LSU football coach Les Miles and his staff recently added two more prospects to the 2010 recruiting class in offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick and outside linebacker Luke Muncie.Jermarcus “Yoshi” Hardrick, a 6-foot-7-inch, 320-pound offensive tackle from Fort Scott Community College in Kansas City, Kan., didn’t waste any time accepting a scholarship offer from LSU.”He’s definitely an LSU kid,” said Fort Scott coach Jeff Sims. “Yoshi’s goal was to go to LSU. It was his dream. When other schools would call, he was happy and respectful. But when LSU called, it was like Christmas morning. He’s just always been a fan.”The massive offensive lineman has garnered an unordinary amount of attention this early in the recruiting process, already accumulating offers from Ole Miss, Arkansas, LSU, Nebraska and Southern Miss and interest from USC.”He’s probably the most recruited kid we’ve ever had,” Sims said. “I’ve been a junior college coach for seven years, and I’ve sent 53 guys to Division I football, and he’s probably the first or second-best offensive lineman that we’ve ever coached. We’ve never had this much interest this early in a kid.”When Hardrick steps on campus next spring, he will have three years to complete his two years of eligibility, meaning he could still be redshirted.”He’s a great kid,” Sims said. “When he came here out of high school, he was a 6-foot-7-inch, 360-pound tight end. We’ve gotten him to lose about 30 pounds, and he’s one of the hardest working and nastiest offensive lineman we’ve coached.”Sims said Hardrick’s God-given frame has made him so dominant for his team.”He loves playing offensive line,” Sims said. “He’s got the longest arms you’ve ever seen — a 7-foot wing span. His levers are so long that once he blocks into a guy, it’s hard for them to get their hands back on him. He really plays with an aggressive, mean personality. His goal isn’t to block you, it’s to fold you up and put you on your back.”Hardrick is currently rated a one-star prospect by Scout.com. But according to Sonny Shipp, recruiting analyst for Scout.com, that will certainly change.”He hasn’t been evaluated yet,” Shipp said. ”Junior college prospects aren’t ranked or assigned their star rating usually until the summer time so [analysts] can see them in person during the spring evaluation period. But from all accounts, he’s really improved his agility and footwork.”Shipp anticipates a big boost in the rankings for Hardrick after a full evaluation.”He’s going to be a low four-star or a very high three-star when the rankings do come out,” Shipp said. “For LSU to offer him this early and accept his commitment on the same day, it tells you that [the LSU coaching staff] is very high on him.”LINEBACKER MUNCIE COMMITS TO LSUThe Tigers picked up their eighth commitment of the 2010 class when linebacker Luke Muncie committed last Sunday.Muncie, a 6-foot-3-inch, 220-pound linebacker prospect from Oak High School in Klein, Texas, is currently rated by Scout.com as a three-star prospect.”He’s played free safety for us the last two years,” said Oak High School coach David Smith. “He runs a 4.5 40— [yard dash]. He’s got great ball skills, so he could play any [position] for us. We’ve just got him at a position where he can have the opportunity to make as many plays as he can.”Smith said Muncie is projected as a linebacker at the collegiate level, but he has the ability to play safety.”No telling what he can be. The stars are in line for him to have a super future,” Smith said.Muncie has already racked up scholarship offers from Michigan, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Utah, Arkansas, Kansas and LSU.”I think Oklahoma and A&M were his two favorites,” Smith said. “But he visited around to see enough of what he likes, and once he got to LSU’s campus, it just grabbed him like the others did not. It will be a good fit.”Shipp said Muncie is the kind of linebacker LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis will love.”He plays well in space, plays well dropping back in coverage and is very aggressive,” Shipp said. “When you look at his film, he doesn’t shy away from contact, he drives through his tackles. This is one of those guys that other schools are going to be very disappointed about. It’s not like the Texas schools and other schools weren’t after him. It’s a real big pick up.”—-Contact Tyler Harvey at [email protected]
Recruiting: Tigers land two 2010 recruits
April 22, 2009