. “But in terms of quality of players, they’re definitely ahead of the game. It’s definitely a good start, and they’re only going to add more as time goes on.”