If having the No. 1 recruit in the country wasn’t enough, LSU secured the nation’s second-best class at the conclusion of National Signing Day on Wednesday.
The Tigers scored four five-star and 13 four-star recruits on Wednesday — according to Scout.com — as high school athletes across the country sent in letters of intent to prospective schools.
“This class is a must,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “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.”
LSU’s 2014 freshmen class stretches across five states and includes several players who top the national rankings for their respective positions and states.
But no recruit ranked higher than St. Augustine High School running back Leonard Fournette out of New Orleans.
Fournette verbally committed to the Tigers in early January, but a collective sigh of relief was felt throughout the LSU fan base when he finally signed on the dotted line.
“[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.”
Miles added that Fournette is the type of player who could follow in the footsteps of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and Florida State’s Jameis Winston and win national awards as a freshman.
The day’s biggest question mark came from another Louisiana talent in No. 1 wide receiver Malachi Dupre, who continued his recruitment process until the 11th hour, taking official visits as late as last week.
Many experts considered Dupre to be a must-have for LSU, after it missed out on several high-profile, in-state players.
Miles described Dupre as a tremendous playmaker with a great catching radius and ability to get to the ball.
“I really think that there were not many surprises,” Miles said. “You improve your team by adding better players.”
LSU wasn’t perfect on the day, losing five-star cornerback Adoree’ Jackson and defensive end Lorenzo Carter to USC and Georgia, respectively.
The Tigers also missed out on Dupre’s teammate, linebacker Kenny Young, who opted to sign with UCLA.
The only position Miles expressed any concern for was along the offensive line. He locked up just two recruits.
“We’re going to have to have a great class next year in the offensive line,” Miles said. “The opportunities for guys to come in and really compete to play is pretty extreme, and to be honest with you, in my time here, if we’ve ever had a real area of need, we’ve been able to go out there and answer it very effectively, and I’m certain that we will.”
The recruiting process isn’t over for the Tigers, however, as four-star defensive end Deondre Clark’s loyalties remain in question.
Several reports came out confirming Clark sent in his letter of intent on Wednesday, but nothing official has been released by LSU after Clark reopened his recruiting process despite committing to the Tigers back in June 2013.
Miles expressed confidence in the probability of earning a 23rd signee today, but did not cite Clark specifically.