LSU coach Les Miles and his staff have been hard at work on the recruiting trail, and it is showing.
LSU picked up two huge commitments this past week-five-star defensive tackle Chris Davenport and offensive tackle Josh Williford.
At 6-feet-4-inches and 320 pounds, Davenport has a scholarship offer from many of the top football programs in the country including USC, Florida, Florida State and Texas.
“[Chris] went down to LSU for the football camp and committed [Tuesday],”said Davenport’s high school coach, Donald Mayweather. “He got with his mother and father, and they came up with the decision to commit.”
The Mansfield High phenom is rated as the 4th-best defensive tackle and the 18th-best overall player in the country by Rivals.com.
“Chris is one of those kids that is well-mannered, hard-working and has great values,” Mayweather said. “He’s always striving to get better. His family and his background show that he has the morals that it takes to be successful.”
Mayweather said he thinks committing was a good decision for Davenport.
“Now, he doesn’t have to worry about anyone bothering him about committing,” Mayweather said. “He can just put it behind him and think about the things he needs to do for this season.”
Davenport, who amassed 18 sacks and more than 120 tackles this past season at Mansfield High, becomes the third defensive lineman for the 2009 recruiting class.
Davenport joins quarterback Russell Shepard as the only other five-star recruit committed to LSU at this early stage in the recruiting process.
Williford, a Dothan, Ala. native, committed to play for the Tigers during his unofficial visit to campus Friday. The 6-feet-7-inch, 340-pound offensive tackle is a rising prospect who is ranked as a three-star recruit by Scout.com.
Williford accumulated All-Conference and All-State honors this past season, his first year at offensive line. He played defensive tackle his first two years in high school.
Williford’s stock has risen considerably the past few months as he generated interest from LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama and Auburn. He was offered a scholarship after an impressive camp performance at LSU in June. He is the fifth offensive lineman committed to the class.
With the addition of Davenport and Williford, LSU has 16 spots filled for the 2009 recruiting class. National Signing Day for this class is not until February 2009.
—-Contact Tyler Harvey at [email protected]