In Brian Kelly’s opening season at LSU, many Tiger fans were skeptical on how he would do recruiting in the SEC. With a different dynamic required than at Notre Dame, some believed that Coach Kelly wouldn’t be able to keep up with programs like Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M, who run not only the SEC, but the entire country, in recruiting. However, Coach Kelly has proven everyone wrong, as he has managed to build a Top-10 class headed into the season.
Kelly brought a skill to Baton Rouge that he always used at Notre Dame: the ability to recruit out-of-state. The Tigers’ top five ranked commits are all out-of-state recruits. In addition, Coach Kelly has been aggressive on the recruiting trail, as he has picked up four commits in the state of Georgia, the state where the defending National champions play.
Headed into the much anticipated college football season, and the beginning of the Brian Kelly era at LSU, here is how the Tigers’ Class of 2023 recruiting class looks thus far:
Quarterback
Four-star Rickie Collins, Woodlawn High School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Rickie Collins was committed to Purdue for the better part of a year, but after he decommitted from the Boilermakers, all signs pointed to LSU. The four-star quarterback from Baton Rouge held 16 offers throughout his recruitment, and after he decommitted from Purdue, many thought he would stay home and commit to LSU. On August 10, he announced his commitment to the Tigers, making himself LSU’s 19th commitment of the 2023 class.
Running Back
Four-star Kaleb Jackson, Liberty Magnet High School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Four-star Trey Holly, Union Parish High School, Farmerville, Louisiana
The Tigers were able to land a one-two punch of in-state running backs in Kaleb Jackson and Trey Holly. Holly was a recruit that looked to be an LSU lean for quite some time. It seemed it was just a matter of when he’d make it official. Once he committed in mid-May, all eyes turned to Kaleb Jackson, who is from Baton Rouge. Both Alabama and Texas A&M pushed hard for Jackson, and he took official visits to both schools. With many thinking he may commit to Alabama, LSU made a late push, and was able to keep him in Baton Rouge.
Wide Receiver
Five-star Shelton Sampson Jr., Catholic High School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Three-star Kyle Parker, Lovejoy High School, Lucas, Texas
Regardless of Shelton Sampson Jr. being right in LSU’s backyard at Catholic High, landing him was not guaranteed. But the fact that the Tigers did was certainly huge. Sampson, the No. 4 ranked wide receiver and the No. 33 overall recruit in the country, according to 247sports, chose the Tigers over Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida State and more. Sampson is a center-piece of this 2023 recruiting class, and a commit that could make an impact right away once he steps on campus.
Parker was another valuable out-of-state prospect that the Tigers were able to land. With Texas A&M not having offered the Lone Star state recruit, LSU was able to take advantage and take him from their territory. But Louisville and Oklahoma State also earned official visits from Parker. However, LSU was Parker’s first official visit, and the bar was obviously set high after that visit. He committed to LSU on June 23rd.
Tight End
Four-star Mac Markway, DeSmet High School, St. Louis, Missouri
Markway was Brian Kelly’s first commit for the 2023 class, and ever since his commitment he has been recruiting others to join him.
“We are just going for the best of the best,” Markway said in an interview. “Who doesn’t want to play in Death Valley”?
Although the Tigers missed on Markway’s teammate at DeSmet High School, Christian Gray, who committed to Notre Dame, landing Markway was a much needed commitment. With the Tigers’ struggles at the tight end position, Markway could bring an early impact to the team come 2023.
Offensive Line
Four-star Tyree Adams, St. Augustine High School, New Orleans, Louisiana
Three-star Paul Mubenga, Buford High School, Buford, Georgia
The Tigers landed another talented in-state recruit in Tyree Adams. Adams, who is the No. 20 ranked offensive tackle in the country, and the No. 196 overall recruit in the country, according to 247sports, held over 30 offers. He chose the Tigers over schools like Georgia, Florida, and Ole Miss.
“I felt at home there [LSU] even though I’m an hour away, it felt like I was already there,” Adams said in an interview. “I love the coaching staff, they showed me love since they offered and I grew strong bonds with them.”
LSU also landed an out-of-state prospect for the offensive line in three-star, Paul Mubenga. Mubenga also had many opportunities, as he held over 40 offers. His top five schools,were LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas A&M. But Mubenga saved LSU for his last official visit in late June, and they ended up making the best impression.
“LSU is kind of different, that’s one of the schools I never thought I was going to get,” Mubenga said. “It’s LSU, everybody wants to go there.”
Defensive Line
Four-star Dashawn Womack, St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, Maryland
Four-star Jaxon Howard, Robbinsdale-Cooper High School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Four-star Joshua Mickens, Lawrence Central High School, Indianapolis, Indiana
Four-star Darron Reed, Carver High School, Columbus, Georgia
Out of all the positions Brian Kelly and his staff have spent time recruiting, the defensive line is arguably where they’ve seen the most success. Not only are they landing talented recruits at the position, but they are going to all parts of the country to do so. All four of LSU’s defensive line recruits committed within four days of each other at the beginning of July.
Jaxon Howard got the ball rolling on July 1st, and he is one of the most highly recruited prospects in the country with 60 offers. He chose the Tigers over his home-state school, Minnesota, and also Michigan and Miami. The Tigers then went into Indiana and landed Joshua Mickens. Mickens took official visits to LSU and North Carolina, and after his visit to Baton Rouge on June 10, he committed to the Tigers on July 3rd.
The Tigers then provided some fireworks on July 4th with two commitments from Dashawn Womack and Darron Reed. Womack is LSU’s highest ranked commit out of the defensive linemen, as he is the No. 7 ranked defensive linemen in the country, and the No. 75 overall recruit in the country according to 247sports. He chose the Tigers over schools like Georgia, Ole Miss and Oregon.
LSU landing Darron Reed was especially important because it showed that LSU can beat out many schools in the country. In addition to LSU, Reed took official visits to Auburn, Clemson, Miami and Ohio State.
LSU was Reed’s second official visit, and he visited Auburn, Miami and Ohio State after, meaning the Tigers left an impact on Reed over three more weekends of visits to other schools. While the Tigers may look to add to their defensive line even more this fall, the recruits they’ve landed thus far put LSU in the comfortable position.
Linebacker
Three-star Whit Weeks, Oconee County High School, Watkinsville, Georgia
The Tigers currently have one commit at the linebacker position for the Class of 2023 in Whit Weeks. Weeks is the younger brother of current LSU linebacker, West Weeks, who transferred from the University of Virginia. It was assumed that Whit would want to follow his brother to LSU, but it was not guaranteed. Weeks also took an official visit to his home-state school, the University of Georgia, in addition to LSU. But on July 9th, Weeks made it official with the Tigers.
Cornerback
Four-star Daylen Austin, Long Beach Poly High School, Long Beach, California
Three-star Jeremiah Hughes, Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas, Nevada
Three-star Ashton Stamps, Archbishop Rummel High School, Metairie, Louisiana
LSU went out to the West Coast to land two cornerbacks, and also landed one an hour away in Metairie. The Tigers first went out to Southern California and landed Daylen Austin. Austin, who plays at Long Beach Poly High School, a program that is known for producing NFL talent, committed to the Tigers on May 16th. He chose LSU over his 24 other offers, from Alabama and Michigan State.
Kelly and his staff then went into Nevada’s Bishop Gorman High School, arguably one of the best high school football programs in the country. The Tigers landed Jeremiah Hughes, who is ranked as the No. 6 recruit in Nevada. He chose LSU over Arkansas, Washington and others
But LSU didn’t stay on the west coast much longer, as they returned to the bayou to land Ashton Stamps out of Archbishop Rummel High School. LSU offered Stamps in mid-June, and he committed to the Tigers on July 4th. For a recruit that was not as highly recruited as the other commits in the class, Stamps has the potential to have a senior season that could get him a lot more attention.
Safety
Four-star Ryan Yaites, Denton Guyer High School, Denton, Texas
Four-star Michael Daugherty, Grayson High School, Loganville, Georgia
Four-star Kylin Jackson, Zachary High School, Zachary, Louisiana
Ryan Yaites and Michael Daugherty were two of Kelly’s earliest commits for the Class of 2023, so a lot of credit is due to them for helping recruit the 15 commits that followed them. Of the two safety commits, Michael Daugherty committed first on April 13th. Daugherty was another highly coveted recruit the Tigers managed to land, as he held over 43 offers. But after taking visits to LSU and North Carolina, the Tigers came away with Daugherty in the end.
Two days later, LSU landed another safety in Ryan Yaites. Yaites plays at Denton Guyer High School in Denton Texas, who were the Class 6A Division 1-state runner-ups, which is a very competitive playoff bracket. So Yaites wanting to play with the best of the best in the SEC makes sense, as he chose the Tigers over schools like Michigan State, California, and more.
“Really what made the school [LSU] for me was the coaches and the program,” Yaites said in an interview. “It’s not only a good college program, but it’s the SEC Network, the people they have around it, Coach House, Brian Kelly, Kerry Cooks, those guys, those are what made my decision easy I’d say.”
The Tigers then reached in their backyard and picked up four-star Kylin Jackson from Zachary High School in Zachary, Louisiana. Not only did LSU keep another local prospect home, but they beat an SEC rival for him in Texas A&M. Jackson was a highly recruited prospect with 22 offers, so LSU keeping him home and adding him to the class is certainly an important commitment.
To say Coach Kelly and his staff exceeded expectations for recruiting in their opening season would be an understatement. There were many questions on how Coach Kelly would adjust from the differences in recruiting dynamics in the SEC, but he seemed to have adapted quickly.
For the Tigers to be in the Top 10 before the start of the college football season is most definitely what LSU fans want to see out of their new coaching staff. All that’s left is to potentially add more recruits to the class, and hold onto them until signing day.
