The successful offseason for the LSU football team continued Monday when recruiting Web site Rivals.com named LSU’s running backs and assistant head coach Larry Porter as its Recruiter of the Year. Porter helped the Tigers achieve the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation, according to Rivals. Porter, USC running backs coach Todd McNair and University of Florida running backs coach Stan Drayton were the only three coaches in college football to sign two five-star prospects on National Signing Day. Hempstead High School wide receiver Terrance Toliver was Porter’s biggest signing. ESPN.com rated the Hempstead, Texas, native the No. 11 prospect in the country. The coach also locked up Southern Lab High School standout Chad Jones, younger brother of LSU sophomore defensive end Rahim Alem. Porter said he was excited when he learned of the honor, but he looks at recruiting as a complete staff effort. “I didn’t look at is as an individual award,” he said. “I thought it was a complement to our staff and all the hard work that we’ve done.” LSU coach Les Miles said in a news release the hectic recruiting schedule is a testament to the work ethic of a football coach. “A recruiting calendar is very much a competitive run, and when the pace gets faster there’s so much to do,” Miles said. “Our coaching staff did that.” Porter’s recruits already began making an impact on the Tigers’ football landscape. Sophomore running back Keiland Williams, who Porter recruited before the 2006 season, averaged 5.7 yards per carry in nine games this past season. Porter said it is important not only to recruit in-state but across the country as well, especially for a program of LSU’s stature. “This is a national program,” he said. “Everything we do and strive for is based on a national level. This is something that we take a lot of pride in.” Porter said there was only one recruit the Tigers coveted that got away. “The big one that got away was [USC signee] Joe McKnight.”
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]